City Council — Regular Meeting, March 31, 2025

City Manager's Agenda (9)

• CMA 2025 #67A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to a Federal update
• CMA 2025 #68A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 24-53, regarding assisting companies, institutions, and other organizations in adopting truck safety requirementstransit-traffic📖 read
• CMA 2025 #69A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 24-66 regarding an automated parking enforcement draft home rule petitiontransit-traffic📖 read 📄 PDF 📄 PDF
• CMA 2025 #70A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 25-02, which requested that the City Manager ensure adherence to the existing prevailing wage ordinance, maintenance of consistent wage rates, provision of comprehensive employer-paid benefits, and development of a clear local employment strategy in relation to the construction of a new substation and the installation of duct banks
• CMA 2025 #71A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 24-68 regarding Garden Street two-way traffic alternatives. CHARTER RIGHT EXERCISED BY COUNCILLOR SOBRINHO-WHEELER IN COUNCIL MARCH 31, 2025bike-lanestransit-traffic📖 read
• CMA 2025 #72A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Floodplain Zoning Amendmentszoning📖 read 📄 PDF 📄 PDF
• CMA 2025 #73A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to a memo regarding 84 and 96 Bishop Allen RFI submission responses and next stepshousing-generaltransit-traffic📖 read
• CMA 2025 #74A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Numb #25-17 which requested that the City Manager be and hereby is requested to appoint the members of a working committee tasked with integrating the objectives of both the Task Force to Examine the Status and Wellbeing of the City’s African American/Black Population and the Commission on the Status of Black Men and Boys into a unified, actionable framework
• CMA 2025 #75A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to an update on Harvard PILOT negotiations📖 read

Communications (162)

162 resident communications received for this meeting — zoning (80) · housing general (77) · budget (58) · schools (15) · transit traffic (15). Individual letters are summarized in the city's agenda and are not republished here, by policy.

Policy Orders (8)

• POR 2025 #47That the City Manager and appropriate staff move forward with Option 4 to reopen Garden street to two way traffic while maintaining separated bike lanesbike-lanestransit-traffic
• POR 2025 #41That the City Manager is requested to direct the Department of Public Works to work together with the Chair of the Health and Environment Committee to make appropriate changes to the draft of the Zero Waste Master Plan 2.0 and forward a final draft to the full City Council for approval as the City’s policy document on zero waste
• POR 2025 #42Appointment of Paula M. Crane as Interim City Clerk effective June 1, 2025
• POR 2025 #43That the City Manager is requested to direct the Community Development Department to prioritize Cambridge Street and Northern Massachusetts Avenue first and to introduce the necessary zoning language and to continue working on Central Square as soon as practicablezoning
• POR 2025 #44That the City Manager is requested to direct the Cambridge Police Department, and Human Rights Commission, and local immigrant rights and immigrant-serving organizations to develop and implement policies and protocols to prevent illegal detainment, hold Know Your Rights trainings, and ensure that the City of Cambridge is adequately prepared to respond to and mitigate violations of this naturepolice-safety
• POR 2025 #45That the City Manager is requested to work with relevant City departments to do more outreach to residents, businesses, and property owners to communicate the drought status and take all measures to reduce nonessential water use citywide, and provide a report on citywide water usage and water supply
• POR 2025 #46That the Human Services and Veterans Committee hold a meeting to discuss Sex Work and Sex Traffickingtransit-traffic
• POR 2025 #48That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to direct the appropriate City departments to initiate a study on the Half Crown-Marsh Neighborhood Conservation District and that the findings of this study be presented to the City Council no later than the return of the Mid-Cambridge study next year📖 read

Resolutions (13)

• RES 2025 #66Resolution on the death of Donna J. Barry
• RES 2025 #6720th anniversary of the Andrea Harvey Memorial Fund
• RES 2025 #68Resolution on the passing of Joseph Nichols, Sr
• RES 2025 #69Resolution on the death of Carol Elizabeth Moses
• RES 2025 #70Congratulations to Paula Gates on her retirement from the Water Department
• RES 2025 #71Congratulations to Meredith Woods on her retirement from the Cambridge Public Library
• RES 2025 #72Congratulations to Brian McCoy on his retirement from the Cambridge Water Department
• RES 2025 #73Congratulations to James Rita on his retirement from the Cambridge Water Department
• RES 2025 #74Resolution Congratulating Local Author Ora Grodsky
• RES 2025 #75Resolution Acknowledging National Library Week 2025
• RES 2025 #76Resolution Recognizing April as International Black Women's History Month
• RES 2025 #77On the Annexation of Boston and Formation of MegaCambridge on April 1 CHARTER RIGHT EXERCISED BY COUNCILLOR AZEEM IN COUNCIL MARCH 31, 2025
• RES 2025 #78Resolution Honoring 45th Anniversary of the Xi Tau Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta

Ordinances (1)

• ORD 2025 # 9An Ordinance has been received from City Clerk Diane P. LeBlanc, relative to amend Articles 5.000 and 20.000 of the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance. PASSED TO A SECOND READING ON COUNCIL MAY 12, 2025 ELIGIBLE TO BE ORDAINED JUNE 2, 2025bike-lanestenants-renttransit-traffictreeszoning📖 read

Other Business (6)

• ARS-25-9Awaiting Report Status Update 03.31.25bike-lanesclimatetransit-trafficzoning📖 read
• AR-25-20That the City Manager is requested to confer with the Community Development Department to develop a timeline for the next Incentive Zoning Nexus Studyzoning
• AR-25-21hat the City Manager is requested to work with the Office of the Housing Liaison and all relevant departments to ensure the successful implementation of an outreach and assistance campaign to provide broad and equitable access to eviction record sealing for eligible Cambridge tenantshousing-generaltenants-rent
• AR-25-22at the City Manager is requested to work with the School Department, the Department of Public Works, and other relevant departments to open the publicly owned parking at the King Open/Cambridge Street Upper School Complex for either residential free parking or commercial parking opportunities during “off” hoursschoolstransit-traffic
• AR-25-23That the City Manager is requested to work with relevant City departments and institutional stakeholders currently operating some form of shuttle to explore options for a municipal transit pilot programtransit-traffic

• an update regarding legislative activity 📖 read 📄 PDF 📄 PDF 📄 PDF

Committee Reports (1)

• Housing Committee hearing of 2025-03-04 — Accepted [Unanimous]