Housing Committee hold a meeting to discuss the Inclusionary Zoning preferential point system to determine if there are …

How it started

Proposed by Councillors Mazen and Cheung — a statement of the Council’s position, not a request for action.

What happened

✅ Adopted after amendments — first paused by a charter right, then adopted the following week; the request now goes to the City Manager. (Order adopted as amended · May 23, 2016)

Present and voting at this meeting (9)

Craig A. Kelley
David Maher
Dennis Carlone
E. Denise Simmons
Jan Devereux
Leland Cheung
Marc McGovern
Nadeem Mazen
Timothy J. Toomey

Adopted by voice vote. A voice vote records the outcome, not individual positions — no member's yes or no is on the record (though a member can ask to be recorded in the negative in the minutes). Showing the members who cast recorded votes at this meeting. Rule 6 requires a roll call for spending over $50 or on any member's request; state law requires one for every vote when a member participates remotely. · photos: City of Cambridge

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Taken upMay 23, 2016

Held — charter rightone member's right to pause

Order adopted as amended

The item's path through the council — every recorded step. How the request pipeline works

The document Agenda item attachment · 2 pages

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O-7

ORIGINAL ORDER

Artists provide an invaluable service to the City of Cambridge, as their work contributes to the community’s vibrant culture, yields economic gains, and is a source of creative energy that helps drive the City’s character, making it a more desirable place to live; and As of 2015, the median fine artist made $46,460 annually, far below most other professions; and The average home price in Cambridge is $648,000 and the average rental price for a one bedroom apartment is $2,293 per month; and In addition to housing, the rising cost of studio space places a major strain on artists, as a typical 200 square foot workspace can cost $500 per month; and Professional artists are being priced out of Cambridge and taking their talents to less costly cities and towns; and An exodus of artists from the City would be detrimental to the art sector of the economy, the aesthetic beauty of Cambridge, the well-being of its residents, and strength of its neighborhoods; and The City of Somerville has worked with developers to create affordable rental units specifically for artists; and The Boston Redevelopment Authority allocates affordable rental units and work spaces to visual, literary, and performing artists; and Both Boston and Somerville created Artist Certification processes to ensure that applicants qualified as artists living or working in their respective communities and could demonstrate to a committee of peers that they have a recent body of work as an artist; and The City’s Inclusionary Housing Program offers affordable housing units in Cambridge to low and middle income applicants; and

The Inclusionary Housing Program ranks applicants in the Rental Applicant Pool

based on a priority point system that assigns point values to Cambridge residents, families with children, and applicants with an emergency housing need; now therefore be it ORDERED: That the City Manager be and is hereby requested to collaborate with the Cambridge Arts Council to create a process for Artist Certification to ensure that applicants are full-time/career practicing artists; and be it further ORDERED: That the City Manager be and is hereby requested to prioritize the placement of artists in the Inclusionary Housing Program by assigning artists who have been certified by the Cambridge Arts Council one additional point in the Rental Application Pool.