City Council — Regular Meeting, October 16, 2023

City Manager's Agenda (7)

• CMA 2023 #252Transmitting Communication from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of 2,040,086.98 from Free Cash to the Public Investment Fund School Extraordinary Expenditures account to fund the Amigos School roof replacement projectschools📖 read
• CMA 2023 #253Transmitting Communication from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $8,325,000, from Free Cash to the General Fund Department of Public Works Salary and Wages account, which will replenish funds that were used for the “friendly” eminent domain taking of a parcel located at 41 Bellis Circle
• CMA 2023 #254A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the reappointment of Vinita Bhaskar as a member of the Committee on the Public Planting for a term of two years
• CMA 2023 #255A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appointments and reappointments of the following persons to the Conservation Commission. Reappointments: Purvi Patel and Erum Sattar. Appointments: Patricia Carney, Angela Zhong, and John Leo📖 read 📄 PDF 📄 PDF 📄 PDF 📄 PDF
• CMA 2023 #257A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the establishment of an Opioid Settlement Stabilization Fund📖 read
• CMA 2023 #258Transmitting Communication from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $1,903,731.64 from Free Cash to the Opioid Settlement Stabilization Fund. The $1,903,731.64 appropriated to the Opioid Settlement Stabilization Fund is the only the appropriation from Free Cash attributed to Opioid Settlement funds and will be used to fund specific future projects, per requirements of the settlement agreement, which will require separate individual appropriations by the City Council
• CMA 2023 #259A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 23-23 which clarifies the state law on zoning petition signature requirements to ensure clarity and lawful deliberation in the futurezoning📖 read

Communications (52)

52 resident communications received for this meeting — transit traffic (12) · trees (12) · bike lanes (11) · affordable housing (8) · housing general (8). Individual letters are summarized in the city's agenda and are not republished here, by policy.

Policy Orders (8)

• POR 2023 #179Policy Order re Breast Cancer Awareness Month
• POR 2023 #180That the City Council go on record recognizing October 2023 as National Women's Small Business Month
• POR 2023 #181That the City Manager is requested to direct the appropriate staff to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the overall state of the Moses Youth Center building
• POR 2023 #182That the City Manager is requested to conduct a thorough assessment regarding the feasibility, costs, and benefits of replacing the existing community notice boards on the front lawn of City Hall with one or two digital signs
• POR 2023 #183That the City Manager is requested to work with the Law Department, the Finance Department, and any other relevant departments to investigate potential mechanisms to support Cannabis Business in Cambridge
• POR 2023 #184That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to direct the appropriate City staff to create a dedicated page on the City of Cambridge's website listing all community-based organizations providing services in The Port neighborhood
• POR 2023 #186That the City Council schedule a roundtable on Monday, November 13, 2023, from 3 p.m-5 p.m. to receive an update from the City Manager and relevant departments on the Central Square City Lots Study
• POR 2023 #187That the City Manager is requested to work with DPW to restore Linear Park by re-using the existing award-winning design, to create, publish and implement a climate resilience-based maintenance plan and minimize the embodied carbon of the project by re-using, wherever possible, the existing lamps and lamp postsclimatetransit-traffictrees📖 read

Resolutions (13)

• RES 2023 #268Congratulations to Judy Vellucci on her retirement from the City of Cambridge
• RES 2023 #269Congratulations to Cambridge Police Lieutenant Stephen Sennott on the occasion of his promotionpolice-safetytenants-rent
• RES 2023 #270Congratulations to Cambridge Police Lieutenant Frederick Leung on his recent promotionpolice-safetytenants-rent
• RES 2023 #271Congratulations to Cambridge Police Sergeant Mark Clavette on his recent promotionpolice-safety
• RES 2023 #272Congratulations to Cambridge Police Sergeant Simon Valentin on his recent promotionpolice-safety
• RES 2023 #273Thanks to Mary White for her contributions to Cambridge
• RES 2023 #274Speedy Recovery wishes to Roslyn Shoy
• RES 2023 #275Congratulations to Amigos da Terca on Their Annual Dinner/Dance on October 7, 2023
• RES 2023 #276Condolences To the Family of Dr. Marcella Mazzarelli
• RES 2023 #277Congratulations to Harvard Economics Professor Claudia D. Goldin on winning the 2023 Nobel Prize in Economics
• RES 2023 #278Congratulations to the Benjamin Banneker Charter School on its achievementsschools
• RES 2023 #279Resolution on the retirement of Steven A. Cohen from the City of Cambridge Planning Board
• RES 2023 #280Resolution of the retirement of Hugh Adams Russell from the City of Cambridge Planning Board

Ordinances (1)

• ORD 2023 # 9An Ordinance has been received from City Clerk, relative to a Zoning Petition by the Cambridge City Council to amend Articles 2.000, 4.000, 5.000, and 23.000 of the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance for the purpose of allowing henkeeping as a permitted accessory use to principal residential (excluding transient accommodations as defined in Section 4.31.i), religious, and educational uses; with limitations and subject to regulation and permitting by the Cambridge Public Health Departmenthomelessnesshousing-generalzoning📖 read

Applications & Petitions (3)

• APP 2023 #52An application was received from MIT Lit Visual Arts Center requesting permission for a (35) Thirty Five temporary banners Ames Street, Memorial Drive to Main Street, Ames Street, Main Street to Broadway, Broadway, Ames Street to Third Street, Third Street, Broadway to Main Street, Main Street, Third Street to Broadway announcing MIT Visual Arts Center and Contemporary Art from October 2023 through April 2024arts📖 read
• APP 2023 #53An application was received from Mike Tokatlyan, requesting permission for a curb cut at the premises numbered 22 White Street; said petition has received approval from Inspectional Services, Traffic, Parking and Transportation, Historical Commission and Public Works. Response has been received from the neighborhood associationtransit-traffic📖 read 📄 PDF
• APP 2023 #54An application was received from Central Square Theater requesting permission for a (12) twelve temporary pole banners along Massachusetts Avenue from Essex Street to Sidney announcing Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show from October 13, 2023 through December 10, 2023📖 read

Other Business (11)

• AR-23-62Report on whether change in language to the CSO is necessary to enable installation of permanent, seasonal, and/or temporary outdoor dining and pop-ups alongside separated bicycle lanes consistent with Cycling Safety Ordinance that address concerns about the current situationbike-lanes
• AR-23-63Report on a proposed Home Rule Petition relative to amendments to the Fair Housing Ordinancehousing-general
• AR-23-64Provide monthly progress reports to the City Council, detailing the strategies being designed and implemented to address the issues in Central Square, including the metrics being used to measure success
• AR-23-65Report on the developed ordinance language that would lead to a phased in ban of the use of gas-powered leaf blowers in Cambridge in line with the discussion in the Health and Environment Committee meeting of September 13, 2023leaf-blowers
• AR-23-66Report on review the proposed amendment to BEUDO regarding new buildings, and to propose adjustments, especially with regards to the building permit vs certificate of occupancy questionclimate
• AR-23-67Report on the meeting with the Universities, large labs, large property developers and anyone with technical expertise regarding the proposed BEUDO amendment and their inputclimate
• AR-23-68Report on the feasibility of erecting a covered bus shelter in the immediate vicinity of 15 Lambert Streethomelessness
• AR-23-69Report on the identified ways these institutions can do more to provide affordable housing development within/near the city, whether by providing additional funds to the Affordable Housing Trust or by developing affordable/mixed-income housing, commensurate with the means of each institution, and specifically to work with the academic institutions on plans to provide on-campus housing to significantly more graduate students and to lower-income staffaffordable-housinghousing-generalschools

• an update regarding legislative activity 📖 read 📄 PDF 📄 PDF 📄 PDF 📄 PDF
• information from the School Committee
• CMA 2023 #256 : A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Policy Order #23-147, regarding a report on whether change in language to the CSO is necessary to enable installation of permanent, seasonal, and/or temporary outdoor dining and pop-ups alongside separated bicycle lanes consistent with Cycling Safety

Ordinance that address concerns about the current situation [bike-lanes, transit-traffic] 📖 read 📄 PDF

Committee Reports (6)

• Housing Committee hearing of 2023-04-13 — Accepted
• Economic Development & University Relations Committee hearing of 2023-09-27 — Accepted
• Ordinance Committee hearing of 2023-10-04 — Accepted
• Committee hearing of (unknown date) — Passed To A Second Reading
• Ordinance Committee hearing of 2023-10-10 — Accepted
• Committee hearing of (unknown date) — Passed To A Second Reading