A Planning Board recommendation on the "Friends of MAPOCO" Zoning Petition

CITY HALL ANNEX, 344 BROADWAY, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02139

Page 1 of 2 Date: Subject: Kroon, et al., “Friends of MAPOCO” Zoning Petition (Refiled) Recommendation: The Planning Board recommends ADOPTION of the petition, with suggested amendments as set forth in the attached document. To the Honorable, the City Council, On June 21, 2016, the Planning Board held a public hearing on the refiled version of the “Friends of MAPOCO” petition suggesting modifications to the zoning provisions of the Massachusetts Avenue Overlay District in the segment between Porter Square and the Cambridge Common. This refiled version of the petition took, as its starting point, the previous Planning Board recommendation communicated to the Council in February. The Board continues to support the proposed changes as an interim measure to better regulate redevelopment that may occur over the next few years, while more comprehensive planning may take place in the future. The petition still aims to extend the provisions currently applicable in the Business A-2 (BA-2) district north of Porter Square (adopted in 2012 as the North Massachusetts Avenue Subdistrict) into the BA-2 district south of Porter Square, with some slight variations. The intent of these provisions is to require retail or other streetfront-oriented non-residential uses at the ground floors of new residential development, while allowing some modest flexibility in dimensional requirements such as FAR, height and setbacks to facilitate a mixed-use urban form. The refiled petition includes some deviations from the prior Planning Board recommendation, many of which the Board finds to be appropriate. However, in the specific areas listed below, the Planning Board recommends an alternate approach. 1. In Section 20.106, the Board agrees with the added language clarifying that parking is prohibited at the ground floors of buildings; however, the Board believes that this restriction should apply only to the first 40 feet of frontage. Parking could be allowed in the rear portions of a building if necessary, but access drives that are provided underneath or through the front portion of a building would only be allowed with special permit approval from the Planning Board. 2. Also in Section 20.106, the Board believes that it is not appropriate, and may raise legal concerns, to require the square footage of demolished buildings to be replaced, and therefore does not recommend adopting that requirement.

City of Cambridge, MA • Planning Board Recommendation