These are just some of the municipal meetings and civic events for the coming week. More are on the City Calendar and in the city’s Open Meetings Portal.
Setting property tax rates
City Council property tax rate classification, 6:30 p.m. Monday. A regular City Council meeting pauses so city staff can present what property owners – residential and commercial – can expect to pay this year per thousand dollars of value. Last year saw a rise in bills after 18 years in which rates held for most peoples, a product of a new austerity in what is still a quite rich city that has tried to protect longtime residents whose incomes haven’t surged to match the value of their land as real estate prices go through the roof. (The residential tax exemption rate will also be set.) Last year at this time, residential tax rates were put at $5.92 per thousand dollars of value, up 1 percent from fiscal 2023, and commercial tax rates went to $10.46, up 0.7 percent. The council meets at City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Televised and watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Updates on building energy law
Health & Environment Committee, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday. This committee run by city councillor Patty Nolan hears from staff on the Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance. Beudo was put in place in 2014 but got a 2023 revision that drew pushback about the costs of lowering energy use in various kinds of structures, leading to some smaller and residential uses being exempted for now. This meeting is to review and discuss the regulations and hear about possible changes. The committee meets at City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Televised and watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Fire headquarters construction
Fire headquarters groundbreaking ceremony, 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday. A brick building built in 1932 for firefighters gets a $77 million upgrade with a new data center for emergency communications, energy-producing solar panels and 17 geothermal wells, a power substation to support an all-electric building – including charging stations for all-electric vehicles – as well as a system to decontaminate gear from hazardous materials and updates to dormitories and kitchen and fitness facilities. At 491 Broadway, in Mid-Cambridge near Harvard Square.
Bike lanes for Kendall Square
Main Street Kendall Square project open house, 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday. See plans for separated, quick-build bike lanes on each side of the road and related safety improvements coming this fall to Main Street between Ames Street and Galaxy Park, part of the city’s Cycling Safety Ordinance. Staff will discuss designs, gather feedback and answer questions. At 355 Main St., Kendall Square.
Affordable housing near Porter
Affordable Housing Overlay project community meeting, 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday. A project last seen withdrawn in 2021 returns as expected under Affordable Housing Overlay zoning amended a year ago. The 100 percent affordable-housing proposal is for 2072 Massachusetts Ave., near Porter Square in North Cambridge, replacing the Darul Kabab restaurant next to senior housing. The potential height and number of units varied during discussions with officials and neighbors but could have provided as many as 49 affordable units, many of them intended for families. Developers Capstone Communities, Hope Real Estate Enterprises and MPZ Development discuss new plans and street and site context analysis at a meeting on the second floor of University Hall, 1815 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square. Watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Envisioning Mass. Ave. of 2040
Massachusetts Avenue Planning Study working group, 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 10. This group looked already considered what the avenue will look like in 2040 from Porter Square south to Cambridge Common; now it turns its attention to North Massachusetts Avenue, from Porter Square to Alewife Brook Parkway. Members discuss public feedback from a Sept. 26 community meeting, review goals and set an approach for recommendations on such things as housing, urban design, zoning, open space, climate resiliency and small-business development. Watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
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