The Flexible Parking Corridor Zoning Petition. ADOPTED AS A CITY COUNCIL ZONING PETITION AND REFERRED TO THE ORDINANCE COMMITTEE AND PLANNING BOARD IN COUNCIL OCTOBER 21, 2024. PASSED TO A SECOND READING IN COUNCIL DECEMBER 2, 2024

RECOMMENDED ZONING PETITION

To amend Articles 2.000, 4.000, and 6.000 of the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance as follows for the purpose of allowing greater flexibility for property owners to make more efficient use of existing underutilized Off Street Parking Facilities and vacant lots to serve parking needs in areas where on- street parking is limited.

Amendments to Article 2.000 – Definitions

Add the following definition: Flexible Parking Corridor. A street or street segment with a set of modified off street parking regulations set forth in Section 6.25 of this Zoning Ordinance, intended to allow for the more efficient and flexible use of Off Street Parking Facilities through the relaxation of certain zoning limitations.

Amendments to Article 4.000 – Use Regulations

Add footnotes 64 and 65 to 4.30 Table of Use Regulations to read as follows:

Open Space A 1&2 B C, C-1, C- 1A, 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B Off 2A, 2, 3, 3A A-1, A-2, A-31 A-5 A, A-4 B, B- B-2 C A- A-2 A B- B-2 B 4.32 Transportation, Communication & Utility Uses

b. Automobile parking lot or parking garage for private passenger cars18 Yes SP64, SP64,

Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes

Add footnotes 64 and 65 to 4.40 Footnotes to the Table of Use Regulations to read as follows: 64. Except as provided in Section 6.25 Flexible Parking Corridor Regulations. 65. Permitted as-of-right on a lot owned by the City of Cambridge.

Amendments to Article 6.000

Add Section 6.25 – Flexible Parking Corridor Regulations to read as follows:

6.25 Flexible Parking Corridor Regulations. The parking regulations of this Zoning Ordinance may be modified as set forth in this Section 6.25. 6.25.1 Intent. It is the intent of this Section 6.25 to allow greater flexibility for the use of existing underutilized Off Street Parking Facilities and vacant lots to serve parking needs in areas where on- street parking is limited. 6.25.2 Applicability.

The provisions of this Section shall apply to any Lot, as defined in Article 2.000, that directly abuts one or more of the following streets or street segments. Such lot must also have existing curb cut access and must either contain principal or accessory parking facilities in existence on the date of adoption of this Section 6.25 or be a vacant lot on which all buildings or land have been abandoned or not used since no later than 2 years before such date of adoption.

Flexible Parking Corridors:

Aberdeen Avenue between Huron Avenue and Mount Auburn Street

Acorn Park Drive

Ames Street

Belmont Street between the City Line and Mount Auburn Street

Bennett Street

Binney Street between the Grand Junction Corridor and Land Boulevard

Bow Street between Massachusetts Avenue and Dewolfe Street

Brattle Street

Broadway

Brookline Street between Granite Street and Massachusetts Avenue

Cambridge Street

Cambridgepark Drive west of Steel Place

Concord Avenue between Blanchard Road and Birch Street

Dewolfe Street between Bow Street and Memorial Drive

Eliot Street

First Street between Cambridge Street and Binney Street AND between Athenaeum Street

and Main Street

Franklin Street between Western Avenue and Magazine Street

Galilei Way

Garden Street between Huron Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue

Granite Street between Pearl Street and Brookline Street

Hampshire Street

Huron Avenue between Grove Street and Concord Avenue

JFK Street between Eliot Street and the City Line

Kirkland Street between Oxford Street and the City Line

Magazine Street between Franklin Street and Massachusetts Avenue

Main Street

Massachusetts Avenue

Mount Auburn Street

Museum Way

New Street between the Danehy Park Driveway and Fresh Pond Mall property line

North First Street

Peabody Street

Pearl Street

River Street

Somerville Avenue

Steel Place between Alewife Station Access Road and Cambridgepark Drive

Sidney Street Extension

Third Street between Binney Street and Broadway

Quincy Street between Kirkland Street and Harvard Street

University Road between Mount Auburn Street and Bennett Street

Vassar Street

Waverly Street between Brookline Street and Henry Street

Webster Avenue

Western Avenue

6.25.3 Relaxation of Requirements. Notwithstanding the requirements otherwise applicable in the zoning district or set forth elsewhere in this Article 6.000, a lot meeting the criteria in Subsection 6.25.2 above may be used in the following ways. Except as provided in this Section 6.25, all other applicable requirements of this Zoning Ordinance shall be in effect. (a) Commercial Parking. Parking spaces may be used as-of-right as Commercial Parking Spaces as defined in Chapter 10.16 of the Cambridge Municipal Code, provided that they comply with the applicable provisions of Chapter 10.16.

(b) Shared Parking. Parking spaces may be used as-of-right to serve principal uses located on other lots that abut any one or more of the Flexible Parking Corridors listed in Subsection 6.25.2. The requirements for control of off-site parking facilities in Section 6.23 shall not apply. 6.25.4 Limitations. (a) Where existing parking facilities are used, no more than the number of spaces in existence as of the date of adoption of this Section 6.25 may be used as set forth in Subsection 6.25.3. Modifications to the existing parking facility may be permitted if they do not further violate any standards of Section 6.40 Design and Maintenance of Off Street Parking Facilities.

(b) On a vacant lot, parking may be provided temporarily for a period of no more than two years, in which case it shall not be subject to the standards for Design and Maintenance of Off Street Parking Facilities in Section 6.40, but must conform to the minimum standards set forth below. 1. Signage containing the following information must be visibly displayed on the lot: i. Name and contact information of either the owner or the lessee (if the lot is leased to no more than one entity). ii.

Contact Information for any contracted tow company. iii. An indication of who is allowed to park in the lot. For example, “Parking allowed only by permission of the owner” or “Parking for customers of [Business Name] only.” 2. Only the existing curb cut access may be used, and may not be enlarged. 3.

A barrier or barriers (such as a curb stop or fence) must be installed along the perimeter sufficient to prevent parked vehicles from encroaching into the street or sidewalk and to prevent vehicles from entering or exiting the lot anywhere other than via the existing curb cut.

(c) A vacant lot may be used as parking for more than two years only if it is designed and maintained to conform with the standards in Section 6.40.

(d) The requirements of the Parking and Transportation Demand Management Ordinance, where applicable, shall be met. All new parking spaces created shall be registered with the Cambridge Traffic, Parking and Transportation Department per Section 10.18.040.