A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number AR #24-27, regarding a list of current zoning initiatives and a timeline for completion

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 MELISSA PETERS Chief of Planning Strategy To: Yi-An Huang, City Manager From: Iram Farooq, Assistant City Manager for Community Development Date: June 20, 2024 Subject: Awaiting Report #24-27 dated June 3, 2024 re. providing a list of current zoning initiatives and a timeline for completion Based on discussions at the City Council and various Council Committees over the last few months, CDD and Law Department staff are prioritizing the following zoning initiatives in our workplans. Multifamily Zoning: Work on rezoning to facilitate multifamily development is underway at the Housing Committee and includes eliminating exclusionary zoning and expanding capacity for multifamily housing development citywide. In terms of timeline, we are prioritizing this work since it will create the new baseline that will need to be factored into other area specific rezoning work such as the Mass Ave Planning Study and the Central Square Rezoning effort, both of which are already in process. Shared Parking: Amendments to accessory parking provisions in the Zoning Ordinance to mitigate the loss of on street parking resulting from the installation of separated bicycle facilities as the Cycling Safety Ordinance (CSO) is implemented. Law department staff will also work with CDD’s transportation planning staff to work on companion changes to the Parking and Transportation Demand Management (PTDM) Ordinance. In terms of timeline, this work is being prioritized so that changes are in place before further implementation of the CSO. Central Square Rezoning: Guided by community goals identified in prior planning efforts, we initiated a community process in late May related to rezoning Central Square with a focus on increasing housing, creating public spaces to build community, and supporting our diverse retail, cultural, and non-profit community. Cambridge Street Rezoning: Draft zoning text was drafted based on the recommendations of the Our Cambridge Street planning process. Work that is currently underway on multifamily zoning is likely to impact these recommendations and the proposed zoning may need to be modified. We will make changes to the draft, as needed, and bring forward this rezoning after the adoption of citywide multifamily zoning. Anticipated timelines for these items are shown below. The adoption timeframes are impacted greatly by things that are not in staff control and are, therefore, shown as dashed lines. These include logistical items such as the timing of hearings, number of hearings needed for deliberation, and complexity of discussions at Ordinance Committee and the Planning Board. They also include substantive items such as if the

2 City Council chooses to expand the scope of the zoning or if issues come up during the course of deliberations that necessitate further analysis or drafting amendments. Further, these timelines can be impacted by new items that require immediate action such zoning petitions from citizens, developers/property owners, or the City Council and other time-sensitive requests. Fig. 1 ANTICIPATED ZONING TIMELINE FOR PRIORITY PROJECTS Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Multifamily Shared Parking Central Square Cambridge St Zoning Development Petition filing Consideration at Ordinance Comm & Planning Board Zoning adoption Stakeholder Engagement: Community Process and RFI During this time, staff and the City Council will also be processing the Griffin Sheperd et al petition. Any new zoning petitions that are filed may extend some or all of these timelines. We also want to take this opportunity to mention upcoming zoning work in 2025. The Mass Ave Planning Study that is currently underway will result in zoning recommendations, that we expect to work on in 2025. Additionally, the Alewife District Plan had contemplated changes to the Shopping Center and Triangle Areas. These were not developed fully with the community given the time-sensitivity of advancing the Quadrangle zoning. Developing a vision and zoning for this area will gain importance as the MBTA anticipates initiating planning for potential redevelopment of the Alewife parking garage.