A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the Planning Board Report regarding the BZA Dormers Zoning Petition

CITY OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS P L A N N I N G B O A R D CITY HALL ANNEX, 344 BROADWAY, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02139 Page 1 of 2 Date: October 10, 2024 Subject: Board of Zoning Appeal Dormer Zoning Petition Recommendation: The Planning Board recommends ADOPTION, with amendments. To the Honorable, the City Council, On October 8, 2024, the Planning Board (the “Board”) held a public hearing to discuss a Zoning Petition by the Board of Zoning Appeal (the “BZA”), to amend Article 2.000 and Section 8.22.1.h of the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance. The petition proposes to add a definition of “dormer” to Article 2.000 and to modify the requirements related to adding dormers to nonconforming one- and two-family dwellings in Section 8.22.1.h to allow certain dormer(s) construction as-of-right. The Board heard a presentation from Jim Monteverde, chair of the BZA, and Bill Boehm, former member of the BZA, and received written materials prior to the hearing from staff in the City’s Community Development Department (CDD). Following the presentation, public comment, and discussion among Board members, the Planning Board voted to forward this report to the City Council with a positive recommendation and suggested amendments to the petition. Board members supported the overall goal of the Petition to simplify the approval process for dormers by incorporating dimensional regulations directly into the Zoning Ordinance. They agreed that a simplified process could encourage more dormers, which are often constructed to expand space for families in their existing homes, by reducing time and cost of permit approvals that have previously required BZA review. Board members appreciated that the proposed dimensional regulations were drawn from the City’s Design Guidelines for Roof Dormers. The Board expressed some concerns about the specific dimensional regulations proposed in the amendment due to potential confusion in interpretation and desire to see aspects of the Design Guidelines for Roof Dormers included in the amendment. The Board reached consensus in suggesting that the Petition be amended so that it would: 1) clearly prohibit windows from being located on side walls of dormers, 2) articulate that the maximum dormer length should be applied to all dormers on the roof measured in linear feet, and 3) require the eave of the rooftop to be intact across the building frontage so that it would visually separate the front face of the new dormer(s) from the outer wall of the story below.

City of Cambridge, MA • Planning Board Report Board of Zoning Appeal Dormer Zoning Petition October 10, 2024 Page 2 of 2 The Board also recommended that before adoption, staff from CDD, the Law Department, and the Inspectional Services Department review the proposed zoning text for clarity and consistency with the intent. The Planning Board voted 7-0 in favor of transmitting the above report. Respectfully submitted for the Planning Board, Mary Flynn, Chair.