City Manager Agenda Item · Curb Cuts Ordinance Final 7.29.26

CITY OF CAMBRIDGE In the Year Two Thousand and Twenty-Six AN ORDINANCE In amendment to the Ordinance entitled “Cambridge Municipal Code.” Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Cambridge that the Municipal Code of the City of Cambridge be amended by addition of Chapter 12.24, entitled “Delegation of Curb Cut Authority” to read as follows: 12.24 Delegation of Curb Cut Authority Ordinance. 12.24.010 Short title. Sections 12.24.010 to 12.24.070 may be cited as the "Curb Cuts Ordinance" of the City of Cambridge. 12.24.020 Statement of Purpose. The Cambridge City Council (Council) hereby finds that regulations governing the creation and removal of curb cuts are necessary to avoid the creation of nuisances, hazards, or unreasonable impediments to traffic. Whereas the Council has statutory authority to ordain such regulations, the Council also has authority to delegate to the City’s Inspectional Services Department, and other City of Cambridge departments as necessary, the authority to review and approve or deny curb cuts. The purpose of delegating this authority to the Inspectional Services Department, and other City of Cambridge departments, as necessary, is to promote the efficiency of the municipal government while making the process of creating and removing curb cuts subject to clearly stated publicly available regulations. 12.24.030 Definitions. The following words shall for the purposes of this Chapter and/or any regulations promulgated pursuant to this Chapter, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings: A. "City" shall mean the City of Cambridge. B. "Inspectional Services Department" or “ISD” shall mean the City’s Inspectional Services Department. C. “ISD Commissioner” shall mean the Commissioner of Inspectional Services Department or their designee.

12.24.040 Applicability. A. These sections shall apply to every application for the addition or modification of a curb cut on a public way within the City. B. These sections shall not apply to the closing of a curb cut since no application or permit is required for such action. 12.24.050 Regulations and Approval of Curb Cuts. A. Regulations. The ISD Commissioner shall have the authority to draft and promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of this ordinance. B. Approval of Curb Cuts. The ISD Commissioner shall approve or deny applications for a curb cut. 12.24.060 Enforcement. A. Noncriminal Disposition. Whoever violates any provision of this chapter or any regulations promulgated hereunder may be penalized by a noncriminal disposition as provided in G.L. c. 40, s. 21D. For purposes of this section, the ISD Commissioner and their designee shall be the enforcing officer. The penalty for each violation shall not exceed three hundred dollars. Each day's violation shall constitute a separate violation. B. Criminal Penalty. Any person who violates any provisions of this chapter or any regulations promulgated hereunder may be subject to a fine not exceeding three hundred dollars, and each day's violation shall constitute a separate offense. For purposes of this section, the ISD Commissioner shall be the enforcing officer, except that the ISD Commissioner may delegate their enforcing authority to designated Inspectional Services Enforcement Officers. 12.24.070 Conformity with existing state and federal law and severability. These sections shall be implemented in conformity with all applicable provisions of federal, state, and local laws, and the provisions of these sections are severable; if any provision, or portion thereof, should be held to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality or invalidity shall not affect the remaining provisions, which shall remain in full force and effect. 12.24.080 Effective date. This Chapter shall be effective upon enactment.