City Council — Regular Meeting, May 19, 2025

City Manager's Agenda (13)

• CMA 2025 #119A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to a Federal update
• CMA 2025 #120Transmitting Communication from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $100,000, received from a Massachusetts Electric Vehicle Incentive Program (MassEVIP) Grant, to the Grant Fund Community Development Department Extraordinary Expenditures Account. Funds will contribute to the installation of seven new level 2 electric vehicle charging heads
• CMA 2025 #121Transmitting Communication from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to a transfer in the amount of $150,000, from the General Fund Fire Salaries and Wages account to the General Fund Fire Other Ordinary Maintenance account. Funds will be used to supplement the cost to equip 10 new firefighters with personal protective gear and equipment, and station uniforms. We had an opportunity to increase the numbers of firefighters we had originally anticipated hiring due to unforeseen retirements. These funds will cover the cost of medical exams, station uniforms, bunker gear and other required equipment for hire
• CMA 2025 #122A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to a 5-year contract for AED installation and maintenance
• CMA 2025 #123Transmitting Communication from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $34,300, to the Grant Fund Public Celebrations (Arts Council) Other Ordinary Maintenance account. Funds will be used to support the Arts Council’s Artist Grant Program which provides financial grant opportunities and partnership from Cambridge Artsarts
• CMA 2025 #124Transmitting Communication from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $298,794.13, funded by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC), to the Grant Fund Department of Human Service Programs Other Ordinary Maintenance account. Funds will be used for emergency shelter operating costs at the Cambridge Salvation Army Men’s Shelter. Additionally, funds will be used towards workforce development costs for the shelter’s direct line staffhomelessnesshousing-general
• CMA 2025 #125Transmitting Communication from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $8,615.00, for the Center for Families program, funded by the Cambridge Public Health Commission, Agenda for Children Literacy Initiative, to the Grant Fund Department of Human Service Programs Other Ordinary Maintenance account. The Center for Families will use this grant to provide family programming and curriculum development, refreshments for parent and child events and activity bag giveaways
• CMA 2025 #126Transmitting Communication from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the appropriation of $5,000 to the Grant Fund Department of Human Service Programs Other Ordinary Maintenance account. These funds were awarded to the Summer Food Program by Project Bread and will be used to enhance promotion and outreach, support activities, and to pay for program related supplies
• CMA 2025 #127A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Cambridge Out of School Time (OST) Expansion Study Reportschools📖 read 📄 PDF
• CMA 2025 #128A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the Executive Summary of the City’s Community Benefits Advisory Committee’s work over the past several yearshousing-general📖 read
• CMA 2025 #129A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to a Planning Board Report regarding the Cannabis Repackaging Petitionzoning📖 read
• CMA 2025 #130A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to a Planning Board report on the BioMed Realty, L.P. petition to amend the Zoning Maptransit-trafficzoning📖 read
• CMA 2025 #131A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number #25-11 regarding EZ Ride ETA issuestransit-traffic📖 read

Communications (73)

73 resident communications received for this meeting — housing general (34) · transit traffic (34) · affordable housing (21) · zoning (19) · budget (12). Individual letters are summarized in the city's agenda and are not republished here, by policy.

Policy Orders (4)

• POR 2025 #75That this City Council hereby declares June 19, 2025 as a Day of Reflection on Mass Incarceration in the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts, go on record in support, and gives its endorsement of, the Juneteenth Festival at Cambridge Common as a vital community event celebrating freedom and resilience, and go on record in support and commending the work of The Black Response Cambridge in creating the film “Where Do Black Men Live?”, which powerfully highlights the lived experiences, struggles, and stories of Black male populations in Cambridge, bringing greater awareness to critical issues of housing, justice, and belonginghousing-general
• POR 2025 #76That the City Manager is requested to explore with the Government Operations Committee whether the functions of the Peace Commission may be improved and enhanced by bringing them within another City Commission or Department, such as the Human Rights Commission, and report back in a timely manner. CHARTER RIGHT EXERCISED BY MAYOR SIMMONS IN COUNCIL MAY 19, 2025 PLACED ON THE TABLE JUNE 2, 2025
• POR 2025 #77That the City Council go on record in support of HD 1811/SD 1114 and HD 1693/SD 1124 and the Clean Slate Massachusetts campaign
• POR 2025 #78Late Policy Order re NEFS Custodian Contract for City CHARTER RIGHT EXERCISED BY MAYOR SIMMONS IN COUNCIL MAY 19, 2025

Resolutions (11)

• RES 2025 #125Congratulations to Maria Laranjeira on her retirement from the Auditing Department
• RES 2025 #126Congratulations to Linda Branco on her retirement from the Cambridge Public Schoolsschools
• RES 2025 #127Congratulations to Lieutenant Steven Donahue on his retirement from the Cambridge Police Departmentpolice-safetytenants-rent
• RES 2025 #128Condolences To The Family of Esther Scantlebury
• RES 2025 #129Congratulations on the 50th Wedding Anniversary of Peter Sturges and Sasha Lauterbach
• RES 2025 #130Resolution Celebrating Pari Kim on Her Graduation and Recognizing Her Advocacy and Contributions to the Cambridge and Massachusetts Community
• RES 2025 #131Condolences on the death of Richard T. Christo
• RES 2025 #132Condolences on the death of Thomas Bates Jr
• RES 2025 #133Condolences on the death of Charles "Charlie" King
• RES 2025 #134Condolences on the death of Lorraine Waite Cooper
• RES 2025 #135Late Resolution re Memorial Day 2025

Applications & Petitions (3)

• APP 2025 #20An application was received from Gail Wang requesting permission for a temporary banner across JFK at Mount Auburn Street and Massachusetts Avenue in front of City Hall announcing Boston Dragon Boat Festival on May 26, 2025 through June 9, 2025📖 read
• APP 2025 #21An application was received from Bailey Clurman Chamber of Commerce requesting permission for a temporary banner across Massachusetts Avenue in front of City Hall announcing Cambridge Taste from June 9, 2025 through June 24, 2025📖 read
• APP 2025 #22An application was received from Andrew Jawa, requesting permission for a curb cut at the premises numbered 11 Union Street; said petition has received approval from Inspectional Services, Traffic, Parking and Transportation, Historical Commission and Public Works. No response has been received from the neighborhood associationlabortransit-traffic📖 read

Other Business (6)

• ARS-25-15Awaiting Report Status Update 05.19.25bike-lanesclimatetransit-trafficzoning📖 read
• AR-25-29That the City Manager is requested to work with the School Department, the Department of Public Works, and other relevant departments to ensure that all city owned parking lots, with a focus on school complexes, including the still under construction parking at Tobin/Darby Vassal school complex, could be made available for after-hours use by residentsschoolstransit-traffic
• AR-25-30The City Manager is requested to confer with the Community Development Department to develop a timeline for the next Inclusionary Housing Study, explore remedies to address the lack of housing starts and provide for consideration draft amendments to the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, and explore other incentives to encourage developers to include affordable units beyond the requirement voluntarilyaffordable-housinghousing-general
• AR-25-31That the City Manager is requested to include in the FY26 Operating Budget a continued commitment to Emergency Housing Vouchers for Permanent Supportive Housing and Mixed Status Families, and the Transition Wellness Center, as well as allocate the necessary resources to establish a municipal successor to Rise Up Cambridge that builds on its mission of providing direct, dignified economic support to familiesbudgethousing-generaltransit-traffic

• an update regarding legislative activity 📖 read 📄 PDF 📄 PDF 📄 PDF
• REC-2025-1 — Reconsideration Of APP 2025 #19 📖 read

Committee Reports (5)

• Health & Environment Committee hearing of 2025-04-14 — Accepted
• Finance Committee hearing of 2025-04-16 — Accepted
• Ordinance Committee hearing of 2025-05-07 — Accepted
• Committee hearing of (unknown date) — Passed To A Second Reading
• Committee hearing of (unknown date) — Passed To A Second Reading