A loophole in a 40-year-old ballot initiative explains much of our love for development
After passage of Prop 2½, the state’s communities were reeling from lowered revenues. To keep services running and keep up with inflation, they latched onto a loophole: encouraging new construction that was exempt from tax limits.
Attend meetings on reparations, name changes, police technology and aging elementary schools
Public meetings this week look at reparations through cannabis revenue, name changes to the Agassiz neighborhood and Central Square branch library, police surveillance technology that worries civil libertarians, aging elementary schools, tree tear-downs and much more.
Attend meetings on acoustic music, police plan, cutting small-business fees and a Cantab return
Public meetings this week look at, well, what public meetings will look like after the pandemic, a proposal for a new kind of public safety and enacting an acoustic music law; cutting small-business permitting and licensing fees; “missing middle” zoning; and the return of the Cantab Lounge.
Four ways the Affordable Housing Overlay zoning is being misused on a proposal for Walden Square
A seven-story building proposed for Walden Square violates the spirit of the Affordable Housing Overlay in terms of geography and building height and around parking issues and the cost of land.
Attend meetings on grad rates under Covid, charter changes and a Garage mall remake
Public meetings this week look at how Covid affected high school graduation rates, reforming the city’s Plan E charter, planning for a cohesive Alewife neighborhood, two potential Neighborhood Conservation Districts and a remake of The Garage in Harvard Square.
Attend meetings on the future of public safety, utility check-ins and a more car-free Harvard
Public meetings this week look at the future of public safety, a vision for Harvard Square, how Neighborhood Conservation Districts are created and run, and climate change-friendly buildings; check in with the DPW, city water utility and Eversource; and wade back into Middle East politics.
From vision to reality: Green Roofs in Cambridge
Join us in celebrating by making green roofs happen, especially in our neighborhoods where urban heat islands are most harmful to residents, and calling on developers to seize an opportunity to play a significant role in building the resilience we need to prepare for climate change.
Height at 2072 Mass. Ave. project again rejected by zoning board; project to return in September
It was as if nothing had changed in six months: On Thursday the Board of Zoning Appeal declined to approve a comprehensive permit for a 2072 Massachusetts Ave. affordable development five blocks north of Porter Square, citing its height.
Attend meetings about a digital equity timeline, city budget, 2072 Massachusetts Ave. building
Public meetings this week look at a digital equity timeline, outdoor dining and Alewife traffic congestion; the next fiscal year’s budget, department by department; Covid vaccinations for kids and an Eversource brochure backlash; and affordable apartments proposed for 2072 Massachusetts Ave.
Majority of Russell Apartments residents oppose design of building proposed for 2072 Mass. Ave.
More than two-thirds of Russell Apartments residents have signed a letter opposing the building proposed for next door. Those who haven’t signed are either afraid to speak out, or unable to communicate due to language barriers.
