A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to the Climate Resilience Zoning Task Force Report. (Ordinance #2022-9)

C I T Y O F C A M B R I D G E Community Development Department IRAM FAROOQ Assistant City Manager for Community Development SANDRA CLARKE Deputy Director Chief of Administration KHALIL MOGASSABI Deputy Director Chief Planner 344 Broadway Cambridge, MA 02139 Voice: [phone removed] Fax: [phone removed] TTY: [phone removed] www.cambridgema.gov MEMORANDUM TO: Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager FROM: Iram Farooq, Assistant City Manager for Community Development DATE: February 23, 2022 RE: Climate Resilience Zoning Task Force Report Please find attached the final report of the Cambridge Climate Resilience Zoning Task Force. The Task Force was formed in 2019 to bring together diverse stakeholders to identify development standards that would increase the capacity of development in Cambridge to withstand and adapt to impacts from climate change. Task Force members included residents from neighborhoods throughout the city, a union/trades representative, representatives from academic institutions, affordable housing builders, small business representatives, property owners, subject matter experts, and City staff. Over the course of 19 meetings, the Task Force learned about the climate change vulnerabilities identified in the Cambridge Climate Vulnerability Assessment (CCVA), and reviewed recommendations from the Resilient Cambridge Plan and the Urban Forest Master Plan (UFMP). The Task Force then identified a set of principles and objectives, which guided the development of their recommendations. The final recommendations of the Task Force are included in this report and were developed based on a consensus approach. Overall, these recommendations aim to do the following: • Codify flood risk standards in zoning based on future projections, not past experience. • Create new zoning standards for heat resilience that have flexibility and choice built in. • Remove zoning obstacles that would allow property owners to make their property more resilient. • Promote a holistic approach to reviewing the sustainability and resilience of major new development. • Ensure that buildings being built today are resilient throughout their lifetime.

Page 2 of 2 City staff have begun working to develop zoning text based on these recommendations. Through this process, staff will have to evaluate how to incorporate those recommendations within the parameters of what can be legally regulated through zoning. In instances where the final zoning standards look different from the initial recommendations, they will still meet the Principles and Objectives identified by the Task Force. Since amending the Zoning Ordinance requires the Planning Board and the City Council’s Ordinance Committee to hold public hearings, there will be many opportunities for continued public comment and involvement. City staff also intends to provide opportunities for the Task Force to provide input when the zoning text is drafted.