City Council — Regular Meeting, March 4, 2019

City Manager's Agenda (13)

• CMA 2019 #39Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of the FY2019 Cultural Investment Portfolio Program Grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council in the amount of $9,000 to the Grant Fund Historical Commission Salaries and Wages account ($7,000), and Travel and Training account ($2,000) which will be used to continue to support part-time archives assistants, who maintain the public archive of Cambridge history, as well as the increasing costs of memberships
• CMA 2019 #40Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of a grant from the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) through the City of Boston’s Office of Emergency Management for $105,555.55 to the Grant Fund Fire Department Other Ordinary Maintenance account to be used for dive team and marine unit equipment
• CMA 2019 #41Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of the 2018 Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the amount of $32,188 to the Grant Fund Fire Other Ordinary Maintenance account which will be used to purchase nine third rail testers which determine if the third rail electrical power on the MBTA red line tracks is energized prior to first responders entering the area during an emergencytransit-traffic
• CMA 2019 #42Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $170,040 from Free Cash to the General Fund Fire Department Other Ordinary Maintenance account to cover the cost of equipment and medical and psychological screening of 13 new firefighters
• CMA 2019 #43Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $63,000 from Free Cash to the General Fund Fire Department Extraordinary Expenditures for bunker gear replacement
• CMA 2019 #44Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $39,340 from Free Cash to the General Fund Fire Extraordinary Expenditures account which will fund the purchase of defibrillators in city buildings
• CMA 2019 #45Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of the FY19 Local Cultural Council grant made by the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) to the Arts Council in the amount of $23,600 to the Grant Fund Public Celebrations (Arts Council) Other Ordinary Maintenance account that will be used to support the Arts Council’s Cambridge Arts Grant Program through which financial grants are made to individual artists, and local arts organizations to support their work and connect it in positive ways to residents and visitors to the cityarts
• CMA 2019 #46A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the appointment of the following person as a member of the Public Art Commission for a term of three years, effective March 4, 2019: Kelly Luoarts
• CMA 2019 #47Transmitting Communication from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of an Innovation and Learning Grant made by the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) as part of their FY19 UP Initiative to the Arts Council in the amount of $3,000 to the Grant Fund Public Celebrations (Arts Council) Other Ordinary Maintenance account which will be used to participate in a statewide Innovation & Learning Network as part of the Universal Participation program based at the Massachusetts Cultural Councilarts
• CMA 2019 #48A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to a recommendation from the Planning Board to adopt following further staff review and improvements to the petition language, the City Council Zoning Petition to Amend Section 4.22 "Accessory Apartments."zoning📖 read
• CMA 2019 #49A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to a recommendation from the Planning Board to not adopt the Petition to rezone the parcel at 234 Monsignor O'Brien Highway from Residential C-1 to Business Azoning📖 read
• CMA 2019 #50A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to a recommendation from the Planning Board to not adopt the Stormwater Separation from Flat Roofs Zoning Petitionzoning📖 read
• CMA 2019 #51A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the City of Cambridge has retained its noteworthy distinction of being one of approximately 33 municipalities in the United States with AAA ratings from each of the nation’s three major credit rating agenciesbudget📖 read 📄 PDF 📄 PDF

Communications (4)

4 resident communications received for this meeting — transit traffic (2) · broadband (1). Individual letters are summarized in the city's agenda and are not republished here, by policy.

Policy Orders (8)

• POR 2019 #73That the Executive Assistant to the City Council confer with the Dedication Committee to consider a request from Vice Mayor Devereux for a plaque on a bench in Sacramento Field in honor of Mary Jo Clark and her significant contributions to the Agassiz Neighborhood and the Cambridge community as a whole
• POR 2019 #74That the City Manager is requested to confer with the Traffic, Parking and Transportation Department, Community Development Department, and Department of Public Works to provide data on speed and vehicle counts on Garden Street between Concord Avenue and Linnaean Street and identify potential measures to improve its pedestrian and bicycle safetybike-lanestransit-traffic📖 read
• POR 2019 #75City Council support of H.3118/SD.84, An Act to reduce traffic fatalitiestransit-traffic
• POR 2019 #76That the City Manager is requested to confer with the Traffic, Parking, and Transportation Department on how traffic safety concerns may be addressed on Madison Avenuetransit-traffic
• POR 2019 #77That the City Manager is requested to consult with the Department of Public Works, DivcoWest, and Eversource to schedule a community engagement meeting as soon as possible to provide the residents and the abutters of Gore Street with an update on the construction timeline and the estimated construction completion
• POR 2019 #78City Council feedback on MBTA Better Bus Project proposalstransit-traffic
• POR 2019 #79That the City Manager is requested to instruct the Assessor’s Office to provide Up-To-Date Condo Conversion Data
• POR 2019 #80City Council support of H1850: An act ensuring safe patient access to emergency care and H1346: An act removing the liability cap for malpractice resulting in serious injury or death

Resolutions (8)

• RES 2019 #68Congratulations to Dolores Huerta on receiving the Radcliffe Medal
• RES 2019 #69Resolution on the death of Alice “Allie” Sarchioni
• RES 2019 #70Retirement of Ameedah Abuwi from 22-Cityview
• RES 2019 #71Retirement of Roxanne Davies from the Cambridge Housing Authorityhousing-general
• RES 2019 #72Retirement of Carlos Edwards from the Cambridge’s Housing Authorityhousing-general
• RES 2019 #73Resolution on the death of Nathanial A. "Nate" Rookard, Sr
• RES 2019 #74Retirement of Hussein Musa from the Department of Public Works
• RES 2019 #75Retirement of Albert Pedro, Jr. from the Department of Public Works

Applications & Petitions (5)

• APP 2019 #12An application was received from Blue Bottle Coffee, requesting permission for two projecting blade signs, non illuminated at the premises numbered 88 Ames Street approval has been received from Inspectional Services, Department of Public Works, Community Development Department and abutter📖 read
• APP 2019 #13A constable bond was received from Ronald DiGiorgio for approval of the surety📖 read
• APP 2019 #14A constable bond was received from Burton Malkofsky for approval of the surety📖 read
• APP 2019 #15A petition was received from Cambridge Taxi Drivers Owners Association, regarding helping to support the Cambridge Taxi Industry and improve transportation in the City of Cambridge📖 read
• APP 2019 #16An application was received from Temple of Groom, requesting permission for refacing an existing projecting sign at the premises numbered 908 Massachusetts Avenue approval has been received from Inspectional Services, Department of Public Works, Community Development Department and abutter📖 read

Other Business (10)

• AR-19-21Report on the process for establishing a formal, thorough review of the City’s Affordable Home Ownership programs, incorporating a plan for obtaining and analyzing substantial quantitative data inclusive of all types of units
• AR-19-22Report on the feasibility of allowing small businesses to host live acoustic music performances without a license, and if feasible, present the City Council with a proposal to allow such performances
• AR-19-23Report on amending the Zoning Ordinance “Table of Uses” to allow for lodging houses in Residential A1, A2, and B Zoning Districts and to determine what tax incentives could be utilized to assist in the conversion of single-family/multi-family houses into lodging houseszoning
• AR-19-24Report on plans to make the pedestrian crossing of Massachusetts Avenue at Day Street more predictably safe for pedestrianstransit-traffic
• AR-19-25Report on information that is offered to limited equity condominium owners regarding the ability to recoup extraordinary repair and maintenance costs, the procedure that is in place to inform purchasers of existing or possible construction and maintenance issues that may result in higher-than expected condo fees, and the possibility of allowing roommates to cover unexpected expenses
• AR-19-26Report on communicating directly with the Volpe Center about the possibility of having their staff help the City set up a Micro-Mobility Pilot program in the Kendall Square area
• AR-19-27Report on providing an update on the Firehouse improvements allocation
• AR-19-28Report on expediting zoning based on the 2015 Commercial Land Use Classification Study and exploring the feasibility of hiring more zoning plannerszoning

• a report from Councillor Dennis J. Carlone and Councillor Craig A. Kelley, Co-Chairs of the Ordinance Committee, for a public hearing held on January 30, 2019 to discuss a petition filed by Joseph T. Maguire, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. to amend the Zoning Ordinance by creating the Grand Junction Pathway Overlay District adjacent to the Grand Junction Railroad right-of-way between Binney and Cambridge Streets 📖 read
• a communication from Councillor Mallon, transmitting notes of the meeting on February 7, 2019 of the Mayor's Arts Task Force 📖 read

Committee Reports (1)

• Ordinance Committee hearing of 2019-01-30 — Report Accepted And Placed On