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.
The just-in-case budget meeting
Finance Committee, 9 a.m. Thursday. This committee run by city councillor Patty Nolan socked away this hearing time in case there was more to dig into on the proposed $1.1 billion city operating and capital budget for the 2026 fiscal year starting July 1. In recent years the previously scheduled budget meetings were enough and this meeting has been canceled; this year, at the very least the time will be used to discuss the Human Rights Commission. The committee meets at City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Televised and watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Nonprofit helps aging in place
Cambridge Neighbors, 3 to 4 p.m. Friday. People are invited to learn about Cambridge Neighbors, a nonprofit established in 2007 for older adults who want to stay in their homes and communities. The group, offering a variety of practical and social supports, meets at 545 Concord Ave., Suite 104, Fresh Pond. There is a Zoom option to attend. Register by calling (617) 864-1715 or emailing info@cambridgeneighbors.org.
Exempting religious buildings
Ordinance Committee, 10:30 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. Tuesday. This committee run by vice mayor Marc McGovern takes up the proposed Marasao zoning petition, in which an Orthodox Jewish sect (Lubavitch of Cambridge, also known as Harvard Chabad because of its ties to Harvard students) seeks to exempt property used for religious purposes from density and indoor space limits and other restrictions – along with suing the city and its Board of Zoning Appeals for denying an expansion of its religious center. The issue, which we wrote about here, is before the Planning Board the same day. The committee meets at City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Televised and watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Religious buildings; new labs
Planning Board, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. A proposal arrives to change a building use to labs from offices at 350 Massachusetts Ave., at the gateway to the University Park area near Central Square – a five-story, 118,265-square-foot brick and steel structure built in the late 1990s and perhaps most notable as the home of The Asgard restaurant until October 2021. BioMed Realty, which has a ground lease on the MIT-owned property, asks to do a refresh on the building and change to uses that “better align with current market demands, which, particularly in Cambridge, favor life sciences and research spaces. This transformation is also intended to support the growth of the local economy by attracting a skilled workforce to the area and introducing new retail opportunities to activate the ground floor.” BioMed is one of the only developers making moves at a time office and even lab demand is seen as languishing. Members also look at the Marasao zoning petition in which a Jewish organization wants fewer restrictions on what religious organizations build – an issue we wrote about here that is with the Ordinance Committee earlier in the day. Watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Curb cuts without councillors
Government Operations, Rules & Claims Committee, 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesday. This committee run by vice mayor Marc McGovern explores whether the City Council can be removed from the process of approving or denying curb cuts and whether abutters should stay part of the process – and if they do, getting renters recognized as “abutters” along with property owners. Councillors over the past few terms have expressed a preference to let staff handle these off-street parking issues. The committee meets at City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Televised and watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
A stronger
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