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.
Surveillance technology hearing
Pole and Conduit Commission, 9 to 11 a.m. Thursday. Flock Safety asks to install its license-plate-reading cameras on 16 poles citywide “to assist the Cambridge Police Department with criminal investigations.” This proposal provoked concern from residents, civil liberties groups and city councillors at a Sept. 8 meeting because of fears the data will be used by the federal government and other law enforcement agencies. Councillors voted for another look at the technology and rules for its use before installation. Watchable online.
Future of the K-Lo School
Family Policy Council, 5:15 to 7:15 p.m. Thursday. Interim schools superintendent David Murphy presents on planning for the future of what was the Kennedy-Longfellow elementary school – closed in June at 158 Spring St., East Cambridge, after 51 years; and about how the Cambridge Public Schools district engages with families. At the Citywide Senior Center, 806 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square.
Institutional encroachment
Neighborhood & Long Term Planning, Public Facilities, Arts & Celebration Committee, 10 a.m. to noon Sept. 25. This committee run by city councillors Cathie Zusy and Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler looks at whether to bring back something like the Dover Amendment, which regulated development by institutions such as universities or religious groups in residential areas. That exemption from 1979 and 1980 was ended Feb. 10 when the City Council enacted a Multifamily Housing Ordinance to encourage the construction of homes, only to see a religious group seize the opportunity to also expand nonhousing uses. The committee meets at City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Televised and watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Update on sewer improvements
Combined Sewer Overflow control planning update, 6 p.m. Sept. 25. Heavy rainfall can still cause sewer systems to overflow and pollute our rivers, but Cambridge, Somerville and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority are working on plans for sewer improvements that will reduce the pollution. This meeting will share the latest results of studying combined sewer overflow reduction and the effect on water quality in rivers. Plans will be discussed via Zoom videoconferencing.
A stronger
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