Search ▸ Agenda item attachment
A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to a Home Rule Petition seeking special legislation from the Legislature which would authorize the City of Cambridge to provide police, fire and other emergency services (“Emergency Services”) to portions of the Cambridge Crossing project that are partially located in the cities of Boston and Somerville, with one such property wholly located within Somerville
AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE TO PROVIDE POLICE, FIRE,
EMERGENCY AND OTHER MUNICIPAL SERVICES TO CERTAIN PROPERTIES IN
THE CITY OF SOMERVILLE AND THE CITY OF BOSTON.
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the City of Cambridge is
hereby authorized to provide police, fire and other services and the City of Somerville and the
City of Boston are authorized to acquiesce in the delegation of such services to the City of
Cambridge relative to the certain identified portions of the City of Somerville and the City of
Boston and to take such other actions as are provided for in this Act.
SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE
WHEREAS, Cambridge Crossing (also known as North Point) is a mixed-use, smart
growth master plan development containing 20 separate and distinct building parcels and
comprised of approximately 45.37 acres of land, situated in the Cities of Cambridge, Boston and
Somerville (the “Development”) or (“Cambridge Crossing”); and
WHEREAS, the majority of the Development, (approximately 38.77 acres), is situated in
the City of Cambridge, with the balance of the land located in the City of Boston, (1.29 acres),
and the City of Somerville, (5.28 acres), with the majority of the buildings constructed or to be
constructed (with the exception of one building which is wholly situated in the City of
Somerville) to be located in whole or in part in the City of Cambridge (collectively, the
“Serviced Parcels”, and each individually, a “Serviced Parcel”); and
WHEREAS, emergency access to the Serviced Parcels is only feasible by public ways
situated in the City of Cambridge and the City of Cambridge will be providing the water, sewer
and other municipal services to the entirety of Cambridge Crossing and neither the City of
Boston nor the City of Somerville will be providing those municipal services to Cambridge
Crossing; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the terms of a Memorandum of Agreement between the City of
Cambridge and the current owner of the Cambridge Crossing, the roadway network and
municipal infrastructure being (or to be) constructed therein by the current owner, will be
conveyed to the City of Cambridge and become part of the City of Cambridge municipal system;
and
WHEREAS, the Cities of Cambridge, Somerville and Boston each desire to enter into
agreements with one another to have the City of Cambridge (i) provide police, fire and other
emergency services, including but not limited to, emergency communication and ambulance
services (“Emergency Services”), and (ii) offer and provide such other municipal services to the
Serviced Parcels as may be reasonably required and/or requested from time to time as a result of
the Serviced Parcels being accessible solely from roadways situated in the City of Cambridge
and the utilities owned, or to be owned, by the City of Cambridge located therein, including,
without limitation, the provision of water, storm sewer and sanitary sewer (and the ability to
charge normal and customary fees associated therewith) and services provided by the fire
department (such services, “Other Municipal Services”); and
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WHEREAS, the Cities of Cambridge, Somerville and Boston agree that having
Cambridge provide the above services to the entirety of Cambridge Crossing will enable
increased efficiency in, and the expeditious delivery of, public safety responses; and
WHEREAS, the Cities of Cambridge, Somerville and Boston agree that the City of
Cambridge requires the authority to assess any unpaid fees for Emergency Services to a Serviced
Parcel. Specifically, the Cities seek authority to allow the City of Cambridge to (a) assess any
unpaid fees for these services that are attributable to (i) a Serviced Parcel situated partially in the
City of Cambridge to the real estate tax bills of such Serviced Parcel issued by the City of
Cambridge and (ii) the Serviced Parcel situated entirely in the City of Somerville against tax
parcels located in the City of Cambridge containing only the common open space areas of
Cambridge Crossing, but not any tax parcels containing occupiable buildings (collectively, the
“CX Open Space Parcels”), and to issue a real estate tax bill to such assessing parcel(s), and (b)
make such assessments, pursuant to its assessment and collection authority contained in Chapters
59 and 60 of the Massachusetts General Laws.
THEREFORE, the purposes of this Act are to:
1. authorize the City of Cambridge (a) to provide Emergency Services within the
Serviced Parcels as if such parcels were entirely situated within the City of
Cambridge; (b) to make assessments against any Serviced Parcel to reimburse the
City of Cambridge for the provision of such services to such Serviced Parcel, against
only the portion of such Serviced Parcel situated in the City of Cambridge; (c) to
make assessments against the Serviced Parcel situated entirely in the City of
Somerville to reimburse the City of Cambridge for the provisions of such services to
such Serviced Parcel, against one or more of the CX Open Space Parcels; (d) to
collect and enforce, including, without limitation, the rights to pursue takings for non-
payment of such assessments allocable to (i) a Serviced Parcel, against the owner of
such Serviced Parcel, or (ii) in the event of the Serviced Parcel situated entirely
within the City of Somerville, against the owner(s) of the CX Open Space Parcels;
and (d) to offer and provide the Other Municipal Services as if the same were situated
entirety within the City of Cambridge; and
2. authorize the City of Somerville and the City of Boston to delegate the Emergency
Services and Other Municipal Services related to the Serviced Parcels to the City of
Cambridge.
SECTION 2. The City of Cambridge is hereby authorized to provide the Emergency
Services to the Serviced Parcels, specifically including, but not limited to, authorizing
Cambridge Police Officers with full arrest powers, as if those parcels were wholly located in the
City of Cambridge.
SECTION 3. The City of Cambridge shall have the right to provide such Other
Municipal Services as are reasonably necessary to be provided to the Serviced Parcels and as are
otherwise agreed to with any other municipality in which a particular Serviced Parcel may be
located.
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SECTION 4. The City of Cambridge, the City of Somerville and the City of Boston are
each hereby authorized to enter into agreements with one another, to the extent such Cities deem
such agreements to be necessary and/or convenient, concerning Cambridge’s provision of
Emergency Services and, to the extent applicable, Other Municipal Services to the Serviced
Parcels, upon such terms and conditions as the Cities may agree. In the event that the Cities fail
to or have not entered into an agreement and the provision of Emergency Services or Other
Municipal Services are required by a Serviced Parcel, the City of Cambridge shall be permitted
to provide the services in connection with specific Serviced Parcels.
SECTION 5. The City of Cambridge shall have the authority to charge fees to the owner
of a Serviced Parcel relative to the provision of Emergency Services or Other Municipal Services
provided and allocable to such Serviced Parcel (“Assessments”).
SECTION 6. The City of Cambridge shall have the right (a) to assess and collect such
assessments against each of the Serviced Parcels in such amounts as will be set forth in the
agreement identified in Section 5 above, in a manner consistent with the manner in which it
assesses real estate taxes in the City of Cambridge under M.G.L. c. 59, and (b) to enforce the
collection of such amounts in the same manner in which it is entitled to enforce the collection of
real estate tax assessments pursuant to M.G.L. c. 59 and c. 60, including, without limitation, the
rights of the City of Cambridge to pursue takings for any unpaid amounts and foreclose on such
takings pursuant to the provisions of M.G.L. c. 60, § 53. The City of Cambridge shall (i) with
regard to the Serviced Parcels situated partially in the City of Cambridge, make such assessments
against the City of Cambridge tax parcel(s) containing a portion(s) of such Serviced Parcel; and
(ii) with regard to the Serviced Parcel situated entirely in the City of Somerville, make
assessments against one or more of the City of Cambridge tax parcels containing the CX Open
Space Parcels. Any and all such assessments have the force and effect of real estate tax
assessments made under the provisions of M.G.L. c. 59 and c. 60.
In City Council December 14, 2020.
Adopted by a yea and nay vote:-
Yeas 9; Nays 0; Absent 0.
Attest:- Anthony I. Wilson, City Clerk
A true copy;
ATTEST:-
Anthony I. Wilson
City Clerk