City Council Agenda Highlights (8/1/16) (One Response)

The agenda for the Cambridge City Council’s special summer meeting on Monday, August 1, is posted on the Open Meeting Portal. Because it is our only regular meeting between June 27 and September 12, the agenda is very long, and we have been advised to bring an overnight bag (kidding!). My attempt to highlight items of interest here is not encyclopedic, but the full agenda is online if any interested in doing a deep dive into municipal governance. Please note that this meeting has been relocated to the (air-conditioned) School Committee meeting room at CRLS.

City Manager’s Agenda:

#1-7 Appointments and re-appointments to the following boards and commissions: Human Rights Commission, Family Policy Council, Cambridge Health Alliance, Council on Aging, Historical Commission, Avon Hill Neighborhood Conservation District Commission, and Half Crown-Marsh Neighborhood District Commission. With two months left in office, Rich Rossi is exercising his managerial authority by filling vacancies and renewing terms for those expiring. Applications are being accepted for new members on the Planning Board, the Council on Aging and the Water Board.

#8 Polling location change and youth center name change: Due to the King Open School construction project voting is being moved to the Frisoli Youth Center. And the Area 4 Youth Center has been renamed the Moses Youth Center (Area 4 is was renamed The Port earlier this year). There’s a primary in two state elections on Thursday, Sept. 8.

#10 Sidewalks along north side of Huron Ave from Fresh Pond Parkway to Grove St will have to wait: DPW’s response to a policy order I sponsored acknowledges that it is a priority to complete the pedestrian infrastructure along this key arterial road, but it does not offer any timeline. It also says any changes would need to be approved by the Water Board because of potential impact on Fresh Pond Reservation. I’m disappointed by the lack of urgency. (See above: You can apply to be on the Water Board; the deadline is Aug. 19.)

#11 Grant for design of three “green streets” to treat stormwater: A Mass DEP grant of $45K would be augmented by $20K of city funds for this 14-month project. The report does not specify which three streets would be selected but it says they will be in “space-constrained residential settings.”

#13 Feral cats are not a problem in North Cambridge but we are ready if they become one: There is a long report on the success of prior Trap Neuter Release programs in other cities.

#14 Planning Board decision in support of the MAPOCO Petition: The favorable memo recommends a few tweaks. Procedurally this petition will need to be passed to a second reading and ordained before it expires on Sept. 20

#15 Hubway bike-sharing contract: The current contract with Motivate expires in 2017 and the four cities in the Hubway network (Boston, Cambridge, Somerville and Brookline) are seeking the authority to award the next contract for a 5-year term (rather than 3) with the possibility of a 2-year extension.

#16-27 Grants for various human services and education programs: It’s interesting to see the number of grant-funded programs that enrich our community with job training, ESL classes, preschools and early childhood ed, parenting workshops, career and college counseling programs, and immigrant services. For example, did you know that the city spends over $240K to provide nutritious lunches to young people (up to age 19) during the summer at 26 sites? The total for all these grants together is over $1.3M.

#29 & #30 Grand Junction Path planning updates: A memo from Secretary of Transportation Stephanie Pollack pledges Mass DOT’s commitment to working with Cambridge on sharing the state’s rail right of way. A memo from CCD head Iram Farooq lists the various development projects along the path and the status of their permitting and contributions/commitments from the developers/owners. CDD is drafting a petition for a Grand Junction Path zoning overlay district.

#32 Are the City’s Retirement Funds invested in nuclear weapon makers? Our funds are invested in several mutual fund portfolios and the percentage of their holdings in companies like Lockheed Martin, Honeywell and Northrop Grumman is deemed de miniumus. Some may feel even a penny made from the nuclear weapon industry is morally compromised, but the report indicates that there are challenges to screening funds to eliminate all exposure.

#33 Dog park in East Cambridge, finally: A dedicated off-leash area will be created next year in a portion of Rogers Park. There will be public meetings this fall to discuss its design. In the meantime a fenced area near the Foundry building will be designated a temporary off-leash area for use this fall and next spring (not during the winter). Once construction starts on the Foundry it will no longer be available.

#34 Adopt-a-Tree program and other tree care measures: This report responds to a policy order I sponsored. An insert that encourages residents to water trees will be included in the Water Department’s mailings this fall. The city also pays “bike interns” to water trees (apply here) and is working with the Committee on Public Planting to develop an adopt-a-tree program.

#36 Home rule petition for pool relocation and geothermal wells at Cambridge Street/King Open School project: We need the state legislature’s permission to resolve a zoning technicality related to the school construction project. If you are interested in the details, read the manager’s memo and see the site plan. The new pool will be larger.

#37 & 38 Executive session needed to discuss purchase of rail right of way behind New St: The cost of the land acquisition has increased modestly(+$43K) from the original estimate of $800K, which we approved at our last meeting. The manager recommends we discuss this purchase negotiation in a non-public executive session.

Applications and Petitions:

#4 Medical Marijuana Dispensary on Smith Place?: This petition seeks to extend the existing medical marijuana zoning overlay district to include 29 Smith Place (near the Burger King and the to-be-developed affordable housing at 671-75 Concord Ave). Another licensee wishes to go forward with plans to locate a dispensary nearby at 61 Mooney St, a location that the prior Council voted to support (see Policy Order #11). Do we really need to change the zoning again to permit two MMDs less than half a mile from each other? The Ordinance Committee already has a hearing scheduled on August 31 to review a petition to rezone part of Harvard Sq for an MMD, and Sage’s approved dispensary at 1001 Mass Ave will open this fall. This would make four.

#3, #6, #7 & #8 Applications for sidewalk displays and sandwich board signs: I plan to hold a committee hearing this fall to discuss our policy goals for permitting freestanding signs and other encroachments onto the public way. One of the applications is for a sidewalk sign near the outdoor seating for the Beat Hotel restaurant in Harvard Sq, where the public way is already quite cluttered. Another is for a sidewalk display of bulky hardware merchandise (lawn mowers, snow blowers, grills) on a crowded stretch of Mass Ave near City Hall.

#9 More surface parking on Smith Place?: The Davis Companies, a major land owner in the Quad, is seeking to expand surface parking for its commercial tenants along Smith Place by demolishing a warehouse building at 49 Smith Place. I struggle to see how enabling more surface parking furthers our broader planning goals in the Quad, which is the focus of Envision Cambridge’s Alewife planning process and is one of the city’s worst heat islands. We should consider greatly restricting surface parking for any future development there.

Policy Orders:

#1 Internal audit of city salaries for gender disparities: The mayor’s ad hoc committee on women’s equal pay would like to review the city’s own salary data for possible wage gaps.

#2 & #3 Roundtables this fall: We will hold roundtable meetings to discuss suggestions for improving voter education and turnout (Oct. 24) and to discuss early childhood ed and charter schools with the School Committee (date tbd). Roundtables replace regular Monday meetings and do not include public comment or votes.

#4 Additional police assigned to public housing?: The mayor suggests we follow Boston’s example and assign more police officers “to work collaboratively with and exclusively within Cambridge Housing Authority premises.” In light of the Public Safety Committee hearing we held last week about the police department’s response, which many felt was inappropriately militarized, to a recent Black Lives Matter gathering, I wonder whether an increased police presence would be perceived by BLM and others as helpful. BLM is demanding more resources for underserved communities and people of color, but in the form of funding for housing, education and job training. More patrols by uniformed officers may not be the answer to addressing public safety concerns that stem from systemic racism. I would like to hear from BLM, CPD, and CHA residents and management.

#5 When will Part II of the Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment be released? The report on sea level rise and storm surges was due last February and has been delayed without explanation. I co-sponsored this order with Councillors Kelley and Maher. Hurricane season is approaching, and 2030 is not that far off.

#6 Drought protections for street trees: I sponsored this request for additional protections for our public trees during periods of drought and intense heat. Take a look at the trees on your street. Many younger trees are struggling. Please water them!

#7 Condemning Callahan for wage theft and other shady practices: This is a strongly worded order that stops just short of asking for a boycott on Callahan for all construction projects in the city. Recently completed residential projects of Callahan’s are Fuse on Cambridgepark Drive and Chroma on Sidney St.

#8 Resume trash and recycling collection for small businesses?: The city used to offer trash and recycling collection to small business for a fee, but now these businesses are required to hire private disposal services, raising their costs and increasing traffic congestion. Time to rethink this policy?

#10 Enable residents to report a “tree in distress”: I cosponsored this order with Councillor Cheung to add this feature to the Commonwealth Connect app. We can already report dead trees — why not sick ones that need some TLC?

#11 Medical Marijuana Dispensary on Mooney St: See my comments above on the application for an MMD on Smith Place (#4 under Applications and Petitions). How many do we need in such close proximity?

#12 Violations of crosswalk laws: The mayor is asking for a report on where motorists frequently ignore pedestrians in crosswalks. I’d add that pedestrians very often ignore the “Don’t Walk” crosswalk signs, too. Everyone needs to slow down and respect other people using our streets.

#14 Status of the Table of Uses study?: I sponsored this order to ask for an update on the completion of a zoning study that has been in progress well over a year.  The Table of Uses guides land use decisions and is sorely in need of updating.

#15 Artist of the Month grant program: Councillor Mazen suggests we create a program to nominate an artist each month for a $2K grant. The Arts Council already makes grants but the application process is lengthy and this would raise the program’s public visibility and increase access.

#16 Restore the mural at Rindge Field: The “Cambridge” mural was painted by three Eagle Scouts in 2004. The order asks that we contact them to see if they would be willing to help restore it. Anyone know how to reach Phil Pare, Ryan Sheapare or Alex Lukas?

Committee Reports:

There are 12 committee reports (!) on a range of topics including: traffic safety in Inman Square, leaf blowers, Airbnb, the city manager search process, the inclusionary housing study, liquor licenses, the redesign of the Out of Town News plaza in Harvard Sq, MAPOCO and Volpe zoning, and smoking on construction sites.

We have six hearings on the calendar in August:

Aug. 3 at 3:00pm: Continuation of discussion on regulating Airbnb and short-term rentals (see report of 1st hearing)

Aug. 15 at 5:30pm: Continuation of discussion about changes to our inclusionary zoning ordinance (see prior hearing reports)

Aug. 23 at 3:00pm: Urban agriculture draft ordinance for bees, chickens etc.

Aug. 25 at 6:00pm: Ways to improve voter turnout in municipal elections

Aug. 29 at 5:30pm: Campaign finance reform and publicly-funded municipal elections

Aug. 31 at 3:00pm: Medical marijuana zoning for Harvard Square (the proposed dispensary would replace the Red House restaurant on Winthrop St)

Public Comment and Viewing Meetings:

NOTE: The 8/1 meeting will be held in the School Committee Room at CRLS. Public comment begins at 5:30 pm. Each person is allowed to speak for 3 minutes on any agenda item except for communications from other members of the public. You may call 617-349-4280 on Monday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm to sign up to speak, or sign in when you arrive (before 6:00 pm). To submit written comments, please email council@cambridgema.gov and cc City Clerk Donna Lopez at dlopez@cambridgema.gov. Your comments will appear on the public record (under “Communications”) at the next regular Council meeting.

City Council meetings are televised on Channel 22-CityView and live streamed on the City Council’s website. Recorded versions of all Council meetings may be found on the city’s Open Meeting Portal.

Make a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

You can make the comment area bigger by pulling the arrow. If you are techie, you can use basic HTML tags and attributes to format your comment.

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

{"widget_type":"comment_query","include_string":389,"exclude_string":"","page":0,"query_type":"","supplemental_filter":""}