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.
Solar preservation zoning
Housing and Health & Environment committees, 3 to 5 p.m. Dec. 11. These committees run by city councillors Burhan Azeem and Sumbul Siddiqui and city councillor Patty Nolan, respectively, discuss proposed zoning that calls for the architecture of tall buildings to include stepbacks to preserve sunlight for neighbors’ rooftop solar panels. The committees meet at City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Televised and watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
ChiCha San Chen tea shop
Board of Zoning Appeal, 6 to 11:30 p.m. Thursday. Harvard Square can expect at least its fifth boba tea shop as ChiCha San Chen seeks to open in One Brattle Square – replacing a bank. The Taiwanese chain emphasizes that its drinks start with freshly ground and brewed traditional teas. Those can be enjoyed as they are or infused with flavors, then toppings, all with the by-now standard range of sweetnesses and amounts of ice. Watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Help with winter heating bills
Heating bill assistance event, 2 to 6 p.m. Monday. Residents facing soaring energy bills can learn about resources for payment help, with interpretation available in Amharic, Spanish, Portuguese and Haitian Creole. At the Citywide Senior Center, 806 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge.
Marketing Cambridge to tourists
Economic Development & University Relations Committee, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. This committee run by city councillor Ayesha Wilson gets an update on the Tourism Office’s efforts to market Cambridge as a destination and offer services to visitors. The committee meets at City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Televised and watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Exploration of social housing
Housing Committee, 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday. This committee run by city councillors Burhan Azeem and Sumbul Siddiqui talk about social housing – publicly financed, publicly owned mixed-income housing that creates some permanently affordable homes that are paid for with the help of market-rate units built as part of the same project. The committee meets at City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Televised and watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Corcoran Park affordable homes
Planning Board, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Cambridge Housing Authority presents its phase-one plans to redevelop Corcoran Park affordable housing in Strawberry Hill, buildings containing 153 homes that went up in the early 1950s at 8-12 May St. and 3 Lawn St. There would be 67 rental units remade in the first phase, with more handled at a later date. Watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
Evaluating the city manager
City Council special meeting, 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. After missing some reviews of past city managers, the council is back on track with an evaluation of the current holder of the role, Yi-An Huang, who arrived September 2022 on a wave of good will. The challenges of day-to-day running of the city has produced some recent conflict, including the restructuring of diversity-focused departments that some officials and residents found unnecessarily corporate and cruel. Televised and watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
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