The Council met this week and approved the Water and Sewer rates for the coming year and received a report regarding the application of the Zoning Ordinance on parcels that are in more than one zoning district. The Council also received a report from the Council’s meeting on Housing Policy. A follow-up Council Housing Committee hearing on the City’s housing policy is scheduled for next Wednesday April 2.
Massachusetts Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Suzanne Bump spoke at the Chamber’s GAC/Executive Speaker luncheon Wednesday March 26. She spoke about the Governor’s economic development priorities and the work of her office. A full report on her remarks will be provided in next week’s update. Thank you to Secretary Bump, to Genzyme for sponsoring the GAC this year, to Joan Wood Senior Vice President for Leadership &Organization Development at Genzyme for introducing our speaker, to the Cambridge Hyatt for a great meal and venue and to all who attended.
On Tuesday evening the City Council’s Health and Environment Committee conduct a public meeting to discuss the matter of presenting a status report on the Cambridge Energy Alliance (CEA). It was reported that the full CEA program will be available in early summer. The CEA will be featured on the PBS Emmy Award Winning weekly newsmagazine, NOW, this Friday, March 28 at 8 p.m. It will air locally on WGBH, as well as on 300 affiliate stations across the country. The program can also be viewed online at www.pbs.org/now
Jim Scafide from the Office of Attorney General Martha Coakley has informed the Chamber of a scheduling conflict on April 29 and will now be our guest at the Wednesday May 21 GAC meeting. The guest for our April GAC is to be announced.
Upcoming GAC Events
The 2008 Government Affairs program is sponsored by Genzyme.
April GAC Meeting and Luncheon
Tuesday April 22 or Tuesday April 29, 2008
Guest and Date TBA
May GAC Meeting and Luncheon
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
James Scafide, Chief of the Business Technology and Economic Development Division of the Office of Massachusetts Attorney General, will be our guest at the May GAC meeting and luncheon. He will discuss Attorney General Martha Coakley’s initiatives around job creation and economic development and is interested in learning what issues are of importance to the Cambridge business community.
Noon, Chamber Board Room
If you plan to attend please RSVP to Terrence Smith, Director of Government Affairs at tsmith@cambridgechamber.org or by phone at 617-876-4213.
(Note change of date for the guest and that the meeting is scheduled for Wednesday)
June GAC Meeting and Luncheon
June 24, 2008
Cambridge Police Commissioner Robert Haas will address the June GAC Meeting and Luncheon
Noon, Chamber Board Room
If you plan to attend please RSVP to Terrence Smith, Director of Government Affairs at tsmith@cambridgechamber.org or by phone at 617-876-4213.
March 24, 2008 City Council Meeting
The Council met this week and approved the Water and Sewer rates for the coming year. The rates for water and sewer will go up this year after a 0% increase last year. The Council received a report regarding the application of the Zoning Ordinance on parcels that are in more than one zoning district. The Council received a report from the Council’s meeting on Housing Policy held on March 5, 2008.
Water and Sewer Rates to Increase
City Manager Agenda Item 1 is a communication from the City Manager recommending approval of the block rates for water consumption and sewer us that will go into effect on April 1, 2008. The water rate will increase by 2.1% and the sewer use rate will increase by 4.8% for an increase of 3.9% of the combined rate.
The increase is lower than was estimated. At that time the City estimated that the rate increase for water would by 2.1% this year and that the sewer use rate would increase by 7.7% for a combined increase of 5.8%. There was a 0% increase in both water and sewer rates in 2007.
The major factors in the increase include an 8.8% increase in the Massachusetts Water resources Authority (MWRA) assessment to the City, debt service on bonds for sewer reconstruction projects and employee salary and benefit increases.
The Council approved the rate increase and the increased rates will be reflected in the April water and sewer bills.
Interpretation of Zoning Ordinance
City Manager Agenda Item 4 responds to a Council order regarding how open space requirements of the Zoning Ordinance are interpreted when a parcel is in more than one zoning district. The response from the City Solicitor is that the calculation for the open space requirement is based on the overall lot and that the owner may locate the open space anywhere on the lot as long as all other dimensional and set-back requirements are met.
Report from Special City Council Meeting on Housing Policy The Council held a Special Meeting on housing policy on March 5 and Monday’s agenda included a summary of important discussion points from that meeting prepared by the City Clerk. Please contact Terrence Smith at the Chamber at 617-876-4213 or by e-mail at tsmith@cambridgechamber.org or the City Clerk’s office if you would like a copy of this report.
The Council’s Housing Committee will hold a follow-up hearing on this topic next Wednesday, April 2 at 4:00 p.m. in the Ackerman Room, City Hall.
View current GCA Update
For a listing of public meetings, visit the Public Meetings link or the Public Meeting Notices area of the City of Cambridge Web site.
