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.
Ellery Street project
Mid-Cambridge Neighborhood Conservation District Commission, 6 to 10 p.m. Monday. A project presented as creating 81 apartments over six stories – made possible by multifamily zoning voted through in February – comes back to the commission. The proposed development at 84-86 Ellery St. was stopped with a unanimous vote Aug. 4 so revised plans could be worked up that include renovation and preservation of the existing three-story structure. Watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Setting property tax rates
City Council property tax rate classification hearing, 6:30 p.m. Monday. A regular 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 second year of rising bills after 18 years in which rates held for most peoples. That’s the result of a new austerity in what is still a quite rich city, where real estate prices have through the roof, trying to protect longtime residents whose incomes haven’t surged to match the value of their land. A residential tax exemption rate will also be set. The council meets at City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Televised and watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Paved path zoning petition
Ordinance Committee, 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday. This committee run by vice mayor Marc McGovern looks at the Bakal zoning petition to prohibit paved ways more than 10 feet wide in open space districts, a way to save trees and decrease the use of motorized vehicles on multiuse paths such as the city’s Linear Park. Five members of the Planning Board voted unanimously Tuesday against recommending the petition to the City Council as, in the words of chair Mary Flynn, the board was “not the appropriate place to deal with these issues, though I do think the issues are of concern to the city and definitely worth pursuing through other, appropriate means.” The committee meets at City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Televised and watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Affordable housing near Porter
Planning Board, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. An advisory consultation on design materials for an all-affordable apartment building that is moving forward at 2072 Massachusetts Ave. under zoning changes made since its first version was withdrawn in August 2021 – then as high as nine stories with 49 homes, now 12 stories with 73 homes that would become available within four years. When last before the public in July, this project awaited additional funding from the Cambridge Affordable Housing Trust and an official zoning certification from the city. Watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Supporting small businesses
Economic Development & University Relations Committee, 2 to 4 p.m. Wednesday. This committee run by city councillor Ayesha Wilson hears an update from city staff on efforts to support small businesses and commercial districts in Cambridge. The committee meets at City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Televised and watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Repurposing house with hotel
Historical Commission, 6 to 10:30 p.m. Oct. 9. On the agenda is a developer plan to move the 1846 Harriet Jacobs house at 17 Story St. in Harvard Square to the corner of Story and Mount Auburn streets and restore it, a plan that won unanimous “approval in principle” on Sept 4 so it could continue toward development as a concept: to put up a building behind of up to 67 hotel rooms and roughly 50 residential units. The plan involves demolishing a neighborhood building at 129 Mount Auburn St. According to the proposal, the historic house will become the hotel lobby and include a small cafe. The commission has also voted for a landmarking study of the house. The commission meets at City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square.
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The Planning Board voted unanimously against the “Paved Path Zoning Petition” for very good reason!
Cambridge Community Development Department (CDD) staff state it will “prohibit or severely restrict”: “Play courts such as basketball and tennis, including accessible play areas designed for people with disabilities, Accessible pathways that accommodate active movement such as bicycling, running and walking, Accessible plazas and seating areas that often require paved surfaces, Active and passive recreation that uses permeable paving materials such as stone dust, like Fresh Pond Reservation.”
CDD notes it will also result in more litigation at MA Superior Court/MA Land Court, and create extensive delays when the City attempts to build any of these items.
http://www.cambridgema.gov/-/media/Files/CDD/ZoningDevel/Amendments/2025/bakaletal/20250923_CDDMemo_Bakal_etal.pdf
P.S. In May 2025, the City Council unanimously adopted a policy order supporting the completion of the Mass Central Rail Trail from Northampton to Boston, “which will foster a safer, greener, and more welcoming community and is wholly aligned with our city’s vision for a thriving and interconnected community, creating a lasting legacy for future generations”.
https://cambridgema.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_LegiFile.aspx?Frame=&MeetingID=4651&MediaPosition=&ID=29340&CssClass=
The Linear Park project is, of course, one of Cambridge’s multiple sections of the MCRT, along with the Fitchburg Cutoff, the eastmost portion of the Somerville Community Path Extension, the Common at Cambridge Crossing, North Point Park, the North Bank Bridge, etc.
The petition, meanwhile, seeks to make building all these things impossible.