Asked the City Manager to direct the Community Development Department to promptly draft a zoning petition to be considered for filing by the City Council, based upon the proposed Affordable Housing Overlay amendments now before the Housing Committee

Calendar Item # 1

That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to direct the Community Development Department to promptly draft a zoning petition to be considered for filing by the City Council, based upon the proposed Affordable Housing Overlay amendments now before the Housing Committee, with the following changes: The maximum height shall be 12 stories in the corridors and 15 stories in the squares, except as provided below The height may match the height of existing housing on the existing or an adjacent parcel, as proposed by the Cambridge affordable housing providers The zoning petition shall include the following Open Space Correction language: 11.207.5.2.4 Open Space (a) Except where the District Dimensional Standards establish a less restrictive requirement or as otherwise provided below, the minimum percentage of open space to lot area for an AHO Project shall be thirty percent (30%).

However, the minimum percentage of open space to lot area may be reduced to no less than fifteen percent (15%) if the AHO Project includes the preservation and protection of an existing building included on the State Register of Historic Places. (b) The required open space shall be considered Private Open Space but shall be subject to the limitations set forth below and shall not be subject to the dimensional and other limitations set forth in Section 5.22 of this Zoning Ordinance.

Private Open Space shall exclude parking and driveways for automobiles. (c) All of the required open space that is located at grade shall meet the definition of Permeable Open Space as set forth in this Zoning Ordinance.

(d) The required open space shall be located at Grade or on porches and decks that are no higher than the floor elevation of the lowest Story Above Grade, except that up to twenty five percent (25%) of the required open space may be located at higher levels, such as balconies and decks, only if it is accessible to all occupants of the building.

(e) For the purpose of this Affordable Housing Overlay, area used for covered or uncovered bicycle parking spaces that are not contained within a building shall be considered Private Open Space.

(f) In any AHO project where (a) pre-existing contiguous Green Area Open Space will be preserved and/or expanded in an amount representing 5% or more of the total lot area, including through consolidation and/or relocation of some portion of the Green Area Open Space to another part of the lot, without reducing the size of any contiguous portion or (b) the total Open Space will exceed the minimum amount required for the project, the project may exceed the applicable height limit without restriction, provided that the maximum possible FAR for the lot shall not be exceeded.

If the AHO project is not subject to an FAR restriction, maximum gross floor area shall be calculated based on the lot area less the portion of the lot area required to be open space under the AHO multiplied by the maximum number of stories otherwise applicable under the AHO; and be it further

That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to direct the CDD to report back on the new mass timber construction pathways (types IV-A, IV-B, and IV-C) from the 2021 International Building Code (21 IBC) which are currently under consideration by the Massachusetts Board of Building Regulation Standards (BBRS), and potential implications for building construction under the AHO; and be it further

That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to report back to the City Council on this matter no later than June 1, 2023.

In City Council May 8, 2023. Adopted by the affirmative vote of nine members. Attest:- Diane P. LeBlanc, City Clerk

A true copy;

ATTEST:-

Diane P. LeBlanc,

City Clerk

History: 05/01/23

City Council

CHARTER RIGHT

Next: 05/08/23