Planning Board Chair Addresses May GAC Meeting and Luncheon
Barbara Shaw, Chair of the Cambridge Planning Board, was the guest at the May 17 Government Affairs Committee meeting and luncheon. Ms. Shaw discussed the work of the board, made-up of seven members plus two alternates, which meets every other week during the year.  Members serve for five year terms and the chair serves for a two year term. She is in the second year of her term as chair.

Ms. Shaw is the Housing Development Director at Just-A-Start, a non-profit community development organization in Cambridge. She noted that on occasion she has had to recuse herself from discussions due to real or perceived conflicts with her role at Just-A-Start. The two alternates fill-in for members who cannot attend a meeting or must recuse themselves from discussions on a specific matter before the Board.

Ms. Shaw noted that most projects are approved by the Planning Board and that projects typically require two to three meetings. She noted that this was largely due to developers coming to the City early and working with City staff prior to projects going to the board. The easiest project that she has reviewed since joining the Board was the Stat building at MIT. The most difficult issues that come before the Board have to do with parking, where the Zoning Code establishes minimum and maximum requirements for commercial developments and minimum requirements for residential.

GAC members asked her a number of questions about how the Board works and its priorities. She noted that her number one priority is to get things done. She was asked about the Alewife area and noted that the Planning Board has forwarded recommendations for the Concord-Alewife area to the City Council and that two projects have been permitted at the former ADL site. She noted that of the 178 acres at Alewife 30 are in Cambridge. He was asked about design review responsibilities of the Planning Board and she discussed that this is usually only required when a Master Plan has been established for an area. Design review ensures that the project addresses the requirements of the Master Plan.

May 22nd City Council Meeting

FY 2006 Budget Passed
The Council, on a 9-0 vote, passed the budget for FY 2006. The $380 million budget will require a 2.5% increase in the tax levy, the smallest levy increase in a decade. Spending will increase by 4.2% from the current year, largely to cover increases in employee health care costs and scheduled salary increases.

Council Congratulates Scholarship Award Recipients
Every year the City raises funds to provide scholarships to Cambridge residents to continue their higher education. At Monday’s meeting the Council congratulated the 27 students who will receive scholarships for the 2005 and 2006 school year.

For a listing of public meetings, visit the Public Meetings link or the Public Meeting Notices area of the City of Cambridge Web site.