August 16, 2006 GAC Update
The City Council met in a Special Summer meeting on Monday August 7. Last week’s Update included reports on a proposal to change the distribution of Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds to reduce the amount for affordable housing, several agenda items regarding construction and building regulations and changes to the Zoning Ordinance.
This week’s s Update includes reports on agenda items regarding litter and City beautification efforts, traffic and parking issues, and employment opportunities for Cambridge residents. The Council also received a report in response to an order regarding tax payments by universities.
The next GAC meeting is scheduled for September 26. This will be a working meeting to discuss members’ ideas for the Committee for the next couple of years. I have provided a draft agenda below. An Executive Speaker luncheon is being planned for October 24 and a regular GAC meeting is planned for November 28.
Upcoming GAC Events
The 2006 Government Affairs program is sponsored by Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research.
The GAC will meet on Tuesday September 26, 2006 at noon in the Chamber Board Room. The topic will be a discussion among those GAC members about the direction of this committee for the next couple of years. A draft agenda is provided below:
Draft Agenda
1. Welcome and Introductions
2. Events
Summary of GAC activities since December 2003
Planned events Fall 2006 to 2008
Opportunity for committee members to suggest events
3. Other Activities
Need for/interest in a steering committee
Need for/interest in policy specific sub-committees
Need for/interest in other GAC activities
Please let me know if you plan to attend or if you have any suggestions for this draft agenda.
Also let me know if you think this meeting is unnecessary and I’ll find a speaker for a more usual GAC guest speaker luncheon. Please send your thoughts on this matter to me at tsmith@cambridgechamber.org or phone me at (617) 876-4213.
August 7, 2006 City Council Meeting Part II
Last week’s Update included reports on agenda items regarding construction and building regulations and changes to the Zoning Ordinance. This week’s Update will provide a report on agenda items regarding litter and City beautification efforts, traffic and parking issues, employment opportunities for Cambridge residents, and university property ownership.
Traffic and Parking
The Council discussed a previously tabled report from the Manager regarding a policy order requesting traffic and accident enforcements statistics and received responses to two orders regarding off-street parking.
The Council discussed a massive report provided by the Police Department in response to an order requesting information on traffic enforcement including location and action taken and information about accidents including location and type of accident. The report it was reported weighed almost 15 pounds and required three full weeks of a senior officers time to complete. This report led to a discussion on the type of data being requested by Councillors and the administrative effort required respond to some requests. The Councillor who requested the information was upset that the information was massive and hard to understand and requested the data in a digital format. A copy of the original order is available at Policy Order 13 from the April 3, 2006 City Council meting. A copy of the Manager’s reply is available in the City Clerk’s Office.
The Council also received responses to requests for information about the use of car stacking lifts to increase off street parking and the legality of property owners charging for the use of parking required under the zoning code. The Manager’s response to the first request (City Manager’s Report 8) was that lifts are not prohibited. The report notes several operational issues and also notes that under the vehicle trip reduction ordinance passed by the Council in 1992 the City’s policy has been to limit rather than maximize off street parking. The response to the second order (City Manager’s Report 9) was that the City is seeking to discourage auto trips and that free parking creates a strong incentive for driving. City policies encourage, and in some cases require, property owners to charge for parking. The later report was referred to the Transportation, Traffic and Parking Committee.
Litter and City Beautification
In response to concerns about rats the Council passed changes to the rubbish ordinance in January that went into effect in April. The Council received a report on the effectiveness of the new policy (City Manager’s Report 10). The Council also passed two related orders. One asks how the City can work with others, including the Chamber of Commerce, to improve look of City gateways (Policy Order 33) and on the other asks for a litter control strategy (Policy Order 12).
Employment Opportunities for City Residents
Employment issues were also discussed at this meeting. The Mayor announced that 820 City youth were hired under the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program this year. The Council received a report (City Manager’s Report 11) on a Job Fair held in the Area Four neighborhood and asked for a report on ways to expand employment opportunities for Cambridge residents with Cambridge businesses (Policy Order 54).
Tax Payments by Universities
The Council received a report from the City Manager on the taxes paid by Harvard, Lesley, and MIT on taxable properties, the Payment in Lieu of Taxes paid by Harvard and MIT, and the value of properties owned by these three institutions. The report notes that the tax-exempt properties were assessed based on current use and may or may not be conducive to commercial use and also reports on the percentage of properties that would be taxed as residential or commercial for each institution. The report is available at City Manager’s Report 12.
