August 1, 2007 GAC Update
The big news from Monday’s City Council meeting was Councillor Michael Sullivan’s announcement that he will not seek re-election to the City Council this November.
Monday was the only meeting the Council will hold between the end of June and September the agenda was very long. This week’s update will focus on items on the Manager’s agenda. Next week’s Update will report on Policy orders, Committee Reports and other matters of interest from the meeting. The next City Council meeting is scheduled for September 10.
Yesterday was the deadline for candidates to file nominating petitions for the Special State Senate Election and for City Council and School Committee.
Both the House and Senate have passed bills to address the State Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling regarding the NorthPoint Development. There are differences in the bills which will need to be resolved.
A meeting of a nano-industry group being assembled in response to the City’s review of regulations of nano-materials will be meeting in the Chamber Board Room next Thursday, August 9 at 2 p.m. If you would like more information please contact Terrence F. Smith, Director of Government Affairs at tsmith@cambridgechamber.org or by phone at (617) 876-4213.
State Representative William Brownsberger will be our guest at the September GAC meting and luncheon. The rest of the fall program will be posted soon.
Thank you to Robert Winters for the Cambridge Civic Journal website at www.rwinters.com which is a font of timely information on activities and issues related to Cambridge governance and politics.
Upcoming GAC Events
The 2007 Government Affairs program is sponsored by Genzyme.
September 25, 2007
GAC Meeting and Luncheon
Noon, Chamber Board Room
Guest speaker State Representative William Brownsberger
October 23, 2007 TBA
November 27, 2007 TBA
July 30, 2007 City Council Meeting
Cambridge City Councillor and Middlesex County Clerk of Courts Michael Sullivan opened the meeting by thanking the community for the sympathy shown to his family during the past week following the death of his Uncle Edward Sullivan. He then announced that he will not be a candidate for re-election to the City Council this fall and noted the time he commits to both positions is time taken away from his young family.
Michael Sullivan has served on the Council since being elected in 1993 and served two terms as Mayor, 2002 to 2004 and 2004 to 2006. Last fall he was elected Middlesex County Clerk of Courts. He has served the City of Cambridge with diligence, dignity and grace and he is leaving large shoes to fill. Councillor Sullivan’s full statement is available on the Cambridge Civic Journal website at www.rwinters.org.
Fee for Lodging Houses to Increase
City Manager Agenda Item 31 includes a recommendation from the License Commission to increase the Lodging House License fee from $18.15 for the first four rooms at $18.15 for each additional room to $24 for the first four rooms and each additional room. This is the first increase in this fee since 1992.
Report on Banning Plastic Bags
City Manager Agenda Item 27 provides a report on current actions around the country and the world to ban non-biodegradable plastic bags at large retail stores. The report provides a balanced description of the issues and recommends that any action by Cambridge should be coordinated with a proposed ban being discussed in Boston.
Proposed Changes to Refuse and Liter Regulations
City Manager Agenda Item 33 provides draft amendments to the Cambridge Municipal Code on Refuse and Liter that would strengthen enforcement by adding inspectional service staff as enforcement agents, allow for fines up to $300, clarify duties of property owners and occupants, and clarify language regarding recycling and rubbish collection. Concern over rats has led the City to identify new tools to compel residents and property owners to better handle rubbish.
Zoning Matters
The Council received reports from the City Manager and from the Ordinance Committee on several matters related to the zoning ordinance.
The Council received a report on the City’s actions to use the zoning ordinance since the 1960s to encourage then discourage infill housing development. A copy of the report is available at City Manager Agenda Item 1.
This issue was raised in regard to a petition to rezone an area in mid-Cambridge, the Cott petition. Two reports related to this petition were also included in the Agenda. City Manager Agenda Item 4 provides information on development impacts under current and two possible zoning designations. City Manager Agenda Item 5 includes the Planning Board recommendation that this zoning change not be adopted as filed.
City Manager Agenda Item 3 provides a report on vehicles registered near major mass transit locations in response to a request on the appropriate parking space requirement should be for housing close to mass transit and a report on development of a green zone policy. The City looked at housing and vehicle registration data for census tracts within a quarter-mile of Red Line MBTA stations and found that half of the housing units in these zones had no vehicles registered, 40% had resident parking permits, half had off-street parking, and that on-site parking varied from 0 to 1.1 spaces per unit with the average being .5 spaces per unit. The report further notes that if the Council approved a reduction in the parking space requirement meeting this criteria it would in effect establish a green zone policy.
City Manager Agenda Item 6 includes a report from the Planning Board that does not recommend changes to the zoning ordinance related to the amount of electric service permitted to certain non-conforming office uses in residential neighborhoods. The Planning Board in its report notes a lack of technical expertise to assess the proposed change.
City Manager Agenda Item 29 and Committee Report 1 address how back and side yards are defined. This is an issue that arises due to the unique characteristics of many lots in Cambridge.
Environment and Energy
The Council received a number of reports regarding environmental and energy issues. City Manager Agenda Item 2 reports that MIT and Harvard have been contacted with requests that they share any wind-energy data that have developed for their campuses.
City Manager Agenda Item 28 provides draft language that could be the basis for a petition by the City Council to require that large building construction conform to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. The Council referred the matter as a zoning petition to the Ordinance Committee and the Planning Board.
Committee Report 5 provides information from a meeting held to discuss provisions in the building code, zoning ordinances and other city regulations that affect the ability to build “green” buildings and install wind or solar devices.
More Next Week
Next week’s Update will include a report on Policy Orders, Council Committee reports and other matters of interest from Monday’s meeting.
State Senate Special Election and City Council and School Committee Elections
Tuesday was the deadline for candidates to file for the September 11 Special Primary Election for the vacant State Senate seat and for candidates for City Council and School Committee. Robert Winters has posted the list of candidates for City Council and School Committee on the Cambridge Civic Journal website at www.rwinters.com. Certification of nominating papers for the Special Senate Election must be completed by August 6.
House and Senate Pass Tideland Bills
The House and the Senate passed Tideland Bills in the last week. There are major differences between the bills. The House bill establishes a new Office of Tidelands and Great Ponds. The Senate bill essentially codifies an administrative practice used by the Department of Environmental Protection since 1990. Text of the House Bill is available at HB 4184 as a PDF. The Senate Bill is available at SB 2306.
Links to recent media coverage on the Tidelands bill and NorthPoint are provided here:
Bill may stall Bullfinch Triangle project (Boston Globe, August 1, 2007)
On waterfront, no time to waste (Boston Globe, Editorial July 30, 2007)
Activists fight quick permit decisions (Boston Globe, July 29, 2007)
Multi-billion dollar NorthPoint is for sale (Boston Herald, July 29, 2007)
Feuding owners aim to sell NorthPoint (Boston Globe, July 25, 2007)
