February 11, 2008 City Council Meeting

The Council met on Monday and approved a recommendation from the City Manager that a task force be formed to review green building practices, received a report on enforcement of the snow removal ordinance, and discussed housing issues.

Green Building Task Force
City Manager Agenda Item 2 is a recommendation from the Community Development Department that the City Manager convene a task force to address a number of issues related to Green Buildings in Cambridge. The task force will include representatives from City departments, the business community, a local environmental group, citizens and major educational institutions.

This task force is being convened in response to a number of orders passed by the City Council and information gathered in Council committee hearings regarding opportunities to improve the energy efficiency of new development in Cambridge and address other environmental issues related to development. These issues have included proposed changes to the Zoning Ordinance related to the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) guidelines, protection for solar installations, and conflicts between existing regulations and energy efficiency goals.

The City Manager will put out an announcement soon looking for interested people to join this task force.
 
Enforcement of Snow Removal Regulations
City Manager Agenda Item 11 is a report on a number of issues related to the City’s enforcement of regulations requiring property owners to remove snow from sidewalks. The Manager reports that Parking Control officers and Department of Public Works (DPW) Compliance Officers issue snow tickets and staff from the DPW, Danehy Park and the Water Department remove snow from City property, major plazas and intersections and most MBTA bus stops.
 
The Manager reports that fines for un-shoveled snow have been increased from $25 to $35, that the City has improved its data management of tickets written. The City has increased public outreach regarding responsibilities to remove snow from walks. The DPW is recruiting for a Task Force to work with the City on a comprehensive sidewalk clearance campaign.
 
Housing Issues
The Council discussed a report from the City Manager regarding Cambridge residents being selected for affordable housing units and Council policy orders regarding affordable housing developments in the Wellington-Harrington neighborhood. This discussion previewed the Council’s special meeting on the City’s housing policy on March 5th.
 
City Manager Agenda Item 3 is a report on how long recipients of affordable housing have lived in Cambridge prior to being approved for affordable housing. The City Manager reports that 51 of 53 rental units produced in the past 18 months went to people residing in Cambridge and 129 of the 138 home ownership units marketed and sold went to Cambridge residents. Non-residents are provided units incases where funding does not permit a residency preference and in cases when resident and non-resident applicants total equal number of points with the inclusion of points for residency.
 
Several Council Policy Orders are in response to proposed affordable housing developments in the Wellington-Harrington neighborhood. Policy Order 5 asks the non-profit developer of two projects to postpone hearings until after March 18 and asks the Planning Board and the Board of Zoning Appeals to delay decisions on permit applications until after that date.    Policy Orders 20 and 21 request assistance from City staff for residents in the Wellington-Harrington neighborhood.
 
Policy Order 19 specifies information the Council would like presented at the March 5 Special City Council Meeting on the City’s housing policy.

February 12, 2008 Planning Board Town-Gown Meeting

The Planning Board held its annual Town-Gown meeting on Tuesday, February 12. The purpose of the meeting is to provide the Planning Board with an update on development at Cambridge’s four institutions of higher learning: Cambridge College, Harvard University, Lesley University, and MIT. As part of the Town-Gown process the institutions are requested to report information in a number of areas including employment, enrollment, and student housing data and information on real estate holdings and development plans. This information is available on the City of Cambridge website at Cambridge Town-Gown.

The presentations reflected the complexity of the issues facing each institution. The Planning Board appeared most interested in working relationships with neighbors and how institutional planning and development supports the community at large. Several questions were asked about how development will support existing general retail and how the institutions are looking at integrating retail into present and future development efforts.