Paid legal notices for Cambridge for Nov. 17-24
Send legal ads and public notices at least six business days ahead of the intended publication date to [email protected] with contact information that includes a contact name, phone number and address.
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
The Planning Board of the City of Cambridge will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, November 21, 2023 at 6:30 p.m.
held remotely (see below for instructions to participate)
on a Zoning Petition by Allene Pierson et al.
to amend the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Cambridge by amending Section 4.31(i)(3) of the Table of Use Regulations such that “Lodging House” is changed from a permitted use (“Yes7”) to a prohibited use (“No”) in the Residence C, C-1, C-1A, C-2, C-2A, C-2B, C-3, C-3A, and C-3B zoning districts.
TO VIEW DOCUMENTS: Visit www.cambridgema.gov/cdd/zoninganddevelopment/zoning/amendments online. Printed copies are on file in the Office of the City Clerk, City Hall, Cambridge, Massachusetts and at the Community Development Department, 344 Broadway.
TO SEND WRITTEN COMMENTS: E-mailing [email protected] is preferred. You can also mail comments to Cambridge Planning Board, 344 Broadway, Third Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139. Written comments received by 5:00 P.M. the day before the meeting will be considered by Board Members in advance of the meeting. Comments received later will be entered into the record.
TO COMMENT IN REAL-TIME: Pursuant to Chapter 2 of the Acts of 2023 adopted by Massachusetts General Court and approved by the Governor, the City is authorized to use remote participation at meetings of the Cambridge Planning Board. You can view the meeting remotely and make comments by computer or telephone using Zoom Webinar. Visit www.cambridgema.gov/planningboard online to view the full meeting agenda, register for the Zoom Webinar, and get up-to-date information about the meeting.
TO VIEW MEETING ONLY: The meeting will be streamed online through the Open Meeting Portal at www.cambridgema.gov and broadcast on cable TV – Channel 22 within Cambridge.
FOR QUESTIONS OR ASSISTANCE: Questions concerning the petition may be addressed to Daniel Messplay at 617 349-4652 or [email protected]. Contact Swaathi Joseph at 617/349-4668 (TTY 617/349-4621) or [email protected] for information about the meeting.
Meeting Notice
Avon Hill Neighborhood Conservation District Commission
Notice is hereby given that a public meeting will be held on Monday, November 27, 2023, at 5:30PM to consider the following matters under M.G.L. Ch. 40C and Ch. 2.78 of the Code of the City of Cambridge.
This meeting will be held online with remote participation. The public can participate online via the Zoom webinar platform (https://zoom.us/) from a phone, tablet, or computer. To join the meeting, register here: https://tinyurl.com/AHNov2023. Or call (301) 715 8592 Webinar ID: 890 6281 8461 Case materials and meeting details are available on the Avon Hill NCD Commission’s web page (https://tinyurl.com/dwuc2nsw). Written comment is welcome up to 24 hours before the meeting and may be sent to [email protected].
AH-812: 82 Avon Hill Street, by Andrew Johnston & Eleanor Joseph. Construct additions at main entrance and southwest façade; replace siding on house and garage; replace windows and garage doors.
AH-814: 10 Avon Place, by Leslie & Scott Goldenberg. Window replacement.
AH-815: 30 Arlington Street, by Erin Brennan & Jeffrey Huang. Alter exterior stair tower and areaway roof; replace fence and gate; replace low retaining wall; new 2nd-floor balcony.
Constantin von Wentzel, Chair
Cambridge Day/The Week, 11/17/23, 11/24/23
Public Hearing Notice
Relative to Municipal Code
City of Cambridge, Massachusetts
Office of the City Clerk
The Ordinance Committee, composed of the entire membership of the City Council, will conduct a public hearing on Tuesday, November 28, 2023 from 3:00p.m. to 5:00p.m. to discuss proposed Ordinance language that would lead to a phased-out ban of the use of gas-powered leaf blowers in Cambridge (Ordinance 2023-10).
This public hearing will be hybrid allowing participation in the Sullivan Chamber, City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA and remotely via ZOOM. The ZOOM URL to view the meeting is https://cambridgema.zoom.us/s/97895847144. If you would like to speak at this Public Hearing, please register to do so using this URL:
https://www.cambridgema.gov/Departments/CityCouncil/PublicCommentSignUpForm. You may also email comments to the City Clerk at [email protected].
To request a copy of the amendments in full, e-mail City Clerk, Diane LeBlanc at [email protected]. Copies are also available at the Office of the City Clerk, City Hall, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The City of Cambridge will provide reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities upon request. Please contact the City Clerk at 617-349-4260 or at [email protected].
For the Committee,
Councillor Marc McGovern, Co-Chair
Councillor Quinton Zondervan, Co-Chair
Public Notice
Relative to Zoning
City of Cambridge, Massachusetts
Office of the City Clerk
The Ordinance Committee, comprised of the entire membership of the City Council, will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, November 29, 2023 at 2:00p.m., on a Zoning Petition by Allene R. Pierson et al. to amend the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Cambridge by amending Section 4.31(i)(3) of the Table of Use Regulations such that “Lodging House” is changed from a permitted use (“Yes7”) to a prohibited use (“No”) in the Residence C, C-1, C-1A, C-2, C-2A, C-2B, C-3, C-3A, and C-3B zoning districts.
This public hearing will be hybrid allowing participation in the Sullivan Chamber, City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA and remotely via ZOOM. The ZOOM URL to view the meeting is https://cambridgema.zoom.us/s/97895847144. If you would like to speak at this Public Hearing, please register to do so using this URL:
https://www.cambridgema.gov/Departments/CityCouncil/PublicCommentSignUpForm. You may also email comments to the City Clerk at [email protected].
To request a copy of the amendment in full, e-mail City Clerk, Diane LeBlanc at [email protected]. Copies are also available at the Office of the City Clerk, City Hall, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and online at www.cambridgema.gov/cdd/zoninganddevelopment/zoning/amendments.
The City of Cambridge will provide reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities upon request. Please contact the City Clerk at 617-349-4260 or at [email protected].
For the Committee,
Councillor Marc McGovern, Co-Chair
Councillor Quinton Zondervan, Co-Chair
ORDINANCE NO. 2023-10 – FIRST PUBLICATION
CITY OF CAMBRIDGE
In the Year Two Thousand and Twenty-Three
AN ORDINANCE
In amendment to the Ordinance entitled “Cambridge Municipal Code”
That the Municipal Code of the City of Cambridge be amended in Chapter 8.16.081, Leaf Blowers as follows:
8.16.081.1 – Statement of purpose.
The Cambridge City Council hereby finds that the reduction of noise pollution; air pollution; harm to wildlife, soil, and plants; and general negative public health outcomes from the combustion of petroleum-based fuels provide the basis for the public purposes of this Leaf Blowers Chapter. Whereas the use of gas-powered leaf blowers contributes to the aforementioned pollutions, harms, and negative public health outcomes, it is declared to be the policy of the City of Cambridge (“City”) to prohibit unnecessary, excessive, and damaging noise, airborne dust, and harmful fumes caused by the use of gas-powered leaf blowers to protect human health and reduce emissions, pursuant to the City’s stated goals and objectives to protect health and reduce emissions pollution. Further it is expected that the City shall send out information notifying the public and commercial landscapers about the health and safety effects of gas-powered leaf blowers and inform them about this Chapter.
8.16.081.2 – Definitions.
1. Definition of “leaf blower.” A leaf blower is defined as a portable handheld or backpack style power tool that is powered by petroleum-based fuel or electricity and used in any landscape maintenance, construction, property repair, or property maintenance for the purpose of blowing, moving, removing, dispersing, or redistributing leaves, dust, dirt, grass clippings, cuttings, and trimmings from trees and shrubs or any other type of litter or debris. Excluded from this definition are wheeled walk-behind four-stroke leaf blowers, as defined at subsection 8.16.81.2(3), and any leaf blowing devices attached to a tractor and/or mower.
2. Definition of “gas-powered leaf blower.” Any portable handheld or backpack style power leaf blower that is powered by a petroleum-based engine and used in any landscape maintenance, construction, property repair, or property maintenance for the purpose of blowing, moving, removing, dispersing, or redistributing leaves, dust, dirt, grass clippings, cuttings, and trimmings from trees and shrubs, or any other type of litter or debris. Excluded from this definition are wheeled walk-behind four-stroke leaf blowers, as defined at subsection 8.16.81.2(3), and any leaf blowing devices attached to a tractor and/or mower.
3. Definition of “wheeled walk-behind four-stroke leaf blower.” Any walk-behind wheeled leaf blower that is powered by a petroleum-based four-stroke engine and used in any landscape maintenance, construction, property repair, or property maintenance for the purpose of blowing, moving, removing, dispersing, or redistributing leaves, dust, dirt, grass clippings, cuttings, and trimmings from trees and shrubs, or any other type of litter or debris. Excluded from this definition are any leaf blowing devices attached to a tractor and/or mower.
4. Definition of “commercial leaf blower operator.” Any entity, organization, or multi-parcel owner, as defined in this Chapter, that employs two (2) or more persons that receive income, remuneration, or compensation of any kind, whether as a fee, a charge, a salary, wages, or otherwise, for operating a leaf blower. Municipal operators and municipal contractors are excluded from this definition.
5. Definition of “owners.” Persons or entities possessing one or more adjoining parcels of land in common ownership that together comprise a total of less than two (2) acres.
6. Definition of “multi-parcel owners.” Persons or entities possessing one or more adjoining parcels of land in common ownership that together comprise a total of two (2) acres or more.
8.16.081.3 – Use Regulations.
The use of leaf blowers shall be regulated as follows:
1. The use of leaf blowers is at all times prohibited except between March 15 and June 15 and between September 15 and December 31 of each calendar year.
2. The use of leaf blowers is further prohibited on Sundays and legal holidays except, as described further below, Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Veterans’ Day.
3. For the purposes of this Chapter, “legal holidays” shall mean the actual day on which the holiday occurs and not the day it may be observed in each calendar year.
4. On days leaf blowers may be used such use by all users is limited to: (a) Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., (b) on Saturdays, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., and (c) consistent with the provisions of G.L. c. 136, §13, as it may be amended, on Indigenous Peoples’ Day leaf blowers may be operated between the hours of 12:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., and on Veterans’ Day leaf blowers may be operated between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. Leaf blowers cannot be operated on Sundays or any legal holiday other than Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Veterans’ Day.
5. The provisions of subsections 8.16.081.3(1) through 8.16.081.3(3) do not apply to the use of leaf blowers by City employees and City contractors performing leaf blower operations in Cambridge Municipal Cemetery, Mayor Thomas W. Danehy Park, Fresh Pond Reservation, Thomas P. O’Neil, Jr. Municipal Golf Course at Fresh Pond, or performing emergency operations and clean-up associated with storms, hurricanes, and/or other natural disasters, or by operators performing leaf blower operations on behalf of multi-parcel owners, so long as the multi-parcel owners of such land comply with the provisions of subsection 8.16.081.3(7).
6. Commercial leaf blower operators must obtain an annual permit to operate leaf blowers (“Permit”). The Licensing Commission shall be responsible for the issuance and revocation of any Permit.
7. Multi-parcel owners seeking to operate leaf blowers shall not be permitted to operate leaf blowers unless they submit an operations plan to the City Manager or his or her designee, for review and approval (“Operations Plan”). At a minimum, the operations plan shall:
i. Address the multi-parcel owner’s efforts to mitigate the impacts of noise and emissions upon owners, occupants, and/or users of nearby property,
ii. Include an inventory of all leaf blowers owned and to be used in any operations program, which program shall comply with the noise and emission restrictions set forth in this ordinance, and regulations promulgated hereunder, and
iii. Include the multi-parcel owner’s plan for educating users of its equipment on the proper use of equipment as well as the need to mitigate impacts upon others.
The operations plan shall be reviewed by the City Manager, or his or her designee, who shall ensure that it complies with the applicable provisions of this Chapter, and regulations promulgated hereunder, and shall impose any conditions that may be required in order for the multi-parcel owner to comply with the provisions of this Chapter, and regulations promulgated hereunder. No operations plan submitted by a multi-parcel owner shall be approved by the City Manager unless there has been a showing of significant hardship.
8. Leaf blower operations shall not cause leaves, dirt, dust, debris, grass clippings, cuttings, or trimmings from trees or shrubs or any other type of litter or debris to be blown or deposited on any other parcel of land, lot, or public right-of-way other than the parcel, land, or lot upon which the leaf blower is being operated. Leaves, dirt, dust, debris, grass clippings, cuttings, or trimmings from trees or shrubs or any other type of litter or debris shall not be blown, swept, or raked onto or into an adjacent street or gutter, except by municipal employees or municipal contractors or leaf blower operators placing leaves, dust, dirt, grass clippings, cuttings, and trimmings from trees and shrubs on a municipal street or sidewalk for collection and pick-up during municipal street and sidewalk sweeping and cleaning operations. In no event shall leaves, dirt, dust, debris, grass clippings, cuttings, or trimmings from trees or shrubs or any other type of litter or debris be blown, swept, or raked onto or into catch basins or onto vehicles, persons, or pets. Deposits of leaves, dirt, dust, debris, grass clippings, cuttings, or trimmings from trees or shrubs or any other type of litter or debris shall be removed and disposed of in a sanitary manner which will prevent dispersal by wind, vandalism, or similar means.
9. All leaf blowers shall satisfy the emissions standards of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. All leaf blowers shall be rated by the manufacturer to produce an A-weighted sound pressure level no greater than 65 decibels at a distance of fifty feet as rated by the manufacturer using the American National Standards Institute testing criteria.
10. On parcels of 10,000 square feet or less, only one leaf blower may be used. On parcels larger than 10,000 square feet, simultaneous use of leaf blowers is allowed so long as the leaf blowers are operated at least 100 feet apart.
11. Private citizens/individuals, including but not limited to owners and multi-parcel owners, and commercial leaf blower operators are prohibited from deliberately blowing debris onto adjacent property, the street, catch basins, gutters, vehicles, people, or animals. City employees or City contractors may blow leaves, dust, dirt, grass clippings, cuttings, and trimming from trees and shrubs onto a municipal street or sidewalk for collection and pick-up during municipal street and sidewalk sweeping and cleaning operations.
8.16.081.4 – Transition.
The prohibition of gas-powered leaf blower equipment use shall be subject to the following timeline:
1. Owner Use Transition Period. The use by owners, other than multi-parcel owners with an operations plan, on their own property will be allowed until March 15, 2025.
2. Commercial Leaf Blower Operators and Multi-parcel Owners Use Transition Period: The use by commercial leaf blower operators and multi-parcel owners will be allowed until March 15, 2027.
3. Municipal Use Transition Period: The use by City employees or City contractors will be allowed until March 15, 2027.
4. The City shall phase out the use of wheeled walk-behind four-stroke leaf blowers as soon as it deems it technologically and financially feasible to do so.
5. The provisions of this subsection 8.16.081.4 do not apply to the use of gas-powered leaf blowers, including but not limited to leaf blowing devices attached to a tractor and/or mower and wheeled walk-behind four-stroke leaf blowers, by City employees and City contractors in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, and regulations promulgated hereunder, when used for the purposes of: (a) residential street cleaning, if the City continues to not tow vehicles for street cleaning purposes, (b) on parcels equal to one acre or larger, and (c) in the event of emergency conditions.
6. The provisions of this subsection 8.16.081.4 do not apply to the use of electric powered leaf blowers.
8.16.081.5 – Regulations and Enforcement.
1. Regulations. The License Commission and the Commissioner of Public Works shall have the authority to promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of this Chapter.
2. Enforcement. In addition to the Police Commissioner, the Commissioner of Inspectional Services Department (“ISD”), and the Chairperson of the License Commission, as provided in section 8.16.040 of this Chapter, the Commissioner of Public Works and his or her designee shall be authorized enforcement personnel charged with the enforcement of this section pursuant to the provisions of section 8.16.040 of this Chapter.
8.16.081.6 – Miscellaneous.
1. Severability. The provisions of this Chapter are severable. If any section, provision, or portion of this Chapter is determined to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions of this Chapter shall continue to be valid.
2. Effective Date. The provisions of this Chapter shall be effective upon ordination, except as to City contracts now in effect. The provisions of this Chapter shall be incorporated into any current City contracts that are renewed and/or amended after this Chapter is ordained.
Passed to a second reading at the City Council meeting
held on November 6, 2023 and on or after November 28, 2023
the question comes on passage to be ordained.
Attest:- Diane P. LeBlanc
City Clerk
