Policy Order O-19

WHEREAS: The City Council recently adopted a policy order directing the City Manager to investigate the possibility of acquiring several properties on the market for the purpose of affordable housing; and

WHEREAS: Concerns were raised at the Council meeting of March 22, 2010 that the city had missed a rare window of opportunity; and

WHEREAS: Some Cambridge residents have expressed concerns around the logic and process of site selection for affordable housing; and

WHEREAS: Cambridge has a long-standing commitment to affordable housing; this order does not question that commitment, but rather seeks to quantify the perception by residents that affordable housing development is clustered in certain sections of the city by calling for clarification and examination of the process by which the City of Cambridge enacts its commitment; now therefore be it

ORDERED: That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to confer with appropriate departments and community agencies and report back to the City Council visually detailing:

ORDERED: That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to confer with appropriate departments and community agencies and report back to the City Council detailing the processes and procedures by which the City plans for, selects, and enacts its affordable housing commitment, including answers to the questions:

ORDERED: That this report be referred to the Neighborhood and Long Term Planning Committee for evaluation of the processes, procedures, and outcomes of how Cambridge enacts its commitment to Affordable Housing in the hopes that it will make recommendations to ensure transparency and equity.