A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 24-14, regarding a request the City Manager direct the appropriate City staff to investigate and determine what measures, if any, can be taken to mitigate the noise impacts of waste management disposal operations on residents in the North Point District while remaining compliant with existing legal requirements

Megan B. Bayer Assistant City Solicitors Acting City Solicitor Paul S. Kawai INSTIEVES Sean M. McKendry Elliott J. Veloso Diane O. Pires First Assistant City Solicitor Kate M. Kleimola Sydney M. Wright Evan C. Bjorklund Franziskus Lepionka Andrea Carrillo-Roads Public Records Access Officer Seah Levy CITY OF CAMBRIDGE Office of the City Solicitor 795 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 May 8, 2024 Yi-An Huang City Manager Cambridge City Hall 795 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139 Re: Awaiting Report No. 24-14 of March 18, 2024, requesting that the City Manager direct the appropriate City staff to investigate and determine what measures, if any, can be taken to mitigate the noise impacts of waste management disposal operations on residents in the North Point District while remaining compliant with existing legal requirements. Dear Mr. Huang: Awaiting Report 24-14 of March 18, 2024 requests a report on the determination of what measures, it any, can be taken to mitigate the noise impacts of waste management disposal operations on residents in the North Point District while remaining compliant with existing legal requirements. This request arises out of concerns raised by residents of 1 Leighton Street, which is located in the North Point District, regarding the noise associated with waste disposal operations in the area. These operations have occurred outside of business hours and that has disturbed the residents. I have worked with the Chair of the License Commission to evaluate what can be done to respond to the concerns raised by residents arising out of waste disposal operations happening during the night. The North Point District, at or near 1 Leighton Street, is zoned as a Special District and formally identified as the North Point Residence, Office and Business District. This, and the Cambridgeport Redevelopment District, are the two Special Districts in the City with no further defined zoning designations. The North Point District allows for mixed uses including residential uses, office and laboratory uses, retail or consumer service establishments, utilities, institutional uses, and transit stations. Pursuant to Massachusetts General Law c.111, §31A, a municipality is prohibited from adopting a rule or regulation that restricts the hours of the day when waste can be collected in an area zoned for commercial or industrial uses. Pursuant to the language of G.L. c.111, §31A, the prohibition on restricting the hours of the day when waste can Facsimile [phone removed] TTY/TTD [phone removed] Telephone [phone removed]

be collected applies in any zoning district that allows commercial or industrial uses and not limited just to districts that only allow commercial or industrial uses. Therefore, because the North Point District is a mixed-use district that allows commercial uses, the City cannot restrict the hours of the day when waste can be collected in that district. The City has adopted a Noise Control Ordinance that regulates the hours that waste can be collected. Section 8.16.080(e) of the Municipal Code states: Loading and Unloading. Loading, unloading, opening, closing or other handling of boxes, crates, containers, building materials, garbage cans, or similar objects between the hours of nine p.m. and seven a.m. the following day on weekdays, or between the hours of nine p.m. and nine a.m. the following day when the following day is a Saturday, Sunday or holiday in such a manner as to be plainly audible at a distance of fifty feet from the lot line of the lot. However, as it applies to districts zoned for commercial or industrial uses and waste collection, Section 8.16.080(e) is preempted by G.L. c.111, §31A. Therefore, the City (specifically, the License Commission, Police Department and ISD) cannot enforce that provision of the Noise Control Ordinance in the North Point District, and the City does not have tools at its disposal to restrict the hours of waste collection in the North Point District. The City Council could seek special legislation to allow the City to regulate the house of waste collection operations in areas zoned for commercial and industrial uses. Very truly yours, Megan B. Bayei Acting City Solicitor 2