Regular City Council Meeting

A quorum of the City Council being present, I call tonight's September 28th meeting regular meeting of the Cambridge City Council to order. The first order of business is a roll call of members present.

Councilor Al-Zubi Present Vice Mayor Azeem Present Councilor Flaherty Absent Councilor McGovern Absent Councillor Nolan Simmons, Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Zusy, Mayor Siddiqui, you have six members recorded as present and three recorded as absent.

Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance and pause for a moment.

, Indivisible, Liberty and Justice for All.

Per Chapter 2 of the Acts of 2025, adopted by Master's General Court and approved by the Governor, the City is authorized to use remote participation at meetings of the Cambridge City Council. In addition to having members of the council participate remotely, we've also set up Zoom teleconference for public comment. You can view the meeting via the city's open meeting portal or on the city cable channel 22. Please note that the City of Cambridge audio and video records this meeting and makes it available to the public for future viewing. In addition, third parties may also be audio and recording this meeting. Are there any announcements from the body? Zusy is present. And I know that Councilor McGovern is on his way. So there's no announcements from the body? Wait, I have some announcements. Yes, Councilor Zusy, go ahead.

Okay. On Saturday, it's the opening of MIT's Met Warehouse which is a really spectacular renovation. It's part of the Future Fest at MIT which starts on Wednesday But the event on Saturday will be from 10 to 4. And also isn't the Meow Fest on Saturday? I'll let you talk about that. I know there's a Thai market and the bow tie ride will be Serena-Wheeler.

Thanks, Madam Mayor. I was just going to mention Cambridge Disability Pride this Saturday morning and early afternoon at the Cambridge Public Library and then that was all so if you perhaps you were going to mention the civic assembly lottery next Monday right before our council meeting uh that was other piece to flag thank you any other announcements

And yes, thank you Councilor Zusy. Our cat tour and Meow Fest got postponed but it'll be this Saturday at Dana Park starting at 2. So no more announcements. Per City Council rules of courtesy, I wanted to just remind folks today, Rule 37-4 and there's been some notice outside any signs, posters Placards must remain outside the Sullivan Chamber and then also if you can, I know there's a lot of people for public comment. There's 154 people and Naomi will help us get through all of the All the public comment, but just make sure we... I know folks like to clap, but to just make everyone feel comfortable in the chamber. You can do hand-to-hand signals, Please, the clapping is distracting so please refrain from that. Public comment is going to be made in accordance with Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 30A Section 20G and City Council Rules 23D and 37.

And once you finish speaking, the next speaker will be called. Individuals are not permitted to allocate the remainder of their time Thank you very much. and we'll go to Naomi to start calling the roll. Tonight I want to remind folks also, we will have a tax rate hearing that we will at 630 go into. And so we'll have to have that hearing Thank you very much. Going into public comment and then having this meeting and then going back to public comments.

So with that, we will start with our public comment.

Our first speaker is Amy Flax, followed by Jessica Van Meer then Alicia Pritt. Amy you have one minute please go ahead.

Hello? Okay, can you hear me now?

We can. Please go ahead.

So Amy Flax, Normandy Ave in the Cambridge Highlands. I'm commenting on the Outer Huron bike path. to delay it for five years. I'm 71 years old, I'm a biker and I don't have that kind of time perhaps. I think I am one of the vulnerable populations and the other being children This stretch, although it's small has been in the bike plan since 2015. It's been designed. There have been one year of meetings and a public process in person and virtual. And it's a very important safety feature, I don't have much time but I will say that I frequently use this People Drive Very Fast, and it connects to where I live in the Cambridge Highlands from that area. Thank you.

Thank You. Our next speaker is Jessica Van Meer followed by Alicia Pritt then Suzanne Blier. Jessica please go ahead

Hi, my name is Jessica Van Meer. I've been living working and studying in Cambridge on off for the past five years. I'm a PhD candidate in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government I'm here to speak strongly in favor of policy order number 10, to implement the recommendations from the last city council meeting on sex work and to support the full decriminalization of sex work. I have interviewed over 280 sex workers and sex trafficking survivors across five countries. And I'm currently the policy chair of the Boston Sex Workers and Allies Collective, which grew out of a support group at the Cambridge Women's Center. One of the biggest problems we see for sex workers in Cambridge is the inability to report crimes or medical emergencies due to the state's criminalization of sex work. In countries that have decriminalized sex work like New Zealand, we've seen sex workers win damages against abusive brothel owners, including in 2014 a sex worker won $25,000 in damages.

In 2020, a sex workers won a six-figure settlement Thank you, Jessica. Your time has expired.

For anyone whose time is expired, please email the remainder of your comments to citycouncil at cambridgema.gov. We will move on to speaker number three, Alicia Witt, followed by Suzanne Blier, then Marianne McKintz. Mary Carol MacKinnon. Alicia?

Hi, my name is Alicia Pritt and I'm speaking on the multifamily housing ordinance. I lived in Cambridge for 12 years and I've been a tenant here for all 12 of them. I'm also a small business owner and Cambridge is where I work live and have built my life. I understand that the goal of the zoning changes was to create more housing, including more affordable housing. But what I'm watching happening across this city is a rush to redevelopment existing homes are being bought up because the new zoning has made them more valuable as development opportunities and while developers capitalize on that opportunity, tenants are losing their homes. Council needs to confront whether all of this redevelopment is actually addressing the housing problem we are trying to solve. Are we creating housing that more people can afford? What is happening to the people being displaced along the way? Housing production cannot be measured only by the number of units created. Displacement should matter to this council, and it should be a metric of whether this policy is working. How many tenants are being displaced? What were they paying? Can they afford the housing replacing their homes? If we aren't measuring those things, then counting new units alone doesn't tell us whether these zoning changes are actually helping to solve Cambridge's housing crisis.

Thank you.

Suzanne has not joined us. We will move to Mary Carol McKinnon, followed by Claudia Veronica Torres-Patino. Mary Carol?

Thank you. Hi, I'm Mary, a longtime sex worker and co-chair of BSWOC. Criminalization of sex work—not the worker but the work itself—is the greatest source of harm that sex workers face. Thank you very much. Social media bans, losing bank accounts and websites, and obstacles to conducting business safely Just to name a few of the insidious ways that criminalization itself wreaks havoc in our daily lives Today I took a first step toward reporting my own abuser from over 20 years ago, a report I had not made because I fear law enforcement due to my labor. I became vulnerable to that abuser when my domestic partner blackmailed me by threatening to out me to the police and to my family.

I know well how the tendrils of criminalization harm sex workers far beyond the matter of arrest. We are part of this community.

Thank you for supporting our measure. Claudia Veronica Torres-Patino, followed by Ashley Pittman, then Young Kim.

Thank you. Good evening, councillors. My name is Claudia Torres. I am a Cambridge resident and an employment law attorney at Justice At Work. I have studied the relationship between law and sex work for nearly 15 years including two years of ethnographic I found that workers were better able to use the law to address workplace problems. Police harassment, demands for bribes and interpersonal violence also decline while workers gain access to previously unavailable public benefits. My research is consistent with international evidence that decriminalization can reduce vulnerability to violence extortion of physical and mental health risks As an employment attorney, I see this in other industries. We address trafficking and forced labor through organizing, workplace protections, safety standards, and enforcement against coercion. The same approach can and should apply to sex work Yet all these strategies are made harder when the industry and its participants are criminalized. I urge you to consider the evidence in evaluating policy order number 10. Thank you.

Thank You our next speaker is Ashley Pittman Ashley, if you can unmute yourself. You have one minute. Please go ahead.

in support of policy order number eight tonight and would ask the members of the board to vote in favor of it. Policy order number eight sets forth 12 reasons why it should be supported. Each one is cogently explained. I believe it is a thoughtful, practical... and reasonable balancing of competing interests. One of the most impressive aspects of policy number eight It follows the Hippocratic Oath. First, it does no harm. It looks at a bad situation, scarce parking around the Fresh Pond Reservation and Strawberry Hill. and the steps it proposes should help the situation rather than make it worse. That's commendable, constructive and reasonable. I can't read the rest of my notes right now, so I will submit something to the council via email once I've deciphered these.

Thank you

Thank you. Our next speaker is Young Kim, followed by Paula Cortez, then Emily Alice Lippold Chaney.

Young, one minute. Young Kim, 17 Norris Street. The negative impact of multifamily housing zoning ordinance continues as I speak. Protect residents while you get the amendments right Thank you very much. Full response to POR 2026-123 and the housing modeling. Require planning board review of CDD's recommendations and we convene the Joint Committee to review all this evidence with public comment. My chronology submitted this afternoon underscores the need for substantive review and community engagement. I have sent you several communications including a survey response by nine

Thank you for your public comment.

Thank you, Byung. Our next speaker is Paula Cortes followed by Emily Alice Lippold Chaney. Paula, one minute.

Thank you. I live at 25 Newell Street. You've heard many reasons to say yes to Policy Order 181, postpone out of Huron Avenue. They're quite clear and reasonable It's a matter of equity and inclusion. Consider this analogy, the division between birthday cake lovers and birthday pie lovers. I'm a pie lover but occasionally I like cake also But not always, not all the time and not at all occasions. It is not reasonable to force me to eat cake all the Time just because you might like cake all The time. And likewise with pie lovers. Right now, 100% of Cambridge residents are being forced to eat cake. Oh, I guess I mean forced to accept separated bike lanes even when the inconvenience is severe to their everyday lives and to their businesses. We have over 1500 signatories to our petitions. Do all these people not count?

Thank you, Paula. Your time has expired. Please email the remainder. Our next speaker is Emily Alice Lippel Chaney. Emily, you have one minute.

Hello, I have experience doing in-person escorting for a decade and I am speaking in favor of sex work decriminalization. First and foremost we are here because people get murdered for doing this work they go to jail they lose their kids I'm retired from sex work at this point in my life, which is in large part why I as a single mother can stand up here and speak publicly. Despite that, not two weeks ago a stranger threatened to out or dox me as a sex worker in order to do me harm. Even though I'm not currently doing sex work, it was deeply upsetting because she could still do me and my child harm if she chose to call Child Protective Services. People get their children taken away for doing this work because it is criminalized even when their children have never been exposed to the work nor any harm. They could even take my child away for having done this work in the past. Those are the stakes. Does providing sexual labor and care make me an unfit mother? Do I deserve to have my child get taken away from me?

I'm actually a better mother because I was a sex worker because of the patience, compassion, and resilience it developed in me.

Thank you. Please email us the remainder of your comment. Our next speaker is Liz Loya, followed by Joe Adeletta, then Simon Williams. Liz, one minute. Please go ahead.

In response to the multifamily housing ordinance, I'm going to read a quote from the selling agent of 16 Field Street, one of the many affordable rentals being demolished. sell as premium condominiums or hold as high-end rental units. Take advantage of Cambridge's generous zoning laws and strong demand for upscale housing." This home was a two-family. A family lived there under Section 8, and another family lived their as an affordable rental. Section 8 family was displaced and the other family was forced to leave Cambridge because quote all the rentals at this price range are being demolished end quote The new building is nine units, not 10 because none of them are affordable. The displaced families can't afford to buy or rent one of the new units. This home also would have happily been bought by families looking to buy part of a two-family But because of the MFHO, developers are outbidding the renters who want to buy.

The proposed amendments are weak, create loopholes to avoid enacting the amendments and overlook tree protection, parking requirements and more. Please read and reply to my email.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Joe. So folks, some of you may have missed me saying in the beginning but I ask that you not clap per decorum rules. Welcome to do some air hands, but the clapping is distracting and we have 140 new speakers. So again, I said that in the beginning, I'll repeat it now. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Joe Adeletta, followed by Simon Williams and Jenna Odette. Joe, please go ahead. You have one minute.

Hi, thank you. Joe Adletta, 68 Walker Street. At some point we have to draw the line Council's made expansion of budget a priority over the last five years, close to a 50% increase nearing $1 billion. Similarly, taxes are up, water bills are up. You are promoting unaffordability. seemingly in attempt to do something about that. Anything you've enacted zoning reform, handering to the masses with no expectation of relief and grievous consequences throughout the city. I'm sure you'll hear from many people tonight talking about the consequences of the implementation throughout the city as you just heard. It's time to draw the line, draw the on zoning. Thank you.

I think our next speaker is Simon Williams.

Welcome back.

Simon, if you can unmute yourself, you have the floor please go ahead one minute.

Hi, this is Simon Williams. I live at 23 Orange Street. I'm speaking tonight regarding the severe unintended impacts of the multifamily housing ordinance While the goal of expanding density was noble, granting broad by right development has effectively turned every residential lot in Cambridge into a developer commodity. Raw land values for development sites have surged by 30 to 50 percent Because commercial developers can now monetize a single lot across four to six luxury units, they are consistently outbidding traditional buyers and working class families. This model is producing two dangerous outcomes. One, it destroys home ownership pathways by pushing the financial entry point for first time buyers completely out of reach. Two, rents higher as developers pass inflated site acquisition costs directly onto future tenants. Unchecked land inflation under this current zoning framework is achieving the exact opposite of accessibility.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Jana Odette. Jana, you have one minute. Please go ahead.

Hi, can you hear me?

Yes we can. Please

My name is Jana Odetta. I live at 176 Larch Road in Cambridge. I would like to say that I agree with the speaker that just spoke, that the unintended effects of the multifamily housing ordinance are Ridiculous. They are turning literally a person who spoke outside of City Hall last Monday said that what we voted for is effectively gentrification because that is what we are getting. In other words, People, developers are paying top dollar. They have to make their money back and then they do so as Liz Loya said by selling these things at a huge premium and The idea of having a neutral or net increase in housing units associated with inclusionary ones is ridiculous because so many people have said Displacing families and making these out of reach is ridiculous. Thank you and bless you.

My mic's not working. Our next speaker is Rosalind Walton, followed by Zion Sheeran and Stephen Marks. We are at speaker number 15. Rosaline, please go ahead. You have one minute. Rosalind, you need to unmute yourself. You have the floor.

Yes, I'm calling about the outer Huron Avenue bike lane. I live at Parkside Place on Huron Ave and it's very close to the Russell Center, the golf course, the tennis court, the VFW, the Glacken Field, and the Glakken Playground. We do not agree with you putting the bike lanes on our street. We are all for bike safety, but this is an unreasonable burden on the people who already live here. We're not happy at Parkside Place about the bike The golfers are not happy and the residents on Huron Avenue in Cushing do not agree with your plans. And we like our parking spaces as they are, and we cannot use our expensive gas looking for a place to park Not today and not tomorrow. Please do not put the bike lanes on our street. We do not have the room. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Zion Sheeran. Zion has not joined us, we're going to move to Stephen Marks followed by Chris Montero then Patricia Genasi.

Hello, I'm Steve Marks. I live at 36 Brookford Street. My wife and I have lived here for 35 years. I am speaking to amend the MFHO pursuant to policy order POR 2026-173. I think that, as many people have said already, the ordinance is having exactly the opposite of what it was intended to do. It's not on our street. Someone is knocking down a multifamily dwelling to build five units, all of which will be market rate. The other building on our street, which only has 12 or 14 houses depending on how you count the houses that are en masse. will have two of these units.

And the other unit, the builder says we are building high-end residential projects with the most prime locations in Massachusetts and North Cyprus, hardly affordable housing.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Chris Montero, followed by Patricia Janace or Janice. Chris?

Hello. Good evening. Chris Montero, President of the Cambridge Education Association and Student Success is tied to the hard work of our subs, our clerks and our pairs. The best way you as a city council can show that same appreciation is with the adoption of Motion 179. We are well aware that our bargaining is with But we also know that the school committee members want to know That the agreement they reach will be funded and supported by this body What we are asking for is a sign of support For Living Wages for All Educators, More Affordable Health Insurance, A Paraprofessional in Every Pre-K to 5 Classroom. The cost of these proposals would amount to less than a 5% increase to the school budget or a 2% increase Thank you for watching!

Thank you, Chris. Your time has expired.

Please email the remainder. Our next speaker is Patricia Janais followed by Andrew Sebald then Piper Winkler. Patricia? Patricia is not with us. We will go to Andrew Sebald. Andrew, you have one minute

Hi, I'm speaking on behalf of someone named F. Waters who couldn't be here in order to protect their identity Dear Cambridge City Council, I have been living in Cambridge since 2019 and I'm in my 40s. I am part of the creative class and like many artists now and throughout history I rely on sex work to afford the high cost of living in this city, especially but not limited to housing. Earning income via sex work meets my needs and allows me the flexibility and time off required by my disability and chronic health issues. I do my work privately and discreetly indoors, and report my income to the IRS like any other freelance worker. Thank you for joining us. Unfortunately, I live in fear of arrest and eviction because I know my work is criminalized, even though it's fully consensual with no victim and no impact on public order. The stress of this has worsened my health.

I urge the council to pass policy order number 10. Thank you. F. Waters

Thank you. Our next speaker is Piper Winkler, followed by Sarah Blauth and Judy Mintz. Piper?

Hi, I'm Piper. I live at 214 Chestnut, and I'm speaking in support of 179. I'm a community member here tonight in support of a living wage and necessary benefits for public educators. I love living in a city that prides itself on offering excellent educational opportunities, but right now Cambridge isn't even playing catch-up with nearby school districts providing better wages and benefits. Nobody's hands are tied when it comes to increasing the budget. This isn't about restrictions making it impossible for our city to allocate funds to the school department budget, because we've all seen time and again that Cambridge can pay for expenses it considers necessary. It's a question of political will and I've seen City Council exercise the political will to improve the lives of its residents for the better. That is a history for all of you to be proud of. I believe that now is another critical moment for the city council to do so with the understanding that everyone in our community will benefit

The school committee, city council and city manager must decide to put money the city already has into the school department budget to make teaching in Cambridge a sustainable career.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Sarah Blout, followed by Judy Mintz then Paul Chenot. Sarah?

Good evening everybody my name is Sara Blout Rosenberg I live at 167 Putnam Ave I'm speaking in favor of Policy Order 179. I am a lifelong Cambridge resident and have been teaching in the elementary schools for 15 years. Since 2001, Cambridge's salary ordinance has given you all, city councilors and school committee members an automatic raise every July. 3.1%, I think, tied to the Greater Boston Price Index The city decided in law that pay should be kept up with the cost of living here, and that's the right principle. As educators of CPS we have to fight for it. The workforce is overwhelmingly women. We're doing the work our society has undervalued for generations because it was seen as women's work. Cambridge budgets show the values. If educating our children matters, then the people doing that work should have a living wage. One job should be enough.

Thank you, our next speaker is Judy Mintz followed by Paul Chenot then Michael Rogov. Judy you have the floor, you have one minute please go ahead

Hi, my name is Judy Mintz. I live at 469 Huron Avenue and I'm here to ask the City Council consider making amendments to the multifamily housing ordinance. Like many other people who have spoken, I am concerned that the intention of the MFHO and the actual implementation are not in alignment. live on a multi-family housing block. I live in a triple decker, I'm surrounded by triple deckers and two families. Right behind us on Larch, excuse me, on Grozer. I live between Grozer and Larch. But right behind me on Grocer is A building that's going to be demolished and they're going to put up 11 units in what was a two-family lot.

Some of my neighbors are very concerned and didn't know the communication process about how this is being implemented has been Thanks, Judy.

Please email us the remainder. Apologies. That was your time. Our next speaker is Paul Chenot followed by Michael Rogov and Christopher Casa. Paul, one minute.

Hi, Paul Shano from 3 Field Street. First of all I want to say thanks for what you guys are doing in biking. I bike to work every day and it's valuable. But the problem is when I'm not, I've got kids. I've a family like much people in this community and they need to get to soccer that's out in Bedford so I need a vehicle. So that's why I have an issue with we have a two-family home and developers coming in and stuffing nine units into that space with no concern for parking whatsoever. Suddenly you've got eight more cars that need to fit on the street. Who is that benefiting? These are million-dollar homes. Nine out of ten people with million- dollar homes in Cambridge have a car. that's a lot of cars we need to put places so who is it benefiting? It's not the senior across the street from me that needs to get to the doctor's appointment It's not my neighbor that has a foster kid that needs to get to school. It's developer that's driving and maximizing their profits as much as they can. We need to consider what's really happening to community with the zoning. Thank you.

Thank you, our next speaker is Michael Rogo followed by Christopher Casa then Andrew King.

Hi, thank you. Michael Virgo of 65 Spark Street speaking on behalf of the 10 and a half people who live in my building but between childcare work responsibilities they're not here and we support the completion of the outer Huron bike lane. Speaking for myself soon I will have a kid and I won't be able to come to these for a while, and that influences who you hear from here in the story. My elderly neighbors lived on an adjacent floor with difficult stairs, and thank God they were able to move into a different rare dense multi-family apartment building without parking in West Cambridge which has been illegal to build for most of its life. West Cambridge is the wealthiest and least dense part of the city. It has 1.4% affordable housing, and I believe it has less homes today than it did in 1996. Please do not support amendments that make inclusionary units harder or downsizing harder for the aging Thank you. There's like 10 meetings in this meeting tonight, so please stay hydrated.

Thank you, Michael. We missed you. Our next speaker is Christopher Casa followed by Andrew King and then Itamar Turner-Charring. Christopher Casa, you have the floor. You have one minute. Please go ahead.

Good evening. I'm asking the council to let the Outer Huron Safety Project move forward. It's only a quarter mile, but it closes the last major gap between the lanes that we've installed for millions of dollars along Gladkin Field, from Fresh Pond all the way over to the golf course and all the ways to lanes that are planned. Separated bike lanes that were planned in Belmont specifically because we are making this regional connection. So, this is the way it works if we are building to the border people are building from it. We've seen that with Somerville, we've seen out with Boston and this is... The same thing is happening with Belmont This segment's been in the bike plan since 2015 on a street where the average driver is going over 30 miles an hour. It's not safe or comfortable for people to bike alongside that. I understand the concerns about parking, but there are solutions. We should be prioritizing access for Cambridge residents. That means requiring residential permits so anyone with a sticker on their car can go golf in the golf course or

Park, if they live in Parkside Place or they can go to Glacken Field. Thanks so much for your time.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Andrew King followed by...

Good evening, Andrew King, 36 Park Ave. I'm a longtime community member, Cambridge Public School graduate and now a new parent. I'm here representing Our Revolution Cambridge in support of the CEA's fight for living wages for all educators. Our paraprofessionals and education support staff are among our most diverse educators. As we know, many have deep roots in our community. They do incredibly important work building that relational trust with families and students on the front lines. They support our student's academic A starting parent in Cambridge earns only $32,000 a year. We know that's simply not enough to make a life in or around Cambridge. Somerville has shown us that when a community decides to truly value its paraprofessionals, it can put that commitment into a contract. Cambridge can do the same. Paying ESPs fairly is both a racial and economic justice issue One job should be enough.

Our Revolution Cambridge supports the CEA's call for at least a 6% increase in the school budget to fully fund the high quality schools our students and families deserve. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Itamar Turner-Troring, followed by Carl Schmeckpepper, then Jonathan Haber. Itamar, you have the floor. One minute. Please go ahead.

Hi, my name is Itamar Turner-Troering. I live in 139 Oxford Street. I'm speaking against Policy Order 8 and support of building the Huronov bike lanes. I've biked on those lanes and they're frankly awful. They're not safe. and so one thing about transportation is that in order for it to be useful, it has to be a connected network. can't get somewhere then like the fact that there's maybe a half bike lane in the middle doesn't help. And so if we want less people driving in Cambridge, less competition for parking One of the ways we can do that is ensuring people from neighboring towns who come here to work don't have to drive here. I get all this traffic in front of my house every weekday evening because of commuters and so if we have safe bike infrastructure that connects the neighboring towns, more people will bike. And we're actually seeing increases in biking from Belmont which means fewer... Which given like the area some of those people have chosen

not to drive into Cambridge, and we can improve that by building these bike lanes that connect to their infrastructure. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Carl Schmeckpepper followed by Jonathan Haber, then Janie Katz-Christy. Carl? Carl has not joined. We will go to Jonathan Haber. Jonathan, you have the floor. Please unmute yourself one minute.

Hey there. I live next to Downey Heap Park and bike to Fresh Pond frequently with my toddler, and since the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway opened, I bike to Watertown and Arsenal Yards all the time just another example of regional connections that Chris mentioned a minute ago. Please complete the already approved Huron AF bike lane, that will complete the connection to Belmont and please do it without a five-year delay. A small gap in a bike network has a huge impact Imagine a quarter mile stretch of Mass Ave without a sidewalk and the impact that would have on pedestrian safety, how comfortable it is to walk there, and how many pedestrians would choose to walk along Mass Ave if that was the case. The exact same thing applies to cyclists trying to get around our city safely. and separately, please don't amend our zoning to cripple housing production again. Thanks

Thank you. Our next speaker, we're going to go back to Carl Schmeckpepper, then we'll go to speaker number 31, Janie Katz-Christy, followed by Jeffrey Oishi. Carl, you have the floor? Carl, if you can unmute yourself. You have the floor. One minute.

Hello. Can you hear me?

Yes, I can.

Wonderful. Yeah, so please don't delay the Out of Huron bike lanes. This summer one of my friends got a new job in Belmont and The two of us tried to find a route that would make it so she could safely get to her new job from where she lives in Cambridge. Unfortunately, we were unable to find a safe route there because the bike infrastructure in Cambridge stops people against the border and the bike structure in Belmont has not yet been built. So instead she takes an Uber to work That's another car on the road both to pick her up and to take her to work. Fixing these bike lanes, making it so Belmont's projects actually could be built. It's going to take these cars off the road and make traffic better for everybody. And make it all of us can drive or can get where we're going safer. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Janie Katz-Christy. Janie, you have one minute. Please go ahead.

Hi. My name's Janie and Edward 166A Elm Street. And I'm also calling as a . to ask you to please not vote to delay the implementation of BIPEN in the Alders Huron area. I'm tired of coming to these meetings to ask Cambridge, ask you to not delay on certain parts of this and that part of the network. And if not in minor... It's not a minor thing to like find other

There's been so much work that has gone into the network and it's very frustrating to have to come to all these meetings.

Thanks, Janie. Please email us the remainder of your comment. Our next speaker is Jeffrey Oishi followed by Terese McAllister then Michael McCallister. Jeffrey? Jeffrey has not joined us. We will go to Therese McAllister followed by Michael McAllester.

Hello, my name is Therise McAllster I live at 121 Appleton Street in Cambridge Thank you for watching. I want to remind the people here tonight that once a 100-year-old house is demolished and the mature trees are cut down, and the open space will be completely paved over because he's taking over every inch of the lot, you cannot vote that back. The house is getting demolished and the neighbors all around of it will have to deal with a pile driving on a small lot. Our plaster will crack, our windows and foundations will get damaged, we'll have less sunlight. Children can't live in the sardine cans being developed in Cambridge by these developers.

Thank you that your time has expired.

Please email us the remainder. Our next speaker is Michael McAllister, followed by... Fabian Norona, then Benjamin Bartoski. Michael?

Good evening. I always follow Teresa. 119 Appleton Street. DND Homes has acquired at least 20 two and three family buildings in our area in recent months with the intention of demolishing them and replacing 9, at least nine unit buildings throughout the area. Although this developer has been active in northern Cyprus I'm unaware of any multi-unit projects that he's actually started let alone completed in the U.S. The current zoning regulations contain virtually no guardrails to assure that developments are good multi-unit developments that enhance their environment in which they are situated and minimize negative impacts on existing tenants and homeowners. The plans we've seen don't even pay lip service to the city's own guidelines for good multi-unit building design. And frankly, that's not his job. It's the City's job to make sure what is left behind enhances the community long term. The plans we've seen may be fine for northern Cyprus, but I think that Cambridge can and should do better.

We respectfully request the council pause the issuance of any new demolition and building permits. Thank you, Michael. Your time has expired.

Please email us the remainder. Our next speaker is Fabian Norona followed by Benjamin Bartoski then Charles Franklin.

Good evening. My name is Fabiana Noronha and I live at 1 Layton Street, apartment 807 here in Cambridge. I am a third- and fourth-grade Portuguese version teacher at the King Open School and I'm here in support of our educators. I want to speak specially about why having a paraprofessional in every elementary classroom matters. Every day, when I give my students an assignment, I need to make a choice. For example, I may need to sit beside a student with disability or an academic challenge who needs my immediate support. But while I am there, another child is raising a hand. Another one is struggling to understand the directions and another one is ready to soar but needs someone to listen and I cannot be in all of those places at once. Even the most skilled surgeon cannot perform an operation alone, and even the most dedicated teacher cannot meet the needs of every child alone.

I should not have to choose which students receive my attention. Thank you

Thank you. Our next speaker is Benjamin Bartoski. Benjamin, you have one minute please go ahead

Thank you very much. My name is Ben Baturski, I'm at 15 Ellsworth. I'm speaking against delaying the bike lanes and outer year-round policy order 8. I would love to have that same feeling when I'm biking near Fresh Pond. In general, Fresh Ponds is just a great place for walking running biking all that stuff it seems like accessibility is key here and this seems like a minor tweak that we could make I'd also like to make a small comment on the multifamily discussion. I'm really surprised to see here so much opposition. I think Cambridge is basically a city cosplaying as a small town and that affordability is essential. I really don't know what we would get from protecting multi-million dollar mansions, but it's surprising to hear all that. Also please pay the teachers thank you very much

Thank you. Our next speaker, we're at speaker number 37, Charles Franklin, who will be followed by Lisa Galluccio, then Jennifer Woodfin. Charles?

162 Hampshire Street, Charles That is the sound of my bike brakes followed by the sounds of a car hitting me while trying to park in an unprotected bike lane. That's me trying to get to work and some people say, Charles why don't you buy a car? Stop being a scrub and drive to work. Well last month when I drove to work, a person ran a red light and hit me. Insurance totaled it. If you're unhappy about bike lanes, perhaps you can move to Boston where a city staffer on a bike was killed by a truck and the mayor still made excuses for canceling safety projects in bike lanes. Shame on her! How many more people have to die before we stop having this debate? One, two, 200? That's how many cyclists have been struck and killed in Massachusetts since 2002. We have a right to get from point A to point B without being run down and killed by a driver. And my right to live is more important than your privilege to park.

This is shameful, and my sympathy has run out. Withdraw this policy order.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Lissa Galluccio followed by Jennifer Woodfin, then Mark Boswell.

Hi, Lissa Gluccio, 34 High Street. I'm here to talk about the policy order to vote in support of of pausing the outer Huron Ave bike lane. It's not about bike safety, there is a beautiful separated bike lane on Huron Av that almost every single Cambridge resident could access This is about the residents that live right there. Over 70 residents at 700 Huron Ave have signed a petition to pause this project, because it'll enormously impact their lives. that represents one of Strawberries Hill's largest affordable housing populations. Eliminating over 40 spaces directly across from this large building while competing with parking at Russell Youth Center, the Golf Course and Glackens Recreational Fields is not only going to greatly diminish their ability to get into their homes, but diminish the use of our beautiful recreational facilities by other residents in our city. Parking is going to be more and more competitive with the large number of developments being built in the neighborhood.

It's a big unknown. We often talk about our values and the importance we place on increasing affordable housing.

Please email us the remainder of your comment. Your time has expired, thank you. Our next speaker is Jennifer Woodfin followed by Mark Boswell then Marilee Meyer. Jennifer please go ahead, you have one minute.

Hi, my name is Jennifer Woodfin. I live at 34 Brookford Street I am here to speak about the multifamily housing ordinance. I would like to call for a pause and a reevaluation of the incentives that are being given to developers as part of this ordinance. I live on Brookford Street where we have already two buildings that have been purchased by developers, including my next door neighbors. My neighbor told me that she would never sell to a developer. I guess they made her an offer that she couldn't refuse. and I am concerned about the environmental impact. The trees, the plants, the beautiful garden that she has built there with many mature trees that you know I don't How will this affect my quality of life?

Thank you. Our next speaker is Mark Boswell followed by Marilee Meyer, then Abigail Starr. Mark, you have the floor. You have one minute. Please go ahead.

Hello, my name is Mark Boswell. I live at 105 Walden Street, Cambridge. Speaking about policy order number eight, you're on bike lanes. As a Cambridge resident and cycling instructor for Cambridge public school sixth graders, I urge you to vote no on this policy order and allow the project to move forward as scheduled. There's already been a public process for the project, feedback was collected by the Department of Transportation and designs have been advanced to the point of being ready for installation in coming weeks. This is also a meaningful regional connection to the neighboring town of Belmont. As a city seeking to provide sustainable transportation alternatives, we should be building safe comfortable routes in the bicycle network defined by the 2020 Bicycle Plan instead of providing unlimited unregulated Unregulated free parking at the cost of having an incomplete network. This is at odds with the spirit and the language of the cycling safety ordinance. Please vote no.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Marilee Meyer followed by Abigail Starr, then Walter Ouellette. We are at speaker number 41. Marilee, you have the floor. You have one minute. Please go ahead.

I'm Marilee Meyer, 10 Dana Street. While CDD amendments for multifamily zoning are positive, amendments by pro-developer councilor seem shallow and obstructionist How were amendments evaluated to begin with? Some units are better than none. Amendment 1 and 1A have been rolled together into a policy order, not allowing separate deliberation. No reduction in inclusionary housing units can be made. Inclusionary is based on square footage, not number of units. If city departments seek to accommodate code violations, stormwater etc. in a large building can 1-3 units be dropped to comply? Will remainder units be rejected Extensive demolition needs clarification. Land values escalate, causing lease termination.

Will zoning language brush aside practical evaluations for council expediency? Count the yard signs.

Our next speaker is Abigail Starr followed by Walter Ouellette, then Thomas Garo. Abigail, one minute.

Hi, my name is Abigail Starr. I live at 16 Richard Ave. I'm speaking against canceling the Outer Huron Bike Safety Project Policy Order Number 8. I've gone from primarily relying on my car for local transit to primarily relying of my bike over the last 10 years and that's because of the bike safety infrastructure that Cambridge and surrounding communities have installed in that time. There are still important gaps in the network that make some trips feel unsafe, like the outer section of your on-app. Even a short gap between safe infrastructure can make an entire trip feel undoable by bicycle. It's a short but important piece of infrastructure and I urge the council to vote against delays to the project. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Walter Ouellette, followed by Thomas Garoth and Sarah Block. Walter, you have the floor. You have one minute. Please go ahead.

Thank you, and I really appreciate all the council has done to improve bicycle transportation in Cambridge. I do want to speak in favor of saying no to cancellation. and I speak as a physician, parent to grandparent and safety is extremely important. People are still being seriously injured and dying because of collisions between automobiles, trucks and pedestrians and bicycle riders just in the sake of a healthy Cambridge please do vote no on this delay. and I do want to just add a quick note that I do support causing the regulations on housing. This, I think we're moving too fast in demolishing Affordable Housing in Cambridge. Thank you.

Two houses behind my house are due to be destroyed. These are Victorian houses. and replaced by a 60 to 70 unit tower that will prevent my being able to put solar panels on my roof. It'll kill my garden full of rare Amazonian hot peppers, and my granddaughter won't be able to play there. Where is all that sewage going to go of the extra 58 families where there used to be two? It's going to back up into my basement down Western Avenue and then into the Charles River. We already have... Seawich backing up every time it rains. We should be pausing putting a moratorium on any new housing development and we clean up our existing act first before we build new houses. It's just extremely irresponsible.

Thank you.

Our next speaker... Everyone was doing so well. I really, I don't want to say it multiple times folks And particularly, people may have different opinions. So clapping and doing that... We'll do one or two more and then we have to break for the tax rate.

Our next speaker is Sarah Block. Sarah has not joined us, we're going to go to Rachel Freyden followed by Arjun Jayakumar. Rachel?

Okay, thank you. All right, my name is Rachel Fraden. I'm reading the anonymous testimony of a sex worker within Cambridge. To the Cambridge City Council, my name is Reckless and I'm a full-service sex worker and resident of Cambridge. I am reaching out for your support as a community member and fellow Cambridge resident ask you to pass policy order number 10. Even now, I'm afraid to be present and share my own experience because of the backlash I might face for the work I do. but I know how important this is for me and my fellow sex workers. As a black queer and disabled person, not myself who often struggles in a conventional work setting due to racism, homophobia and ableism. Sex work has been the way I can consistently meet my financial needs It's incredibly vital that Cambridge decriminalize sex work.

Thank you, Rachel.

Your time has expired. Our next speaker and then we will break for the tax rate hearing is Arjun Jaikumar. Arjun, one minute please.

Thank you. Good evening. Argent J. Kumar, 175 Richdale Avenue, agenda item number six. I'm here to tell you a little bit about the people behind the CEA contract. Paraprofessionals, clerks and substitutes are essential to our schools. Some of them assist with toileting for our youngest kids or children with disabilities. Some work one on one with kids with the most acute special needs Some serve as a teacher's right hand or a child's most trusted adult. They are also some of the lowest paid union employees in the city. Others include library clerks, early education employees, school cafeteria workers and school custodial staff It won't be lost on any of us that these are fields that largely work with kids, and are disproportionately women, people of color or both. These are tough times economically for the city. They fall toughest on those who earn the least We are putting the people entrusted with the care of our kids in a really impossible situation. And we do not have to do this.

Yes, we will go to Laura Claussen. Laura you have the floor, you have one minute please go ahead. Hi, can you hear me? We can.

Thank you.

My name is Laura Clausen. I live at 175 Richdale Avenue and I'm the parent of a Cambridge Public Schools student who has benefited enormously from the work of union staff at Graham and Parks, including paraprofessionals and other ESPs. I'm asking this body to follow a few basic principles. Public money should fulfill our values When work is historically devalued because it's primarily done by women and people of color, that's something we should change. The work of corralling 20 plus students at getting them to learn to read and do math and also be kind to each other is deserving of a raise at least as big as the work of sitting this From where I stand, if you won't ensure that the school district's workers are getting a living wage, then either you have failed at your values or you simply have bad values. I hope that you will do the right thing by our school work. Thank you.

Thank you. The time is 630, having arrived. Council will recess the regular city council meeting and move to the public meeting on the tax rate classification, and then resume the regular City Council meeting immediately following. On a voice vote we'll go ahead all those in favor Teresa, say aye. Aye. Those against say no. The ayes have it. We are recessed and we're moving into the... 630 public meeting. Go back to the regularly scheduled regular meeting and do a roll call of members present.

Al-Zubi, present. Deismir Azeem, present Councilor Flaherty? Present. Councilor McGovern? Present Councilor Nolan? Present Councillor Simmons? Siddiqui? Present. You have nine members recorded as present.

So before we move back to public comment, I would like to entertain a motion to suspend the rules to bring forward the city manager agenda just Thank you very much. Whoever can go home, can go So on a motion by Councilor McGovern. On suspension, do a roll call.

Councilor Al-Zubi? Yes. Yes. Vice Mayor Azeem? Yes Council of Flaherty? McGovern, Nolan, Simmons, Sobrinho-Wheeler, Zusy, Mayor Siddiqui, and you have nine members recorded in the affirmative.

We're in suspension. There are eight city manager agenda items. Were there items that my colleagues wanted to pull and discuss? Hearing none, we'll go ahead and do a roll call on all the city manager agenda items.

And that's for approval, adoption.

Adoption, approving all the CMAs and adopting and approving any orders associated and appointments in the eight city manager agenda items.

Al-Zubi? Yes. Vice Mayor Azeem? Yes Councilor Flaherty? Yes, Councilor McGovern? Yes Simmons, Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Councilors Zusy, Mayor Siddiqui, and you have nine members recorded in the affirmative.

We're done with the city manager's agenda. We'll go back to public comment. Naomi?

Yes, thank you, Madam Mayor. Andrew Rueb, followed by Carlos Loya, then James Zoll. Andrew, you have one minute. Please go ahead. Just press the button.

My name is Andrew Rube. I live on Appleton Street, speaking about the pausing or modifying the multifamily housing ordinance. I'm a local Cambridge resident. I'm a college sports coach and not a fancy developer, and hope my voice will be heard. I support affordable housing yet the new zoning makes Cambridge a high end luxury developer paradise. I know that was not the intention. We neglected basic zoning guardrails and allowed huge developments on postage-sized family lots. Just look at Nine Wyman as a cautionary tale. Thank you. As someone mentioned, count the yard signs. The movement is growing. I read Ezra Klein in abundance like everybody else and this is not what's happening here so I hope there's a pause. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Carlos Loya followed by James Zoll, then Carol Alexandrov. Carlos, you have the floor. You have one minute. Please go ahead. Carlos Loya. We're gonna move on to James Azal. James, you have the floor. If you can unmute yourself, please go ahead.

Yes, this is James All 66 Sherman Street. The stated goal of the recent multifamily zoning is to allow and promote more housing in all neighborhoods. The law's success toward achieving that goal is evident in the increase in the number of planned and started units since it was passed Opponents of that reform are now calling for denial of building permits until their personal objections to new homes are met. They say they're just trying to protect their own street or neighborhood, but there's much more at stake all across the city. The amendments you're considering tonight will roll back some provisions of the six-year-old AHO, which has produced many new homes for the poorest among us in areas that were once effectively off limits. You've made noteworthy progress toward reducing the plague of exclusionary law that has weighed heavily on Cambridge for many decades.

It would be a dreadful shame if you allow that work to be reduced to a mere two-year intermission in the long run of inequity and injustice. Please stand strong

Thank you, James. Please email us the remainder. We're going to go back to an earlier skip speaker, Sarah Block followed by Kirill Alexandrov then Kate Zamparelli. Sarah, you have the floor please go ahead. You have one minute

Good evening, everyone. I am speaking to ask you not to support a pause on Upper Huron to mitigate parking. Looking through extensive analysis the Transportation Department has done with public feedback, I'm certain that many of the concerns that the Council have will be addressed in the final project plans. I am supportive of a study following the approximately 1,200 foot completion of the protected cycle lane on Upper Huron to Grove to determine if it actually creates a parking issue or shortage. I also want to note that the parking that will be eliminated is currently on the reservoir side against a fence with no sidewalk at all and is unregulated in its place people store RVs and boats. It's likely an unsafe situation to have people unloading their sports equipment and walking on the street to the clubhouse along a blind curve.

The project is also adding two disabled spaces, overnight residential parking and nine spaces near the VFW Youth Center.

Thank you, Sarah. Please email us the remainder. Our next speaker is Carol Alexandra followed by Kate Zamparelli then James Lyman. Carol, one minute.

Please halt the war on cars and parking, this time on Huron Avenue. Giving up 53 street parking spots at the end of Huron avenue is too much of a trade-off this time. Hardly anyone bikes along this stretch of Huron, as most bikers on Huron bike to the destinations from the Cambridge direction to Glacken Fields and Playground, the VFW, Russell Center, the golf course. or the tall residential building. Beyond those destinations, there isn't much use for a bike path that will eliminate 53 parking spots used by the denizens of all those destinations. But let's look at the math. 133 average precipitation days in Cambridge. I saw one biker today on Western Avenue where my office abuts and faces the bike path. There are five to six months of winter where hardly anyone bikes on the bike paths except often myself. That stretch, to all followers of common sense is not even remotely worth getting rid of 53 parking spaces for. Thank you

Thank you. Our next speaker is Kate Zamparelli. Kate has not joined us, we will move on to James Lyman followed by Kayla Goodale then Alex Dickle. James?

Yes, my name is James Lyman and I'm here to speak about the difficulty of actually building housing in Cambridge. I am the president of a company that owns three acres of land in West Cambridge next to the Tobin School and the Danny Park. This is a substantially large track of land and will be extremely useful for housing. Since they passed the zoning in 2025, we have tried to find developers to build housing on this property. So far, we've been unable to find anyone willing to take on this project. The reality is that a developer has to look at all costs and risks to determine if a project is feasible. That's why I'm particularly concerned with efforts to repeal the 2025 zoning changes that created housing opportunities in Cambridge. I strongly urge the Council not to repeal this zoning. We need enough flexibility and have development in projects to overcome these extraordinary costs. I believe that before the council we simply cannot ask how much housing can we allow. We need to ask how many housing we can create and can be actually built.

This will also increase the tax base substantially. Thank you

Thank you. Our next speaker is Kayla Goodale followed by Alex Dickel, then Josiah DiChiara. Kayla?

Hello, Kayla Goodell. I'm at 339 Broadway and I'm here today in support of policy orders. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10. It's a big day. Thanks y'all for being patient with us. I want to say I am the daughter of a proud Massachusetts Teachers Association member And today I'm here to encourage the council to vote yes in support of Unite Here Local 26, Teamsters 25 and the Cambridge Education Association. It is not lost on me that the folks we are asking to pay living wages to are primarily folks who provide Service to us in our experience of living a good life. And so when we talk about Cambridge Education Association, we talk They need to be able to live locally. They need not to work three jobs. When we talk about the folks that work up at Encore, they need to have a realistic commute to work.

They needed the ability to live a good life and I ask you support them today.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Alex Dickel followed by Josiah DiChiara, then Hope Turner.

Hi, Alex Stickle, 41 Stearns. On the bike lanes, is there a single bike lane that we have planned that three councillors will not oppose? A pre-planned bike lane Thank you. Please don't count the yard signs. I live in a house with one of those yard signs It's not mine, it's my landlord's. I can't put a sign up unless it blocks the one window into the front of my house This is a well-organized, wealthy group of individuals fighting for their own desires. I can't paint my living room because I can afford a house here My wife and I combined make not enough to buy 1.5 million. We barely make enough that in five years we could afford a million, but what we can't do is afford one of these homes and single families that are so worried about

Who's living next to them? It might be me. Oh, no.

Thank you, Alex. Our next speaker is Josiah Di Chiara followed by Hope Turner, Steven Salucci then Gauri Vijayakumar Josiah?

Good evening. My name is Josia de Quiera from Boston. As an educator at Darby Basel Upper School, I call on you all to prioritize students in Cambridge Public Schools by passing Policy Order 179. In a rich city like Cambridge, all educators deserve to earn a living wage. That means at least a 6% increase to the school department budget My science classroom has students reading above grade level, students using assistive technology, students taking movement breaks to focus. Students who haven't gotten breakfast yet, students who are worried about their families and all of them are students who want to learn and succeed. I am lucky to work with brilliant and talented paraprofessionals who worked tirelessly to meet all of these needs despite the fact that many of them also work second and third jobs because Cambridge still pays poverty wages. Our students need our educators for support, and our educators need you for support. Do that today by passing Policy Order 179.

Our students deserve fully funded schools so use your power to allocate additional money to the school department and settle our contracts

Thank you. Our next speaker is Hope Turner followed by Steven Salucci. Hope, you have one minute. Please go ahead.

Hi, my name is Hope Turner. I live at 32 Vineyard Street. As a caregiver of a Hagerty School student, I'm urging you to find the money for a 6% increase in the budget so we can pay educators more. My son has had an amazing experience at Hagerty because of his teachers and educational support professionals. The paraeducators in my son's classrooms have provided important support for him around his sensory needs. For example, noticing when he seems uncomfortable after getting something sticky on his hand and helping him. This kind of individualized attention makes such a difference in how comfortable he feels at school and his readiness to learn. I've seen firsthand how much CPS educators care, and I also see so much potential for burnout Paras shouldn't have to work additional jobs and all educators should earn enough to be able to live in Cambridge if they want.

We don't value care work in this country, but Cambridge can be a leader in changing that. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Steven Salucci. Steven, you have one minute. Please go ahead. You have the floor. Steven Salucci, if you can unmute yourself.

Sorry. Great. Steven Saluchi, 32 Vineyard Street, same as Hope who we just heard from. I second everything she said about our sons Absolutely wonderful experience in Cambridge schools. I just want to add, I think we could pay the educators through a tax increase. I say this as someone privileged to be a homeowner in the city. Cambridge has a substantial excess tax levy capacity, the stated purpose of which is to provide the flexibility to raise taxes when we need to. I keep hearing that we're facing economic headwinds and maybe this is a reason we should be careful about spending, but I'd like to note they were coming off some strong economic tailwinds that have allowed us to increase the excess living in recent years for an occasion just like this. I think paying our educators enough so that they can continue to do outstanding work and also afford to live here is a great reason to use some of that flexibility.

I'd also argue that weathering any economic storms is an appropriate use for the over $200 million in savings that Cambridge has and that would be preferable to asking our paraeducators to somehow make up the gap themselves, which is what's currently happening. Increase the budget. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Gauri Vijayakumar, followed by Elizabeth Gombeche then Frances Donovan. Gaurie, you have the floor. You have one minute. Please go ahead.

My name is Gauri Vijayakumar and I live at 21 High Street in Cambridge. And I want to say, I support the paraprofessionals but I'm here to speak about policy order 10 as an ally to sex workers and a professor of sociology. Through my research, I've interviewed nearly 200 sex workers, experts and policymakers in India, Kenya and the US. And I would be so proud for Cambridge to be a leader in decriminalizing sex work. Global public health organizations including the WHO, UNAIDS, UNDP and UNFPA all agree that decriminalization protects the safety and dignity of sex workers. As an educator who teaches about feminism and racial justice I believe that decriminalizing sex work is a feminist and racial justice issue. It makes it possible for sex workers to protect one another from violence, exploitation and trafficking In India, sex workers have built organizations that take on traffickers through initiatives led by sex workers. This policy order will enable sex workers here in Cambridge to build a safer world for each other

and many of us are happy to collaborate with the city council in talking further about this issue. Thank you.

Thank You. Our next speaker is Elizabeth Gombashee followed by Francis Donovan Elizabeth and Francis had told us earlier that they weren't sure they were going to be able to stay for the second part of the meeting. We're going to go back to an earlier SKIP speaker, Kate Zamparelli. For those that are waiting, we are at speaker number... Thank you, can you hear me? Yes, Kate, please go ahead.

Hello?

We can hear you.

Please go ahead Can you hear me? Yes Okay good sorry I was on the phone and it did not work despite star six At any rate, I'm a 40-year resident of Emmons Place. Thank you for listening to me. And I'm questioning the reason for taking this significant number of parking spaces out of Huron I am a 74-year-old member of the Fresh Pond Ladies Golf Association. Last Thursday, I arrived at the course on Thursday morning at 815 and there were absolutely no parking spaces. Luckily, as a Cambridge resident I was able to find one on Huron Avenue. My 89-year old recently widowed partner was not She could not locate a parking space and was unable to play in one of our final competitions. The management at Fresh Pond, particularly the director Joanna Krupa is so accommodating to the aged, disabled and veterans

In fact, we have handicap flags on our cards.

Your time has expired. Apologies. Please email us the remainder of your comment. Anyone who we have to end their time, please email us at citycouncil at cambridgema.gov We're going to move on to speaker number 63, Jesse Baer, followed by Heather Penzkofer, then Sasha Cohen Jesse. Jesse is not with us, we're going to go to Heather Penzkofer Heather is not on the Zoom. We will go to Sasha Cohen. Sasha, if you can unmute yourself, you have one minute. Please go ahead.

Can you hear me?

We can.

Great. I'm a longtime Cambridge resident and history professor speaking in support of Policy Order 10, Some here tonight will lead you to believe that reasonable and well-meaning people disagree on this issue, that it is unsettled complicated and up for debate. I'm going to tell you two reasons why it's not. One, the scholarly data is unambiguous all evidence proves that full decriminalization is the only policy that reduces violence There is already a consensus among human rights and global health organizations in favor of this policy, full stop. 2. The local community of current sex workers here in Cambridge is telling you they unequivocally need full decriminalization to keep them safe. Your decision should be based entirely on their input as the stakes are highest for them and they will be the ones impacted. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Joseph Poirier followed by Sarah Nelson, then Aaron Homer Joseph is not in the Zoom. We will go to Sarah Nelson.

Thank you. My name is Sarah Nelson, I'm from 17 Rockwell Street. The goal of the multifamily housing ordinance was to meet Cambridge's housing needs and to do our part to address the regional housing crisis. The city of Cambridge has experts in urban planning, We have the finances and the will to get this done. So how did we end up with zoning changes that are removing affordable rental properties and producing mainly housing 1.5 million and above that only the top 7% of households in Cambridge can afford? In February 2025, six members of this council voted to pass the literally groundbreaking multifamily housing ordinance. I can't believe that they passed it thinking it was perfect, one and done. Our federal constitution has 27 amendments, and I hope that at least half of the people in this room think the Equal Rights Amendment should be certified. The amendments on the table are...

needed to protect Cambridge residents from the harm caused by developers whose primary motive is to maximize profits. Thank you, Sarah. Your time has expired.

Please email us the remainder of your comment. We're going to go back to Jesse Baer, then Heather Penzkofer. Jesse, you have one minute. Please go ahead.

Hi, thanks for coming off guard. I was upstairs. Yeah, so Jesse Bear, 10 Poplar Road. I grew up here in one of those apartments that I've heard is unfit for families but actually It was cozy, but a family of four did well. What was not easy though is going to high school and having my parents be a teacher's aide and substitute teacher. That was very stressful experience living in precarity during high school I hope that we can make sure the people who serve our kids are served and able to raise families here. and as we heard, we have one of the lowest tax rates around if not the lowest. And we can definitely afford it. So I'm here to support our educators who

Also, yes to bike lanes and yes to decriminalizing sex work. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Heather Penzcoffer, then we will go to speaker number 68, Erin Homer. Heather, you have the floor one minute.

Okay thank you. I'm here with my son. Hello, councillors. My name is Felix Penskofer. My mom will read it for me My son wrote this. He said, I'm nine years old and I ride on the back of a cargo bike with my mom almost every day. We rode 3,000 miles this year in the city. I know grownups have to make decisions about streets, so I want to tell you what it feels like as a kid. I'm speaking because the stretch of outer Huron without a protected bike lane is scary for me. Even from the back of the bike, I can tell when cars are too close to us. I feel better on a protected bike lane to get to Glacken playground. Please think of the kids riding with their families today, as well as the kids who will ride when they grow up. Vote no on Policy Order 8 and complete the order here on bike lanes. Thank you for listening.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Aaron Homer followed by Gordon Moore, then Maureen Coger. Aaron, you have the floor. You have one minute. Please go ahead.

Hello, I'm Aaron Homer, 90 Grozier Road. I'd like to speak in favor of completing the bike lanes I'm going to have. I get around early by bike often with my daughter on the bike and having consistent bike lanes is critical to my family's safety. I also urge council to keep the multifamily housing ordinance as it is. It's already building a lot of affordable housing and even more market rate housing, Buckwood Housing is expensive, but it's the only way we're going to solve the housing crisis here in Cambridge and around the state. We need more housing. Nobody likes construction, nobody likes change, but we need the housing. We Thank you.

Our next speaker is Gordon Moore. Gordon is not with us. We're going to move on to speaker number 70, Maureen Koger. Maureen is also not with us. We're going to go to Bernard Lupien. Bernard, if you can unmute yourself, you have one minute. Please go ahead.

Okay, I'm muted. Good evening council. I live in Riverside at 53 J Street. I urge you to adopt the strongest multifamily housing amendments and reject nullifying counter-amendments on my small street alone. There are three projects, all three displaced people already living in multi family housing. These were affordable units Now these people and their families are gone, and their housing has been replaced with multi-million dollar luxury condos. One condo just listed on Compass, I saw that yesterday, for $2.35 million. That's not the whole building. That is just one unit. These teardowns displaced the middle class to line the pockets of wealthy developers. Our children will look back at this with sadness, just like Boston's West End and the Boston Redevelopment Authority catastrophe. Please protect our middle class and vote for the strongest possible amendments. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Siobhan McDonough, followed by Sarah Egan, then Irina Izoskaya. Sioban, please go ahead. You have one minute.

Thank you, I'm Siobahn McDonoghue. I live on Ellery Street I'd like to speak primarily about the Cambridge educators and in full support of them. One demand that they've made that I think hasn't maybe gotten enough attention is putting a para in every elementary school. And I think something that people really across education, as I understand it, agree on Students' attention spans are getting shorter and trying to keep students engaged is getting harder and harder. And having paras in the classroom who are able Thank you so much for joining us. Please support decriminalization of sex work in Cambridge.

This is something that disproportionately affects trans people who face employment and housing discrimination, and who are forced out of their homes by unaccepting parents. This a lifeline for many people. Please help them. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Sarah Egan. Sarah has not joined, we will go to Irina Izoskaya. Irina is not with us or on Zoom. Dean Grodzins, Dean you have one minute please go ahead.

Thank you. Dean Brodsons, 12 Parker Street, 30-year resident of Cambridge. I've wanted to just come up here and support the proposal to increase the budget to allow for Thank you very much. The school committee says our hands are tied because the budget is set. If they know from you that there is flexibility, they can do things with that. And then the second point is... Priorities. If we all say that educating our kids intellectually, socially, morally and civically is our highest priority, we should therefore put our money where our mouth is

and have the best public schools and best paid paras. Thank you.

Our next speaker is Adam Manashe followed by Janice Pabello. Adam, please go ahead. You have one minute.

Adam Maniker, 48B Dana Street, mid-Cambridge neighborhood. I'm here regarding the policy order 2026173. Although neighbors ask why I bother to be here I thank you for the opportunity to speak and hopefully to be heard. I appreciate the Community Development Department's work on the zoning update, but I urge you to reconsider the proposed setback change on page 13 of the September 16th update A sum of 25 feet is misleading and is not an adequate substitute for defined minimum setbacks. As shown on page 8, we need specific minimums 10 to 15 feet in the rear and seven and a half feet on the sides. Without those minimums, this proposal creates a loophole that threatens neighborhood livability and the city's ability to manage stormwater, meet fire codes and accommodate utilities. All concerns identified by the department itself.

Please, leave us space to breathe, plant trees and sustain a healthy environment. We can work together toward increased housing without destroying the city we love.

We're going to go to an earlier skipped speaker, Maureen Coger followed by Janice Pavello then Jean Garrison.

Hi, I'm Sarah Boyer speaking on behalf of Maureen Coger. Couldn't make it tonight. Maurene is 93 years old. and she has been dealing with noise in the back of her house since August, with construction going on. and next door they're going to be tearing down an old two-family house and putting up who knows how much. She is concerned about, she put solar panels on her roof and it looks like she's going to be in the shade so she won't get the value of the solar panels. She's very concerned, as am I, about what's going on in the city with the upzoning petition. And the noise that she has to deal with is... A lot of her neighbors are upset about this too.

As someone who's lived in the city for decades, Maureen and myself feel that this upzoning

Thank you. Your time is expired. If you can, please email us the remainder of your comment. Our next speaker is Janice Povello followed by Jean Garrison then Leslie Swanson. Janice, you have one minute. Please go ahead.

Good evening. My name is Jan Pubello. I live at 69 Brookline Street. I am speaking tonight in strong support of the amendments to the multifamily housing ordinance. Of the many concerns I have with the ordinance, I feel strongly that expanding housing options is critical. and we must focus on density where it matters. The current ordinance allows unrestricted market rate development which does not include affordable units if the project, as you know, has nine units or less. This displaces or eliminates the possibilities for the very residents that we want to protect So these amendments provide some of the necessary guardrails to ensure our growth is sustainable and fair for all residents. We need smart growth for Cambridge, not growth at any cost.

So please vote to approve these balanced amendments. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Jean Garrison, followed by Leslie Swanson. Then we will be at speaker number 80, Alan Peterson. Jean, you have one minute. Please go ahead. You have the floor.

Hi, I'm a 25-year resident of Tremont Street, King Garrison. I'm at number 71. When we moved in, my husband and I The wonderful street of older residences and they all had backyards. Now, most of those backyards are filled with condo boxes with very narrow setbacks. Floor area ratios have restrictions have been have been ignored. Balconies now count as open space, and these are not affordable units or family units. These are multi-million dollar condos Too small for families and definitely not affordable. They're driving up real estate costs all over Cambridge, making it less, not more likely that there will be affordable housing.

The demographic, the diversity that we value here in Cambridge will change as the only people who can move in and buy these houses are not working families.

Thank you. We're going to go back to an earlier skip speaker, Carlos Loya, then we will go to Leslie Swanson. Carlos, you have the floor one minute please go ahead.

Thank you, and thank you everyone for your service tonight. I am, for developers in Cambridge, making a profit unlike Many people here, but when they build the homes that our people and our communities are actually looking for. And that's obviously not what's happening now. Previously affordable rentals were being demolished The middle-class families who could once afford to live here and down the street where I live, here in West Cambridge are being driven out. Counselors, particularly McGovern, Azeem and Sobrinho-Wheeler likely had very good intentions when they believed that this multifamily housing ordinance would deliver affordability but now we have evidence that it is not doing the The intended effect, actually it's the opposite. In making affordability worse, killing hundreds of trees, disincentivizing solar.

So I urge the city council to listen to the thousands of families who are asking to please stop it The MFH had good intention to survive.

Thanks, Carlos. Please email us the remainder or time expired. Our next speaker is Leslie Swanson followed by Alan Peterson then Molly Brooks. Leslie? Leslie is not with us. We're going to go to speaker number 80, Alan Peterson. Thank you.

My name is Alan Peterson. I live at 19 Haskell Street, North Cambridge with my wife and our children I'm here to ask you, the City Council, to adopt these modest amendments to the current zoning policy. Although I have a number of issues with the current The city of Boston, as it turns out currently, is looking for ways to change their zoning to help increase the number of large canopy trees and permeable surfaces throughout the city and neighborhoods. They understand how vital the trees and permeable surfaces are in combating the forever increasing urban heat island effect. Global warming.

Our current front, rear and side yard setbacks do not allow for the sustainable ability of Full Growth Canopy Trees, let alone small ones. Thank you, Alan.

Your time has expired. If you can please email us the remainder. Cambridge is the most dense city, second most dense

Molly Brooks, 70 Matten on Road. I'm a member of the CEA and I speak in favor of policy item 179 for fully funded public schools because all my coworkers deserve dignity. I'm going to read a non-exhaustive list of the reality many of our ESPs who survive on or around poverty wages. They have second jobs, have third jobs, Mistime with loved ones due to having to work those jobs. Skipping meals. Choosing how long they can go in the winter without turning on their heat. Taping and gluing together worn out shoes. Opening new credit cards to expense emergency bills because savings account isn't an option when you're scraping by despite working full time. Accruing debt from those credit cards, cutting your own hair, choosing the groceries you can afford, not the ones you want to eat. Our ESPs deserve so much better than this. Vote in favor of policy item 179.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Joy Chesna, followed by Marissa Fried, then Lauren Jacoby. Joy?

My name is Joy Chesna. I live at 411 Franklin Street. I moved to Cambridge after my house went on fire in Jamaica Plain, and Cambridge is so inviting. I ask you to consider a pause on the multifamily ordinance More, the impact on the environment, sewage, community, access to sunlight, trees, quality of life, parking. and how the ordinance actually affects affordable housing, and the lovely Cambridge Gardens.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Marissa Freed, followed by Lauren Jacoby. Marissa, one minute.

Marissa Freed, she, her is 50 Prospect Street, Somerville. Speaking of policy order number 179, it's been discussed as a district initiative to ensure that every CPS student has a connection with a trusted educator who they know they can reach out to to share their joys but also their struggles. For many of our students, this trusted adult is an education support professional and ESP. Not only do we lift up the educational social emotional learning potential of our We also help prevent them from falling through the cracks. It is suicide prevention month. Keeping privacy in mind, there are several examples I can share of CPSD students who because of their trust relationship with an ESP only opened up about their suicidal ideation to us, and we were there to be able to connect them to the help they needed. CPSD educators advocating for a proud profession in every classroom as well as living wages so that we could always be there for our students.

To, of course, celebrate their successes but to support them throughout their struggles as well. Thank you

Thank you. Our next speaker is Lauren Jacoby, followed by Nathan Sitaraman, then Joel Patterson. Lauren please go ahead one minute Lauren, if you can unmute on your end. You have the floor. We can't hear Lauren. We're going to move on to speaker number 85, Nathan Sitaraman followed by Joel Patterson then Robert O'Neill

Thanks, yeah. Nathan Sudaraman of 100 Memorial Drive also speaking on the Cambridge teachers. I moved to Cambridge for a job at a tech startup and... Knowing that I'm just one representative of this city's robust tech sector, it's appalling to know that we don't pay a living wage to public educators. Not a single tech worker or anyone in this room was born smart. Everyone here is a product of our education, and that's why it shocks the conscience that the money we bring into the local economy is not going towards the education of the next generation. It's short-sighted at a time when the cost of being shortsighted is going to be a lot more than 10 or 20 million dollars. Pay the teachers, and for commercial properties in Cambridge especially those that are home to lucrative tech businesses Assess them and tax them in a way that's commensurate with the profits being made. Because frankly, unless Harvard and MIT grow legs and walk away, tech is not leaving this city. Thank you. And also decriminalize sex work.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Joel Patterson, followed by Robert O'Neill then Sheila O'Shaughnessy Joel? Joel has not joined. We will go to Robert O'Neill. Robert, you have one minute. Please go ahead.

Robert O Neill 175 Hallworthy Street Speaking on the Multifamily Housing Ordinance, over the past months and again tonight you've heard comments, concerns, facts, and opinions which provide rational justification for the need to substantially amend the Multafamily Housing Thank you very much. have signed a petition requesting you to pause development under the ordinance and enact substantive amendments. And we're continuing to collect 40 additional signatures a day The voices of the people who signed the petition warrant as much attention and weight in the city's decisions as those who made time to speak here tonight on any side of the issue. I urge you to follow through on your obligation to represent the interests of Cambridge residents who have invested their time, resources and lives

making Cambridge what it is today, not the interests of developers with no long-term vested interest in Cambridge.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Sheila O'Shaughnessy followed by Paula Maut then Andrew Zhu Sheila?

Hi, my name is Sheila O'Shaughnessy. I'm born and raised in Cambridge, grew up on a third floor. Seven of us lived there happily, and Cambridge is not the Cambridge that I once knew. I'm asking to put a pause on the demolishing and destroying neighborhoods in Cambridge. I believe the council that supported the developers have deceived the residents of Cambridge saying they will be affordable, but the loophole of keeping them under 10 units therefore won't have any affordable units. Don't be fooled. These one bedroom units will not be affordable. The developers say they will be environmentally green, but I see nothing green about tearing the old beautiful trees The Wisteria, and a 75-year-old grapevine that's next door to me on 5052 Chilton Street in Cambridge which is being knocked down October 5th. When I looked out the window the other day, A van pull up, the people were putting their socks.

over their pant legs with surgical masks and bandanas on going to remove asbestos. They had none of the paperwork.

Thanks, Sheila. Your time is expired. Please email us the remainder of your comment. We'll go next to Paula Maut followed by Andrew Zhu, then Joe Quest-Newbert. Paula if you can unmute yourself? Andrew Xu,

Good evening. My name is Andrew Tso, living at 65 Brainerd Road, and I'm here to speak in opposition to the proposed amendments to the multifamily zoning ordinance because I can't live here anymore. Not because I can't afford it, but because my girlfriend who I've been long distance with for the last five years and would really like to have move in with me cannot live here. Because she's a wheelchair user. And the front door to my 126 year old apartment was up a set of stairs. and me being a renter could not just compel my landlord to reconfigure my entire building to make it accessible. So I had to choose, Cambridge or my girlfriend? And I left I wouldn't have had to if my apartment was modern and ADA compliant to begin with, or if I had any accessible alternatives that were even remotely affordable in the city. That's why I think it's important to preserve multifamily zoning as is. Not just because it's already the best tool to make housing cheaper, but because newly built housing is the only chance that my girlfriend and I and many others like us could ever build a life here. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Joe Quest-Newbert. Joe, please go ahead. You have one minute.

Okay. Hi, I'm JoQuest Newbert, 1222 Cambridge Street. I'm a career public school teacher and also a homeowner in Cambridge thanks to the Homebridge program. I'm speaking today in strong support of Policy Order 6 to urge you to work with the City Manager and School Committee to ensure a living wage for all Cambridge Public Schools employees. Even in a bad economy, Cambridge has incredible wealth. There is no reason that a city with a billion-dollar budget and a stated commitment to economic opportunity should pay any of its employees poverty wages. Our City Manager and School Committee need your leadership to say yes, we can and must find the money to ensure that CPSD paraprofessionals, clerks, and substitutes will all be paid a living wage. If that money needs to come from an increase in property taxes, then please increase our taxes. I would rather pay more in property tax than know I am funding a system that does not fairly compensate its workers.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Ian McGoldrick followed by Sam Palmer, then Miriam Cohen. Ian, you have the floor. You have one minute. Please go ahead. Ian, if you can unmute yourself.

Hi, good day. I'm Ian McGoldrick, live at 18 Feynwood Circle, Cambridge, Massachusetts. My wife and I bike around Cambridge. We have a new son who's about 20 months old. We've been biking a ton around the city, The value of the network is to have routes on biking that are continuous and allow us to get To our friends in Arlington, Belmont and other places. It's our primary mode of travel when we're trying to move within the city. And I strongly encourage council Thank you so much for joining us. and the life of my 20-month-old who gets to daycare by those bike lanes.

I would expect there are similar people out on Huron Ave and when we go out on huron ave to the park out there. Thank you

Thank you. Our next speaker is Sam Palmer, followed by Miriam Cohen, then Jennifer Britton-Cologne. Sam? Sam has not joined us. We're going to go to Miriam Miriam is not, oh, Miriam's on Zoom. Miriam you have the floor? Miriam, I believe you should be able to unmute yourself now. Yep please go ahead.

Hi can you hear me? Yes. Sorry about that. My name is Miriam Cohen, I'm the Associate Director of the New England Jewish Labor Committee. I'm speaking in favor of policy order number 179 in support of the Cambridge Educators Association. There is an incredible, vibrant Jewish community in Cambridge. It relies, like all communities here on being able to somehow afford the city which is as you know it's really hard and that both includes having a livable living wage. For paras, teachers, staff, I know a lot of community members work in Cambridge public schools and as parents to be able to send their kids to schools that are fully funded.

The Jewish Labor Committee has been fighting for workers getting what they deserve for 90 years and proud to continue that history forward. Hope you fund the Cambridge schools.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Jennifer Britton-Cologne. Jennifer has not joined us. We will go to speaker number 96, Brianna Pearson. Brianna, you have one minute. Please go ahead.

Hi. I think I was on the wrong list for the tax rate meeting but I also feel like I'm kind of the trifecta here as a resident, parent and business and a commercial taxpayer. I just came in support tonight of the Cambridge educators to learn a living wage. I feel like as an alumni of CRLS myself, I've seen the schools change over the course My daughter's 26. My youngest is 11. There used to be amazing project-based learning in my daughter's elementary school, same elementary school 16 years later. The support staff has been dropped entirely and we've lost a bunch of tenured teachers because of some terrible administration hires. I think we need to respect our educators, listen to what they need and support them.

Educators are an integral strength regarding our collective character in this city

Thank you. Our next speaker is Audra Doody followed by Nancy Weissman then Stacey Reed. Audra, one minute please go ahead

Hi can you hear me?

We can.

Hi, thank you. Um hi my name is Audra Doody I'm of Worcester. I'm the co-CEO of Safe Exit Initiative we provide support and resources for those impacted by the sex trade i'm here tonight in full opposition to policy order 10 We already do not have enough willing participants to meet the demand and that is why I was trafficked into the sex trade by my pimp. We do not currently arrest sellers of sex and go after the demand, the sex buyers and the traffickers. This city ordinance goes against everything the governor's office five-year plan to address human trafficking that was released last January. I want to remind everybody about the Cambridge brothel bust that happened not that long ago. We had a city council member who claimed it was consensual adult sex work, but when you look at the interactions between toner and the brothel owner,

the sex had no say in what happened this is what happens in the sex trade you set agreements or terms and they are almost always broken the buyers never ask how old you are or if you want to be there 87 percent

Apologies, Audra. Your time expired. Please email us the remainder of your comment. We are moving on to Nancy Wiseman followed by Stacey Reed then Patricia Barger. Nancy you have one minute please unmute yourself you have the floor

This is Nancy Weissman. I live on Strawberry Hill. I have been a resident of Cambridge since 1995, which makes it 31 years. I'm here today to ask you change the affordable housing proposal so that it stops destroying our neighborhoods. It has unintended consequences, they by right options are way too broad I ask that you consider the email that I sent to the city councilors on June 1st because the developer up the road from me, Mark Talorin at number 95 wants to change a single family house with large end setbacks. Thank you. Our next speaker is Stacy Reed.

Stacy, I see Dr. Stacey Reed-Barnes, please go ahead.

Hi, can you hear me?

We can.

Hi my name is Dr. Stacy Reed- Barnes. I am an international survivor leader advocate and professional committed to ending human trafficking and exploitation I am in opposition of policy order number 10, decriminalization of sex work and Cambridge Mass because I do not believe it will make people safer. As a survivor, I know that trafficking is not just about what happens to someone. It's about what is taken from them. Their safety, their voice, their trust and often their sense of self. Many individuals involved in the sex trade come from vulnerable backgrounds including poverty, homelessness, addiction and histories of abuse. Expanding the market for commercial sex can increase demand without addressing the underlying factors that place people at risk and reduce accountability for buyers, and create opportunities for traffickers to operate with less scrutiny or feel they can turn Cambridge into a red light district. Safety does not come from providing housing

Safety comes from providing housing, mental health services, education, employment opportunities and support for those who want to lead the industry, not normalizing prostitution. We should focus on protecting vulnerable individuals.

Apologies for muting you. Please email us the remainder at citycouncilatcambridgema.gov. Your time had expired. We are on to speaker number 100. We have about 54 to 56 speakers to go. Speaker 100 is Patricia Barger. Patricia? Patricia may have left. We are going to move on to speaker number 101, Paola Rabusco. Paola, you have the floor. You have one minute.

Hi, Paola Rebusco, 179 Spring Street Parent at Amigos and CRLS. I support policy order number six and prioritizing Cambridge public school in the budget so that all Cambridge educators can earn a living wage starting this year. There are larger questions about why, despite our very high per student spending, we still face challenges for students and staff. But right now, we need to make sure that the people doing this work are paid fairly. I've seen firsthand how paraprofessionals have supported my children emotionally, helped them navigate conflicts and noticed opportunities to inspire them. For example by finding an extra book when they saw a particular interest. Every time I see this work I'm impressed Knowing that these educators are not earning a living wage makes me feel that we are undervaluing and taking advantage of their skills and generosity. Thank you.

Thank you. We're going to go back to Jennifer Brittain Colonese. Jennifer, you have the floor one minute.

Hi, good evening. This is Jennifer Britton Colonies. I live at 209 Hurley Street speaking in support of Order 179 to give and paraprofessionals, a living wage. And really that we need to invest in our future, in our students and the people who help them learn. Thank you so much. I appreciate your time.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Trish Ewins followed by Anthony Martin, then Suzanne Schindler. Trish? Trish is not with us. We're going to move on to Anthony Martin. Anthony is not on the Zoom. We will go to Suzanne Schindler. Suzanne is not here. We're going to go to Jan Forte. Jen has also left. We will go to Jacob Silverson. Jacob, you have the floor. You have one minute. Please go ahead

Jacob Silverson, 103A1 Hill Street, Cambridge. I'm speaking in support of the proposed changes to the multifamily housing ordinance. CDD's amendments are but a modest yet important step to modifying the existing ordinance. The Azeem-McGovern, Sobrinho-Wheeler amendment nullifies the CDD proposal. A vote for the amendment represents... It's a rejection of CD thousands of Cambridge citizens that can see building more and more market rate housing no matter what will in short order make our city unlivable. It saddens me to say that we are going down the path of destruction at a pace far faster than any one could have imagined. I implore you vote yes to CDD, no to Council proposed amendments. I want to say this we have many of us have gone to the council and pleaded with you to look at what we predicted would have happened and it now is happening

please pay attention and take this into account. Stop it now, every day is more destruction. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Kathleen Kelly, followed by Jay Hotaling then Nahit Trivedi. Kathleen, you have the floor. You have one minute. Please go ahead.

I have to say the problem that upzoning might cause folks who want to add solar panels is new and concerning to me. Policy Order 173 is only, only a first step. We need a full review of the zoning scheme and that should include robust public comment. In addition, the $405 billion Cambridge Point project which promises 415 to 460 affordable housing units should be factored into any discussion on zoning and affordability going forward. Thank you

Thank you. Our next speaker is Jay Hodling, followed by Nahit Trivedi. Jay, you have the floor. You have one minute. Please go ahead. Jay, you have to unmute on your end.

There we go. I'm sorry about that. You can hear me now?

We can. Please go ahead.

Jay Hotelling, 541 Green Street. And I'm here to plead with the Cambridge residents and of course our governing bodies here to remember that Cambridge started as a forest swamps and it was a village as a village surrounded by fields. And if you asked our ancestors back in the 1600s or 1700s, they wouldn't recognize this city today. And the city continues to densify We have a heavy rail subway line right through the center, and it's become a major part of the fabric of the Boston Metro. I agree with many of the residents' concerns about ugly development However, our lots are tiny. The multifamily amendments have huge setbacks and side yard requirements that are simply not going to work with the buildings and the goals of making it come together. And today's market rate apartments and market rate buildings are expensive, yes. But they're tomorrow's affordable housing. They're energy efficient, safer, and all around better. Please don't change the things.

It's tough to go through the initial parts of a boom

Thank you, Jay. Please email us the remainder. Our next speaker is Nahid Trivedi followed by David Halperin then Ryan Black. Nahid, you have the floor. You have one minute. Please go ahead

Naomi, sorry we don't have quorum so we have to stop. Apologies in the heat if you can just hold on for one second. Okay, Vice Mayor's here but we need someone here.

Continue. Nahid please go ahead you have the floor will you reset the timer? One minute.

Okay thank you City Council, first of all I commend you all for moving forward last year with the multi-family housing overlay. Massachusetts and Cambridge are in the midst of an existential crisis with people and families leaving the state, leaving our city Ultimately, which could result in poorer finances for our city less students in our schools and less representation in Washington DC So I asked the council to stay the course and reject changes that could result In many fewer homes being built Second, please continue the expansion of Huron Avenue bike lanes. I suffered multiple bike accidents a decade ago and since the establishment of these lanes, the city is much safer for both me and my children who ride with me. Lastly, I hope the city will support the health and safety of sex workers including deprioritizing arrests for consensual adult sex work. Thank you

Thank you. Our next speaker is David Halperin followed by Ryan Black, then Patrick Barton. We're at Speaker 111. David, you have the floor. Please go ahead.

David Halperin, 14 Valentine Street Unit 3. I'd like to express my strong opposition to multifamily housing zoning with increased setback requirements So the zoning will talk about how it's producing very little affordable housing in one breath, and then give their example of Nine Wyman Road. which is you know one of the few projects that is producing you know food restricted inclusionary units, As was extensively discussed during when this was initially proposed, that scale and density is needed to financially support those affordable units. These projects are, you know, all on the edge of being viable and like anything that we do to empower them back is going to make it very difficult for them to move forward. Please do not reduce Please do not pare back the zoning, thank you so much.

Thank you our next speaker is Ryan Black followed by Patrick Barton then Scott Polman

Hello, councillors. My name is Ryan Black. I am a Cambridge letter carrier. I speak in support of Councillor Al-Zubi's policy order 179. Cambridge educators deserve a living wage and students deserve fully funded schools. So there needs to be at least a 6% increase in the budget. Branch 34 of the National Association of Letter Carriers, my union, we voted to endorse the Cambridge educators in their contract fight. So please meet their request for a fair settlement to the contract and vote for Councilor Al-Zubi's proposal separately, just in my individual capacity. Thank you. Our next speaker is Patrick Barton. Patrick?

If Patrick has left us, we will go to Scott Pullman followed by Abigail Ransmeier then Shelly Heacock. Scott, you have the floor. Please go ahead. You have one minute.

Hi, my name is Scott Pullman. I live at 467 Huron Avenue and I'm speaking in support of Policy Order 173. The multifamily ordinance was passed with the goal of improving affordability. What it seems to have done instead is encourage teardowns of modest multifamily houses and replacing them with whatever maximizes investor profits regardless of how this may affect the local neighborhood or affordability. According to the census, the city's added 10,000 housing units since 2010. That's a 21% increase when the Boston metro population has grown by only 10%. Yet I don't think anyone would say that more units alone has solved our affordability issue. Carelessly accelerating that pace will not solve it either. When setting rules for developers, I encourage the city to more carefully consider the impact on current residents especially those in need of true affordable housing. The proposed amendments are a step in this direction. Thank you very much

Thank you. Our next speaker is Abigail Ransmeier. Abigail is not here. We will go to Shelley Heacock, followed by Steve Marks, then Karen Burchette. Shelley is not here. We will go to Steve Marks. Steve is also not here, we are going to Karen Burchette. Karen you have one minute please go ahead. Karen Brushett or Bruchette.

Hi, Karen Brushett here at 51 Cushing Street. I'm here to support the proposed zoning amendments. Please listen to your experts. City Department experts told me that they are quote not taken seriously. They're telling you why these amendments are needed. Stormwater, fire safety, trees, egress, green factor are all competing for limited space We're funneling six lanes of requirements through a one-lane road. We've created a five foot traffic jam. CDD put it simply, more space equals fewer conflicts. Yet some of you are still seeking to weaken the proposed amendments. Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler proposed an exclusionary exception which raises an important question. Why should affordable housing get less room for flood protection, safety trees, fire access? That's not equity.

CDD already knew this space was needed, accounted for it in its housing projections and confirmed it will not adversely impact our housing forecast. Please listen to your experts and support Policy Order 173.

Thank you. Tell Seabird, I believe it was a repeat. We are going to go to Jeff Singer followed by Chrissy Bates then Lindsay Casagrande. Jeff?

Good evening. My partner and I live at 29 Buckingham Street, we've been there 20 years And I'm speaking about the urgency to amend the MFHO. So I challenge each of you To be transparent, this was actually my wife's idea. NASCAR drivers, Tour de France cyclists all wear colorful jackets with logos of their sponsors. Any or all of you who accept money from developers or realtors should be required to wear their corporate logos on your shirts to let constituents know who is really influencing decision making.

Thank you.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Chrissy Bates, followed by Lindsey Casagrande, then Valerie Bonds. Chrissy?

Good evening, Cambridge Councillors. My name is Chrissy Bates and I'm an active member of the Governor's Council on Trafficking A young Democrat of Massachusetts, an independent public policy consultant and a previous commissioner on the Massachusetts Special Commission on Unaccompanied Homeless Youth. But before any of these titles, I was a 16-year old trying to survive. My mom was a single mom survivor working tons of hours. Love wasn't the problem, money was. As a minor, I started selling sexual images on Facebook to men that would buy it. Then trading sex for what I needed based on my experience Boots on the Groundwork, has a youth homelessness street outreach caseworker for over six years. Here's what I learned. The current status quote doesn't keep anyone safe. The ACLU supports this.

and is that my time?

Your time has expired. Thank you. We're going to go back to our earliest skip speaker, Suzanne Blier. Suzanne, you have the floor. You have one minute. Please go ahead.

Thank you so much. Suzanne Blais, Five Fuller Place. Please support CDD's modest amendments and don't support the poison pill. These are very modest. They will at least begin us to think about what we can do. We're seeing more demolitions and what's going in their place are far from affordable. They're $1.5 to $2 million. and we just need to be smarter about this. On Huron Street, I would ask you to think about what you voted on for Garden Street. We could have had two-way traffic and kept the bike lanes, but you refuse that because of the question of losing parking. Well we have to be the same whether we're talking about Huron or other places parking is critical On the taxes, we should have cut back. I mean like Harvard et cetera our housing needs are less than they were before. Harvard's cut back 25% in some cases. We need to have a holistic approach

Thank you. We're going to go back to Tal Seberg.

Tal, you have one minute. Please. Tal, we have to unmute you and then you unmute yourself. Let's try this one more time. Please unmute yourself, Tal. You have the floor. One minute.

Thank you. Hi, my name is Tally Cyberg. I'm a homeowner resident and voter in Cambridge. I am against canceling the bike safety project number eight. The more I bike in this town, the more I spend in local businesses If that doesn't convince you, please safety. I don't want more people to die here. I do not think I should have to beg a city to do basic safety improvements. Even a minor car injury? That doesn't get reported to the city. It's a major life changing event. I'm dealing with a major head trauma from what's very minor injury that doesn't If that doesn't convince either, please know this is how most of my community decides their vote. Thank you. Please continue building bike lanes as many as possible the more it is a network

The safer people will be and the more they will be used rather than cars.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Lindsay Casagrande, we're at speaker number 122. Followed by Valerie Bonds, then Molly O'Brien. Lindsay? Lindsay is not with us. We will go to Valerie Bons. Valerie you have one minute please go ahead

Thank you. Thank you for staying with us. Legalize sex, legalize drugs and legalize gambling. We need regulation, public safety and public health. Congratulations to the MIT Wellesley Upward Bound program on its 60th anniversary. And can the council propose extending a similar model to elementary and middle school students to help close the public education achievement gap? The Policy Order Care Community Assistance Response Engagement Program to Improve Behavioral Health and Crisis Intervention, citing the violence and trauma from the Memorial Drive shooting as a case for better response on zoning. Members pushed to align the multifamily zoning amendments flagging a surge of four-story high-end developments seemingly built to dodge city requirements for moderate and low-income development.

The new election for the City Council in 2027 will solve many of these problems. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Molly O'Brien, then Daniel Mascoup followed by Edward Biddle. Molly, you have one minute. Please go ahead.

Hi. Can you hear me?

We can.

My name is Molly O'Brien, I live at 103 Pleasant Street and I'm speaking in favor of amending the MFH zoning ordinance I live in Cambridgeport and when I walk around my neighborhood these days, I see multiple small lots being redeveloped into luxury dwellings mostly three to six units. It would be great if my niece, who's a local teacher could afford to live in any of these new units but she cannot. This is not a victory for affordable housing Smaller lot projects like these ones are the least likely to produce affordable housing. The CDD's own data shows that the projects generate The projects that generate substantial inclusionary housing are the larger developments. This is not a debate between affordable housing and wealthy homeowners. It's just making targeted changes for better outcomes Thank you

Thank you. Our next speaker is Daniel Mascoup. Daniel, you have one minute. Please go ahead. Daniel? One minute.

Daniel, can you hear me?

We can.

Thank you so much for joining us. What I hear is that the gentrification and displacement at the extreme scales that we've experienced for a generation before multifamily zoning was adopted is okay, even much better than building more housing because we were ensuring that the city didn't physically change. And that's more important than people. This is backwards and wrong. Cambridge is a city, and it should change physically, especially if it helps mitigate the housing crisis and helps residents to maintain their lives here. We passed meaningful zoning changes just a year ago. There's much more to do and to improve it. Restrict average apartment sizes, pay for inclusionary units but the proposed amendments rather aim to undo the benefits of multifamily zoning. We shouldn't move backwards please reject the amendments thank you.

Thank you our next speaker is Edward Biddle Edward, you have one minute. Please go ahead.

Hi, this is Edward Biddle. I have a two-story home surrounded by three deckers at 428 Franklin Street and have very little sunlight on the first floor. Proposed four to six story structures will be horrendous, I had zero recourse in them paying taxes to a city that's destroying my home's value Parking is nearly impossible and down the street at 450 is a two-family unit being torn down for a four story structure. These buildings are over 100 years old. The 90-year-old neighbor, Maureen Kroger is sick with worry who's doing this and who's an investment fund? This is literally ruining the city and development run amok. Cambridge is one of the most densely populated cities in the country already, and this is destroying its fabric and its culture.

Please stop this and pause this insane development.

Thank you, our next speaker is Aram Harrow followed by Prabul Chakrabarty then Andrew Kim Aram, you have one minute. Please go ahead.

Hi everyone. Thank you for working on these important topics. My name is Aram Harrow. I live in 19 Ellsworth First, I want to speak in favor of paying paraprofessionals more. They do a very important job and the schools work better when there's less turnover which we only get from higher pay. Also, there are many people doing jobs of similar importance in pay who don't work for the city like teachers at private daycares If we want these people to be able to live in Cambridge, we need more housing of all types. So if you tweak the housing code please do not reduce density I want to respond briefly to two misconceptions about housing. First, people sometimes say they want housing just subject to some conditions but everyone wants different conditions and pretty soon it's impossible to build and then Cambridge Housing dies by a thousand cuts not only restrictive zoning Second, some people worry that new housing is more expensive than old housing. But that's how new things work. When new cars stopped being built during COVID, used cars got very expensive. If you banned new cars it would have only made used cars more expensive The same logic applies to housing.

You have to allow new housing of all types without restriction Thank you

Thank you. Our next speaker is Prabal Chakrabarty followed by Andrew Kim, then Jacob Augenstern. Prabal? Prabal's not here. We're going to go to Andrew Kim and then Jacob.

Hello, I'm Andrew Kim. I'm a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and a deacon at Old Cambridge Baptist Church. The Council has the option today to show broad support for Cambridge's working class. The passage of these policy orders would cement that Cambridge is a city that respects workers' rights to safe, supported workplaces access to the tools and support they need to do their jobs properly, and the ability to make a real living wage for their work. The workers of Cambridge deserve more. They deserve to be treated with the dignity that they are rightfully afforded by being laborers in our city. While all these policy orders are important, as the son of a public school teacher I will say that it is personally important to me that the council move to find the money for our educators and urge the school committee to end their obstinacy and come to the table honestly to meet the CEA's quite reasonable demands.

The Council has the chance today to show that while we are one of the richest cities in the country, that wealth is built off the back of our working class. Thank you for your time.

Our next speakers, we are at speaker number 130, Jacob Augenstern, followed by Alex Wells, then Esther Park. Jacob? Jacob is not here. We're going to go to Alex Wells.

Hello. I'm Alex Wells, 26th Cambridge Terrace in Cambridge. I am here to speak in support of the Cambridge Citizens Coalition proposed 10 amendments to Cambridge Multifamily Housing Upzoning Ordinance I ask the chair and the council to reconsider and possibly revise downward what Cambridge truly needs in terms of the size and quantity of new housing. Like most residents, I want a city that is doing its best to provide housing that is affordable But I fear that developers may have been given too much latitude and that they might abuse that freedom to overbuild especially in traffic choke points. Specifically, the new six-story building about to go up at 1740 Massachusetts Avenue, the corner of Linnian Street. This new mixed-use... Building seems to lack reasonable accommodation for parking cars, space for delivery vehicles, for our precious trees, vital to breathable air and adequate sidewalks essential for pedestrian safety. Thank you for listening and for all the work you do for the City of Cambridge.

Esther is not here, we are gonna go to Sean Hope. Sean is not on the Zoom. We will move onto Rita Romero.

My name is Rita Romero. I'm 40 years old, and I've been a sex worker for over half my life. I was trafficked into this work. When I escaped my traffickers, I called the police, and told an officer that I'd been locked in a house My phone and computer taken, I was forced to have sex and beat up daily. I was frantic and I kept repeating their pimps, their pimpes. The officer on the other line said then what does that make you? I've had many other jobs since then. I have been a tour manager for an internationally touring band, makeup artist for New York Fashion Week, welder, roofer, forklift operator, yoga teacher and union stagehand. Sex work paid for the training for all of those jobs. I had plenty of other options, I keep coming back to sex work because I like sex and I like getting paid for sex. What I hate is having nowhere to report someone who abuses me or refuses to pay me. I know the difference between being trafficked and choosing sex work.

I've lived both. The only people who benefit from criminalizing us is people who wish to do us harm.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Brenda Finn, followed by Jennifer Landgren, then An-McDee. Brenda? Brenda's not here. We're going to go to Jennifer Landgren. Jennifer has left the Zoom. We'll try Ann McDee. On is not here. We're going to go to Alex Klein. Alex, you have one minute please go ahead Alex, you're unmuted. You have the floor. Alex, we can't hear you. We'll try again. We will come back in a few.

Our next speaker is Jude Saroy followed by Lauren O'Malley-Singh. Jude? Jude is not on the Zoom. We're going to go to Lauren O'Malley-Singh Lauren is not on Zoom or present. We will go to Cornell Marshburn. I'll just give Cornell a moment to come to the mic.

Good evening, my name is Cornel Marshburn. I live at 165 Spring Street. I am employed by the City of Cambridge as a para or correction, a building sub for the CPSD. I am standing here before you to let you know there are building subs, paras, teachers. We're all asking for the same thing, a working livable wage. It's not hard. It is only 6%. You can do this. We supported you, we expect you to support us It is not that hard I own my house in Cambridge today Tomorrow without a pay increase it may not be there for me I'm asking you, support me. Support us. Support everyone. Thank you.

Thank You. Our next speaker is Alina Bluto It appears Alina is not with us. We're going to go to Dean Echols. Dean, you have the floor. You have one minute. Please go ahead.

Hello, I'm Dean Echols at One Gardener Road. I've lived in Cambridge for 11 years until recently as a tenant. I want to urge the council to retain the multifamily housing ordinance, rejecting the proposed amendments which would gut this important zoning liberalization. I'd remind the Council that the last election occurred after this ordinance had already passed. I'd say it was arguably the number one issue in that election. I imagine you all recall this. Voters selected a majority of Councillors who supported it, I don't see any indication of a broad pattern of voters changing their minds. Tonight on both sides of this issue, we're hearing from many of the same people as before it passed, including me. The last election provided a clear mandate for preserving and continuing zoning liberalization for housing. And you know what? The next one will too. So think about that. I voted for some experienced counselors because of their combination of experience and eventual support for this ordinance, even if it took some revision and compromise to get there.

If they gut it now with these amendments, I would support new candidates and other voters will too. Please preserve the zoning liberalization that we had with this multifamily housing ordinance. Thank you.

Thank you. We're going to go back to Alex Klein, followed by Heather Whiteman. Alex, you have the floor. You can unmute yourself one minute. Please go ahead.

Hello. I am a Cambridge, Public Educator. I've formerly worked as a paraprofessional and currently working as a full-time teacher. And I'm speaking to ask for funds to be allocated for Cambridge's support programs. As someone who's worked as both a teacher and a paraprofessional, I know exactly the work that these people do. A very important work in that position for a full year every day Planned and taught lessons for multiple students at once to support IEP needs. In that position as a para, I was injured multiple times in the course of my duties. In duties they were part of my regular rotation of duties In fact, you may not be aware that paraprofessionals sometimes spend more time in the classroom than educators because of the need for educators to plan future assignments.

prepare their work. And in that way, paras can even spend more time with students than teachers in some cases.

Thank you, Alex. Please email us the remainder. We are going to go to Heather Whiteman followed by Sherry Taub then Catherine Alexander. Heather, you have the floor. Heather's not with us. We're going to go to Sherry Taub. Sherry is not with US we're gonna try Katherine Alexander. Katherine, you have the floor one minute Oh, hello?

Can you hear me?

We can. Please go ahead.

Hello my name is Catherine Alexander I live on Crawford Street mid Cambridge. I've lived here for over 30 years and I join the other speakers in being very concerned about the extreme building, all this four stories six stories It's just too much for Cambridge. Losing trees, losing setbacks and ruining wonderful old houses and the neighborhood and as far as I can tell, none of it is affordable. I've talked to a couple of developers just walking around the neighborhood and it's all luxury. It's not helping with the housing problem, it's making things worse. Thank you very much.

Thank You our next speaker is James Williamson. James you have one minute please go ahead you have the floor James Williamson, you have the floor. We'll come back to James. We're going to move on to Suzanne Graves followed by Dan Totten. Suzanne? Suzanne Graves, you have the floor. You have one minute.

Hi, my name is Suzanne Grave's. I'm at 36 Bladeson Street. We live in West Cambridge. It's a family neighborhood that's filled with multifamily houses Some are condos and some are two or three family homes. They're trees and gardens, kids play on the sidewalks We have a big Halloween party that's coming up shortly, I'm sure. These are apartments and they are family apartments. What's being proposed is smaller apartments for one person or a couple These will be expensive to purchase or to rent. At an entry price of 1.5 million, these are not designated to be affordable housings. The properties are being developed property line to property line removing trees and Greenspace. The compliance for greenspace is through building green space on the roof, not yards to play in. My husband who grew up here reminisces about the yards he played in that will all be gone

These things cause heat sinks and without the trees. Once these properties are gone, they will not be used again.

Thank you, Suzanne. Your time is expired. Please email us the remainder of your comment. Dan, you have the floor. One minute.

Hi, Dan Totten, 54 Bishop Allen Drive. Shout out to the paras and the sex workers but I'm here to talk about the policy order that proposes to delay the Outer Huron bike lane. First of all it's not clear to me The City Manager is even allowed to use our new financial constraints as a justification for delaying this one because I'm pretty sure that was only meant to be the street and sidewalk lanes, Quick Build Lane meant to add up to the total number of miles. And so someone asked the city solicitor, but I'm not sure that piece of it is even allowed under the law. And then, the second one that I just want to say is few people ride here. There's a large apartment building and a youth center right there. If you think people aren't reluctantly biking there every day, you aren't paying attention And second, to the extent that there aren't more bikers there, that's because it isn't safe. The curve is not safe. Someone's going to get hurt. Vote it down.

Build the lane. Thank you.

I think our next speaker is Carrie Ann Kulig, followed by Jessica Sheehan then Heather Hoffman. Carrie Ann you have one minute please go ahead

Hi, good evening. Carrie Ann Kulig, 11 Edgecliff Road in East Watertown. A former Cambridge resident returning after years away, I can no longer afford to live where I work as a substitute teacher and rowing coach. I'm on the waitlist for public housing and I've looked into the shelter system just in case as I don't make enough for low-income housing. As a district sub, I support students in every program and step in to fill the gaps when needed. I'm well-versed in managing the social emotional needs of children. I have a master's degree in years of experience that is not reflected in my pay. And whilst I'm here to demand a living wage for educators, I am also in support of decriminalizing sex work in Cambridge as I have considered this work but fear I would be discriminated against if discovered at one of the schools I serve. I also ride my bike to work around the city as I cannot afford a car, do not want a car and I support cities with bicycle infrastructure. Bike lanes save lives.

The world is becoming unbearable for many of us. I urge the city council to throw us a lifeline. Thank you.

Thanks, Carrie-Ann. Our next speaker is Jessica Sheehan followed by Heather Hoffman then Fan Wang. Jessica? Jessica's not with us. We're going to move to Heather Hoffman. Heather, you have the floor. You have one minute.

Hello, Heather Hoffmann 213 Hurley Street I think that There's been a whole lot of good stuff said about the shortcomings of the multifamily zoning. And I think those come from the fact that we didn't go about this in a sensible manner. We didn't start with deciding what problem we wanted to solve. You decided that we wanted more housing, we didn't say do we need just more housing or do we more affordable housing and affordable to whom? None of that. So we had no goals. We didn't think about the other things that influenced the housing being built. You were warned I deny that anything that has happened except for maybe the asbestos flying around and lead was unforeseen.

You were warned, you decided to do this and now we are reaping the benefits.

Thanks Heather, please email us the remainder. Our next speaker is Fan Wang. Fan you have one minute, please go ahead.

Good evening, my name is Fan Wang from Van Myrtle Avenue in support of the policy order 176 multi-family zoning. I'm driving to my house on a tiny corner lot in C1 zone. The current zoning tree is both street-facing sides at the front yard. For a year, I struggled to develop a reasonable design because the upper floors must step inwards from both streets. creating a thin wedding cake look. My special permit application to use a contextual front setback to add one bedroom unit was denied by the BZA. The current corner lot treatment hinders new housing production. About 1 in 10 houses in the C1 zone is on a corner lot. So roughly 1,000 corner lots are meaningful to bring our goal to the 200-300 new housing production. I appreciate this proposal.

I hope the new ordinance amendment provides a clear and practical rule for choosing

Thank you, Fan. Your time expired. Please email us the remainder. Clive Lawrence followed by Justin Safe. Clve, one minute.

Good evening, Cambridge City Council. My name is Clive Lawrence. I live at 26 Clinton Street. I'm here to speak about policy order number eight. We've seen the consequences of continuing to delay safe and effective bicycle infrastructure. And so I urge you to oppose delays Construction, and Huron Ave. It's deeply important to have a connected and safe bicycle network. We've seen how much progress we're able to have, and we continue to ensure that everyone can move on our streets with dignity. And this policy order is really threatening connecting that progress to some of the regional investments that we can be able This has been a plan that's been in the works for many years and is really a way of continuing to say that we as a city support safe and effective bike infrastructure alongside all the different ways people are able to move. And so I really urge you to support continuing that investment in building, especially as the Cycling Safety Ordinance November deadline approaches. I also urge you too support Cambridge educators and ensure they get the wage that they deserve. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next speaker is Justin Safe. Justin, you have the floor please go ahead one minute.

Justin Safe, 72 Thorn Lake. I oppose the CDD setback and private rear yard amendments to the multifamily housing ordinance None of the housing opponents tonight said a single word about the 158 permanently affordable inclusionary homes that have been proposed and that these amendments will seriously harm and likely block from ever being built. Claims about affordability thus bring hollow. These are simply not the amendments you'd proposed as if what he wanted to do was to increase housing affordability. CDD has met directly with homebuilders who have explained how these amendments will decrease housing and the city has even improved stormwater and other plans for proposals that would be shrunk by these amendments and reduce housing. We know these amendments The policy order has several false claims that should be corrected, including that dimensional requirements will be more permissive than before, which is not true. That the amendments will create clearer standards for green

Stormwater and other requirements when nothing changes about those at all through these amendments.

Madam Mayor, there's one speaker that I see on that I think we skipped earlier which was Kate Zamparelli.

Thank you, everyone who came to public comment on a motion by Councilor Zusy to close public comment. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Those against say no. The ayes have it. Public comment is now closed. We move on to the submission of the record. There are two sets of minutes, one from the meeting on June 1st, 2026 and then one from June 22, 2026 on a motion by Councilor Simmons to accept the reports and place them on file. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Those against say no. The ayes have it. Those two minutes, those reports have been accepted and placed on file. We were able to complete the city manager's agenda so we'll move to policy orders and resolutions there are 10 Pleasure of the City Council.

Councilor Zusy? Six and eight, please.

Councilors Zusy polls six and polls eight. Councilnor Nolan? Yes, I was going to... Number 10. Councilor Nolan pulls number 10. Are there other policy orders that my colleagues would like to pull? Hearing none We'll go ahead and adopt policy order numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9. and all those in favor of adoption say aye. Those against say no. The ayes have it. Those policy orders are adopted. We will go to policy order number six. This is the policy order that... The City Managers requested a report back to the City Council within 30 days on the status of the negotiations between the Cambridge School Committee and the Cambridge Educational

Association in executive session if the law department advises that a report in open session would disclose collective bargaining strategy. So this is filed by Councilor Al-Zubi and Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler. I did talk to the solicitor beforehand. I am a member of the school committee. She recommended that I recuse myself and not participate in the vote or the discussion, so I'm going to have Vice Mayor Azeem chair this. So Councilor Zusy pulled this but In past practice we go to Councilor Al-Zubi, but I'll have Vice Mayor come up and me go.

Thank you. Through you, Chair, I want to thank Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler for co-sponsoring this with me. This is on the floor because I think that we need to have a more honest conversation about how we support our workers. We can't be a council that supports all other workers who fight for their dignity, including supporting Local 26 and Teamsters Local 25 tonight, and then turn a blind eye to our very own workers who are advocating for a living wage. I really hope we can extend the same to our own. At the end of the day, education is the core of any society. How we invest in our young and those who support them tells us where our values lie And so I heard the calls tonight for more funding. That is a budget conversation. But in this specific policy order, we are asking to be informed on the process. This gives an opportunity for the school committee to tell us what is needed and I'd love to see a request from the school committees so that we're not interfering with your process

I'd like to be clear, this is not an appropriation and this PO is also in response to productive feedback from our law department. If you say that our schools are important and our kids are important, I hope you can vote for this. I really don't think we can keep doing these tennis matches where were told that this is not in the council's authority even though we declare the budget and then the school committee says, we don't have money. And then it goes back and forth. So this hopefully will give us an opportunity to do so authentically And I mean, hey, at the end of the day if you're not open to support then I think we should consider lowering all of our salaries as counselors because if I'm being honest at the

Nolan.

I think you should go to Councilor Zusy first and she pulled it, and then to me if that's...

Thank you, Vice Mayor Azeem. I appreciate the role of about 300 paraprofessionals and Obviously, they're doing very important work in our schools. And I was checking the pay ranges for pair professionals here in Cambridge and then in the greater Boston area. And it's true that The pay range starts at $31,600 but it goes up to $45,400. But that is lower than what paraprofessionals are paid in Brookline, Newton and Boston In Brookline it's like 45 to 52, Newton 52 to 59, Boston 54 to 58. So I agree that it seems like maybe we need to think about that. But I do believe it's very inappropriate for the city council

to be voting on this because this is the business of the school committee. The school committee, their job is to come up with a budget for the schools and they came up with a budget for fiscal year 27 of $293 million. Again, that's 39 to 40 thousand dollars per pupil. It's a very generous amount that we're investing and I think it's the school committee that really needs to figure out How, you know, if we need to raise paraprofessional salaries like where are they going to cut? I've seen the number thrown about that. Thank you very much.

$58 million per year. That would add another $58 Thank you very much. I think this is the work of the school committee to manage their budget. So, I will be voting no tonight not because I am not sympathetic to the paraprofessionals But because we don't have the authority to be making a decision about our teachers and our staff salaries, this is the work of the school committee. Thank you, and I yield.

Nolan.

Thank you, Vice Mayor and thanks to everyone who came and talked tonight and really pointed out about how important it is I also believe this is under the authority of the school committees. Quite squarely. And as someone who served on the school committee for a long time, I would have completely resented the council as a council stepping into our operations and contract negotiations. While technically this policy order is not directly about negotiations... It undermines the school district negotiations. And it was also, while technically it's not about an appropriation, it was made exceedingly clear that the intent is to express support for additional funding for CPS and that passing this policy order means the CPS budget could go up and we would be seen as supporting at least a $15 million or more I believe in fair wages.

And the district has already proposed, based on public communication and documents that anyone in the city can see, almost a 60% increase over two years to the lowest paid paraprofessionals. That would raise the lowest paid paraprofessionals up to the level of other districts. And that's public. I don't know what other negotiations are going on, but I think that is astonishingly generous and I think it's I believe strongly also that CPS can provide an excellent education with the resources already granted. I expect the school committee and district and CEA to work collaboratively within the existing school budget to adequately provide for salaries and better outcomes. It's a $290 million budget from the city plus additional funding which totals $40,000 a student. And I support that current funding of CPS.

I voted for it, and I believe there could be a better allocation of those funds in CPS I don't believe more money alone will solve the achievement dilemma we face and we have all decried in this chamber and across the city For example, I recognize MCAS is a flawed measure but it IS a measure and allows comparisons. The recent MCAS scores for our 3-8 grades show only 30%, 26%, 13% of our black and our low-income students are proficient. That compares to the Benjamin Banneker, which is a Cambridge school where more than three quarters of black students are proficient in all three areas. And they manage those results with $22,000 a student, almost half of what we have. So I will continue to advocate for our school district, our staff and our accountability and I will support the district but, and I won't be supporting this policy order.

I have Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler, then Councilor Flaherty and Councilor Simmons. No, not Councilor Simons. Thank you.

Thanks, Mr. Vice Mayor. We've done a number of other resolutions like this one in support of unions. including at our council meeting tonight for Encore workers. We have done them for custodians, grad students, hotel workers and nurses and their union fights, and this policy order is in line with those and with the council's support for unions and working people. If we support unions when they represent other workers at other employers, we can support unions whenever we represent city workers. I want to make clear that because this is a public sector union, Councilor Al-Zubi and I worked with the law department to find language that was in line with the city council's actual legal authority. That was important and the language Introducing reflects that. The city council does not negotiate union contacts directly, so this policy order doesn't say anything about specific demands that would preempt those negotiations.

In fact, it says quote that nothing in this order is intended to request information concerning the bargaining positions of either party or to interfere in any way with the conduct of those negotiations. So this is clearly not intended to overstep the authority of the school committee. And while we can't take binding action, we can make a statement of support and that's completely within our right I think one of the things that motivated me thinking around this is our state legislative delegation already weighed in on this. Most of our, I think all of our state reps and state senators if you go on Instagram you can see them holding up They support the Cambridge Educators Association and the teachers in their contract. Our state legislators have already weighed in on this, all of our state reps, all They've done it. It wasn't conflicting with the school committee's authority if our state legislative delegation, all our state reps and state senators can make statements on this. The city council can as well. And I think it makes sense to move forward with this today. I'll get back.

Thank you. Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler?

Flaherty.

Thank you. I don't think the issue is whether or not all of us in this body support labor unions. I think we do. I know I do, and from what I've heard from everyone here, Everyone here supports labor unions. And I personally think the paraprofessionals should make more money. I support a living wage, and I support the work that they do But I'm not part of the collective bargaining team, and I think passing this policy order would create a bad precedent. and I think it's very good that we have passed policy orders in the past that have supported other unions but this one creates Thank you very much.

The team says over at Encore, and we issue some sort of statement of public support. But here... We're one step removed, and we do vote on the budget. So this creates at a minimum an appearance of conflict of interest, and it can be arguably suggested that we're interfering Thank you very much. It looks like it's ongoing, so I don't think that we should take any position now. But I certainly personally support the paraprofessionals and I certainly support

finding money to pay them a living wage, but I think it's inappropriate for the city council to involve itself or create an appearance of a conflict of interest by voting on this policy order in an affirmative way. So I yield.

All right, thank you, Councilor Flaherty. Councilor McGovern?

Thank you, Mr. Chair, Vice Chair. Before... Oh, I'll do it after. I want to be... I think this is a tough one because As you've heard, I think we all support our school staff. All our staff. Look, I've got four kids who went through the Cambridge School of Schools. I have tremendous, tremendous respect for the people who work for the Cambridge Public Schools. I think where this gets complicated is what is the role of the city council in a situation like this? I think it's important to remember that the city council does not have any line item authority with the school department. And so we could give them $5 million more, $20 million more a hundred million dollars more and

We have no say in how that is spent. That's a different conversation than saying to the school committee, here's some of money when what I'm hearing is that Even if they got that money, I want to respect their authority, what they were elected to do. But at the same time, they need to settle this and that's their job. That's what they I think in terms of the labor unions, look.

But those unions don't have an elected body, elected by the people of Cambridge. So it's a little different. As far as the state delegation, I agree with Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler. They all signed and said that they were in support. Thank you very much. So this is, you know, if folks are looking for a statement of support, I support our paraprofessionals, our teachers, our substitutes, our cafeteria workers, everybody who works with the Cambridge Public Schools. and I want them to be paid fairly.

I want him to have a living wage, and I call on the school committee in the school district do everything that they can to make that happen but it is not the council's role to interfere contract negotiations with the school department so I'm going to vote present, which I hardly ever do. But I don't – I'm not going to What we are responsible for and what the school department is responsible for, and this is their responsibility. They need to go and continue to negotiate and settle this. They have a $300 million budget. This is for them to do, but don't misconstrue that as being a lack of support. It is just the division of powers within our system. Thank you

Thank you, Councilor McGovern. Your motion will dispose of after we get through this policy order. Okay. That sounds good? I'll just make a few words and then continue. I would say that in general, In my personal opinion, it would be fine if we spent extra. I think that paraprofessionals and other teaching staff really do deserve I think seeing how the vote is going tonight and also having had a few school committee members reach out to me before our meeting tonight. Thank you very much. Al-Zubi.

Yeah, thank you through you chair just a few quick responses I definitely agree with all of my colleagues that we don't set salaries or negotiate contracts and this order says that in writing Thank you very much. I mean, at the end of the day all nine of us vote the school's budget so we all share that interest equally. So being informed through a confidential report isn't necessarily considered acting for either party Thank you very much. is the better way. We need to hear from the school committee if they need more.

There needs to be that communication channel to do so, otherwise we'll keep doing this tennis match and then the only people who suffer are those that don't have the living wages that they need.

We'll go to Councilor Simmons and then Councilor Zusy.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Through you to my colleagues, I can certainly understand the argument but I'm going to go and sort of lean in with my colleagues who have already spoken. In this room, we have 30 years of service to the school committee, direct service. Not as a mayor or anything but as a direct member of the school community and I can speak personally for myself Thank you very much. And that's what they do. Not for us to do it. It was annoying in a lot of ways, and I'm not saying say that what is on the floor is nefarious or evil minded or wrong or evil. What I'm saying is the school committee is there to do the school committee's work, and we should not be dabbling in it no matter how passionate we may feel about it.

If we were to allocate a fund of money to the school committee, it doesn't mean they'd have to even use it that way. So for me, just kind of put it in plain language, I think we should stay in our own lane I think we should allow the school committee to do its work. We do have a member of Committee, and I think that's their role. And that's what they should do. So if I would want to read the tea leaves, I would say this is probably going to go down in flames. But it's not because we're angry or not supportive of the CEA. My family is fourth generation Cambridge Public Schools. My family has worked in the school system. I have teachers that are really committed to students. So it's not about not trying to support the parents. It's about the school department through the school committee managing their money. And if they want parents to be paid more, which they very likely may need to be payed more, it's up the school committee to provide that.

So I will not be supporting this policy recommendation or yield.

I just wanted to share some new information because the information apparently I was sharing was inappropriate about paraprofessional, the pay range. Apparently our average paraprofessional salary is $52,000. Apparently there are tons of add-ons and they're basically zero paras that Thank you. Thank you. They're getting a pretty good salary, and apparently our public school salaries are among the highest in Massachusetts. Thank you for joining us.

Boston, and generally overall our salaries are higher than those in Brookline Newton in Wellesley. So again, good luck to the school committee in working this out and figuring out how best to appropriate the funds we do for the

Do we have a motion to adopt the order and just get to the vote? Would anyone like to make that motion? So moved from Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler.

Al-Zubi, yes. Vice Mayor Azeem? No. No. Councilor Flaherty? No! No. Councillor McGovern? Present. Present. Councillor Nolan? No Councillor Simmons? Present Siddiqui is absent. So you have two members recorded in the affirmative, four recorded in

So the motion fails.

Madam Mayor?

Yes, Councilor McGovern.

Before you go on to the next polish order. I'd just like to ask unanimous consent to be recorded in the affirmative

and the submission of the record, Councilor McGovern. Yes, I have a submission on the record.

So we'll do a roll call? We're going to voice vote? Yeah. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Those against say no. The ayes have it. you were recorded as yes so now we will move on to policy order let me just get my Information in order number eight. This is postponing the roll call, roll out of the outer Huron bike lanes from the bicycle safety ordinance. until we solve the parking problem. This was filed by Councilor Zusy, Councilor Simmons and Councilor Flaherty. It was pulled by Councilors Zusy.

Thank you, Mayor Siddiqui. I just want to preface my remarks by saying, you know, I am a cyclist. My husband is a cyclists. We use the bike lanes. We appreciate them And I appreciate the importance of having a network. But, a lot of people talked about how important it is to be able to bike Thank you. to the Youth Center, to Glacken Field, to the home of West Cambridge Little League. There's a tot lot, water play area, basketball, tennis courts. The VFW Hall, and the Fresh Pond Golf Course. A lot of people can bicycle to those things presently this last little quarter

The first mile of bike lane goes from the golf course to Belmont Thank you very much. For about eight months I've been working with the bicycle safety committee, city staff and with neighborhood advocates trying to solve This very difficult problem because there are, there's such a concentration of city amenities in this area and then there's also Parkside Place, which houses 500 people. They have 250 units. and 30% of the residents are low income.

And at least in 2021, 22% of vehicle owning residents were parking on the street. So there's a great demand for parking for the low-income residents that live at Parkside Place. So you've got a tremendous demand for parking, and it's not like other neighborhoods where you could have people go in to the neighborhoods, to the right or to the left because you've got a cemetery on one side and then you've gotta golf course on the other. So we've been trying to solve the problem Some ideas are to allow the golf course the right to discourage... Thank you very much.

So apparently many places are currently taken at the golf course by non-golfers, and the golf courses should have the right to restrict their parking lot to golfers. That would really help things if we were able to deliver them a sign and allow them to enforce the no parking, golfers only No parking to non-golfers during the golfing season. That would help. And then we need to negotiate with Belmont if we want Thank you very much. contacted Belmont and was asking them about that. And they said, basically, they have a recreational area on one side of the street. We have the cemetery on the other side of

Belmont doesn't really want people parking next to their recreational area, taking up all those places. They don't want Cambridge residents parking in their places. And then our cemetery needs to have a place for funeral, so parking for funerals. So that doesn't really work. So then we were trying to, even my aide and I met with the manager of Parkside Place to see whether there was some way or the golf course, which is part of the city could rent places maybe 20 places again to reduce the parking scarcity in the area. which is only becoming worse because of all the development in Strawberry Hill. And then, of course, there's the Hagerty School in Strawberry hill and the parents' nursery school. So there's just an extraordinary demand for parking in this area

But anyway, Parkview Place sent a letter to the city that they shared with me that says they're not interested in renting parking places to the City. So again, I realize this is a very difficult problem to solve. But it really must be solved, which is why I introduced the policy order.

We can come back to you, Councilor Zusy. Others who would like to speak? I have Councilor Flaherty.

Through you, Madam Chair. You know, separated bike lanes are a good thing in the city of Cambridge. They really are. And they're a good because safety is improved by them And when I say safety, I'm most concerned about kids who ride bikes every day to school. And there's some 1,000 kids who I'm primarily concerned about their safety when they travel from their home to the high school and ensuring that they can do that and they can get to practice and get home or get after school in a safe manner. The impact on Huron Ave with this separated bike lane

is Sevilla, to the people in that neighborhood, to live at 700 Huron Ave., and to the who use Glacken Field. And I know this because as some of you may have heard I coached Little League at Glackin. And when the bike lanes first were installed on Huron Ave up by Glackinfield, all of the parking was eliminated and the impact of that was that parents and grandparents especially couldn't come and watch the kids playing the games. And it had an impact, not just on the league but on the players and the families It took away from the experience. But more than that, there was a collateral impact about safety and I'll tell you quickly a story Thank you for joining us.

A bus was coming in the direction from Belmont and a truck was going in the opposite direction towards Belmont And even though the light was green, they realized because of the space of the bike lane, they couldn't pass at the same time. So they stopped and it was sort of a Mexican standoff. despite each of them having the light to continue traveling. At that moment... A young boy was standing next to me, he's probably seven years old. He dotted out across Huron Ave because he was looking at his friends across the street in the dugout and my heart sank. and I thought, my God, that was an accident waiting to happen right there. And it was in unintended collateral consequences of all the congestion that had been caused by the installation of these separated bike lanes with the hope that we were improving safety. And there's these things that happen that nobody thought about.

So I'm concerned about this. I'm concerns about the loss of parking, I'm concern about the kids at the Russell Youth Center, I am concerned about the people at 700 here on Ave I'm also concerned about Thank you very much. Connectivity is defined in the cycling safety ordinance. as connecting a place of origin to a place In the jurisdiction of the Cycli Safety Ordinance, I wonder whether it's even justified or lawful under the ordinance to do it.

But setting that aside... I just think that it's probably a good idea that we adopt this order because of all the negative impacts in that specific area with Thank you very much. by the terms and the definitions of the Cycling Safety Ordinance, and the negative impacts are so severe that they outweigh even the de minimis benefit if any. Simmons,

Thank you. Through you, Madam Chair, to my colleagues. First of all, I want to just acknowledge Councilor Zusy. She's put a lot of work into looking into this and the impact. She and I both met with some abutters, neighbors from Yaron Avenue, and they've said All that you've heard here. First of all, it's important just to say out loud again that this council has been pro-bicycle safety. You look at all the policy orders of which there are a great many no one has ever said we don't want cycling safety And so I think that's always something we should remember because the testimony that I hear almost makes it sound like we don't care about cycling safety. That could not be further from the truth. But it does, this particular piece, and thank you Councilor Flaherty for pointing out what's in the ordinance. For those of us that have spent time looking at this have said Thank you very much.

and the VFW in part it was so that the VfW could continue to have a proactive, productive social space. I know all of us have gone through a number of the different There's no place to park now. There's absolutely no place 200 people. So I think it would be important for us to adopt this policy order, to take a look at the impact again on the VFW, on the youth center, on 700 year-on and on the golf course So I would hope my colleagues would consider the due diligence that we've all applied here to bring this order to the floor and support it. And let's take a look back and look forward. So how we can do what?

Stand up to the letter and the spirit of the ordinance without what we call unintended consequences. I yield the floor.

We will go to Councilor Nolan and then Vice Mayor Azeem.

Thank you, Mayor Siddiqui. I totally appreciate the due diligence that went into this work. Great, and I know. I live in the neighborhood. There are many, many, people. I believe there's over a thousand people who have really expressed concern. With 700 here on Ave., there's many people who live there who are very concerned, and I've read the petition by the advocates. I understand the concern about parking impacts, loading zone impacts and I agree we should be doing everything we can to mitigate those concerns I know the city has made some adjustments. We should see if there's more we can do to resolve the problems, but without stalling the installation of the separated bike lanes Now, honestly, full disclosure, which I have told people, I would not have chosen this particular stretch of road for implementation now. I ride it. I know there's not as many cyclists there. Intersection Study.

There are far, far more numerous and dangerous sections of the city where there's far, However, this has been in the planning for a long time. I'm hoping we'll get to those other sections but right now it's already been in planning. It's ready to be implemented So despite the fact that other streets in mid-Cambridge and West might present right now greater safety hazards, I do think this part of Huron-Ives does eventually deserve a separated bike lane. And while they won't be highly utilized at the start, there will be more cyclists once the lane is installed and maybe Belmont will speed it up. So I believe in the vision of the cycling safety ordinance and the need for a completed network so

as much as I respect and I know that many of my neighbors are already quite upset with me for other things but I have to do what I think is best for the city which is I don't think delaying this bike lane for five years would be best for

I'll go to Vice Mayor Azeem and then Councilor Al-Zubi.

Thank you. Well, I had a question for the Commissioner if she's online. Commissioner McKenna?

I don't think she's online, but we have the assistant city manager and our city manager.

We're happy to answer questions, and I think Commissioner is also online.

So my questions are just very simple. When is the installation going to physically begin?

So I can start, Mayor. So construction would begin this fall, so there would be some curb work that would begin and some construction that would began this fall and then the paving would be in the spring. So could you give us a little bit more detail about what would begin this fall? Sure, so it's my understanding that Commissioner McKenna is online. She might have more details, but I think there is some spot... Commissioner McKennah is not online.

Apologies. Sorry, Naomi? Commissioner McKenneh is not on line.

Let me see. I will text her in a second. So it's my understanding there's some sections of curb work that have to be done, so I don't know if it's on the making some changes and they're trying to deal with some of the drainage issues DPW would start doing some curb work this fall.

Thanks, Mayor. Thank you. But the actual installation of like the bike lane, the changes to the parking that will not begin until the spring is that correct? Yes, that is accurate. So I think that was very helpful in that before, I was actually personally unsure of whether we were going to have construction begin this fall in terms of the loss of parking and other negative side effects. My take on it is that This is going to begin in the spring, so we do have a few more months to figure it out. I think that Councilor Zusy actually brought up a lot of good ideas and it makes me feel like we could explore those. And I think that part of it could be that if some of those changes, like metered parking was a suggestion or having assigned to For people who visit the golf course, if some of those things could be done faster so people could see the difference.

So it's not just like one day you wake up and all the parking is gone but you can see a slow transition in it we can see how people feel it out I think that might make it for a smoother transition for folks and also just give us more feedback about how worried we need to be.

Through you, Mayor. The one thing I would say is we've had a – and the Department of Transportation has done a really thoughtful job thinking about what are the regulations that really make sense for the parking spaces on Huron Avenue. So many people know that there is a lot of sort of long-term parking that happens there. There's not a lot natural turnover, it's an easy place to have long-term storage, and so it's not the most effectively used parking. And so a number of the changes that they've talked about are about having regulations. I think in their first community meeting they talked about having parking meters There was pretty strong response that people didn't think that would be the best solution. And so they're now proposing that overnight it'd be residential parking and then during the day it would be unrestricted.

So a lot of that parking right now is completely unrestrictive, so they've really been thinking about what are the parking regulations that can make the remaining parking work better for the various users We've also been having conversations with the golf course about how to make that lot more effective. both in terms of who's parking there, what are the signage, how do they manage that. And so that's a conversation that's also ongoing. So I would say we can look at some of those changes but some of the higher uses Thank you so much for joining us. We have been looking at a number of different parking regulation changes to make that parking really support all the various users more effectively.

Yeah, I think that at least a lot of the feedback I've gotten has been less about people not believing that changes would be in work but just being naturally skeptical that like that the city has said they will do all this medication. What sort of impact will it make? and so I think hearing all the concerns about a winter also being more difficult for people to move back and forth and all that, I do think that making some of those changes earlier just so we can also if we decide that those are not working make more changes before we have the full loss of parking I feel like would be a particularly high impact. Thank you.

Vice Mayor Yields, and now we'll go to Councilor Al-Zubi.

Thank you. Through you, Madam Mayor. To whoever is best to answer this, is Outer Huron being built as a quick-build lane towards the ordinance mileage or as part of the five year plan? of Reconstruction.

Through you, Mayor, it is part of the quick build through the ordinance so over the last number of years we've been trying to do paving when we're doing the quick builds but they are still those quick builds It's not a standalone sort of full reconstruction project. It's really just doing some minor curb work and then paving the street so that it's in better condition before all the pavement markings go in and the changes are implemented.

Gotcha, and... I mean, either way, although now that we know that it's part of the quick build ordinance mileage does the ordinances financial constraints Let the council reduce the mileage requirement by policy order as this order is asking, this policy order?

Not that I'm aware of, no. There's no sort of... The only language that was in the ordinance about cost was on the full build side. And then again, the actual construction costs are very limited in this type of situation.

Gotcha. So if I'm understanding correctly, the five-year plan track is the one that is open to that clause of financial constraints? Okay, thank you. So in that case I think based on that I will be a no vote and there's also this other piece too Zusy said we do need to be doing a better job of Thank you so much for your time. Belmont is building towards us, and we shouldn't postpone closing our gap. I've learned from Councilor Flaherty that we need to talk about solving regional problems. and this is a piece to a regional puzzle. So I hope this is the chance to do that, all yield.

We will go to Councilor McGovern.

Thank you Madam Mayor through you. You know it's interesting Tonight I literally got off a plane before the meeting from being at a conference in the Netherlands where I visited four cities looking at their Multiple modes of transportation, not just cycling but public transportation light rail pedestrian safety driving and I'm going to do a report on that I learned a lot of really cool things, a lot Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

And so I think this would be a, it will become a more important piece of a network than maybe it appears at the moment. There was also a lot of talk of just the length of time it takes to sort of change people's behavior I only have three minutes, but really interesting stuff about what those cities in the Netherlands were like after World War II and they had to rebuild and they rebuilt a very car-centric culture. Thank you very much. About another 30% take public transportation and about another 30 percent drive. So they don't really have issues, like they don t have traffic backups because so many people use other modes of transportation and it took them 30 plus years to get there. and we're just at the infancy of that conversation.

So this is a really interesting difference. Thank you very much. We would have to reopen the cycling safety ordinance to reduce the number of miles, and I'm not willing to do that either. But I am sympathetic especially to the folks in 700 here on Ave about Simmons, and Councilor Zuzi. So I do worry about especially the lower income folks who maybe can't afford to pay for parking at $700 an hour and use the street parking. So I will not vote for this as it's written.

Mayor Siddiqui, you and I have a substitute order that can be put on the screen that basically just encourages the city. It does not call for a delay but it encourages the Their conversations to look at ways to address as best we can the loss of parking. for folks in that neighborhood. I want to keep those conversations going. Those conversations didn't even happen after I think you can see it here. Obviously, I would support this. I want those conversations to continue. I wanna try to continue to find solutions if possible but I can't vote for the initial order.

So I'll just speak really quickly and add on to what Councilor McGovern said. Ezra, and I think the copies are coming. The copies are comming. I think a lot of people brought up good points. There's also a traffic calming element here in this design that There are really high speeds and so that is something that is an added benefit. I think the city's done some changes whether that was denying parking spots that were added overnight on the Youth Center Park side or the 26th Thank you for joining us.

I do think to Vice Mayor's point and then Councilor McGovern's point, there is still time. I we ask that you keep looking thinking of other things that could happen yes Parkside just said no but I think we should still do everything we can to mitigate. I think that's always been a part of the process so that's kind of the spirit of where the substitute PO comes from Anyone we haven't heard from before I go back to Councilor Zusy?

Yeah, I wish we'd had this earlier so I could digest it. What? Okay. Why don't I try to write this? I think that's a good idea so we can give it more thought. But my goal for this has always been, and maybe this will move us in to solve the problem because what I worry about is that we're going to put public amenities, they're taxpayer-funded public amenities out of business. It would be very sad

Zusy, just to say you're charter writing the underlying order.

Yes, I'll charter write this.

Thank you. So Councilor Zussis' exercise for charter right will move on to... Yes, all of this will appear at our next meeting. So that was policy number eight. Now we move to policy number 10. This is that the City Manager is requested to confer with their relevant staff and departments to implement the recommendations following the May 2025 Human Services and Veterans Committee meeting. Calling for strengthening anti-poverty measures, establishing a dedicated care team call and referral line, prioritizing commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking prevention efforts LGBTQIA plus youth, and reporting back to the City Council on progress. This was filed by Councilor Sobrinho. Councilor McGovern, myself, and Councilor Nolan. Councilman Nolan pulled it, but I can go to Councilor Sabrino first unless he yields.

Thanks, by the way. I'll just pick on it briefly. I still think we need a motion to extend the meeting maybe. I can make a motion

on a motion by Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler to expand the meeting for an hour. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Those against say no. The ayes have it. Simmons is a no, but everyone else is a yes. The motion passes. We'll go back to you Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler.

Thanks. I'll introduce this just briefly, and then there's going to be a charter right. I would say that public comment gave a good range of the personal experience and research that supports this policy order. So I'll just talk about my perspective which is coming at this as a union member and someone who cares about workers' rights and many more. because cannabis is no longer criminalized. There are worker protections and regulations and unions in the cannabis industry. This was not possible when cannabis was criminalized We've worked with the law department about the language of this policy order. It does not change the law. That would have to be done at the state legislature. What it does do is send a message to our state and county elected officials, which the city council does often and as well within our responsibility as a city council. I yield back.

Nolan.

Thank you. Yes, this is a policy that's been in the works for many months because there are so many people very interested in it I know we all have talked to a variety of people involved in the sex work trade and I think the pause sort of lays it out pretty well about the situation. And I think we are all agreed that there is a real need for decriminalization, which has already happening to a large extent with these sellers of sex. I do, and we heard in public comment that there's a number of ways that the full decriminalization which this calls for is problematic from a number We've gotten very thoughtful emails from a number of people. So in order to work that out, I will exercise my charter right so that we can have time to absorb some of that.

Councilor Nolan exercises her charter right on policy order number... Yeah, that's what I was saying. So we'll move on to the calendar. We have one charter right. This is Thank you very much. Let this spot not be utilized for the illegal use of fireworks. The charter right was exercised by Councilor Simmons in our council meeting on September 14th. We'll go to Councilor

I just want to briefly clarify what my original policy order was intended to accomplish. God bless you. For several years, came in residents around the FMA school, the port. have had to deal with the same problem every 4th of July. And I'm not saying incidental firing of fireworks for maybe even half an hour, I'm talking about hours from 10 until 1 o'clock in the morning. Significant noise and disruption in a response that has been preventing the neighborhood to have peace. And it only stops when law enforcement comes, and as soon as they leave, they resume. So my order does not presume to know the solution, but it is asking the police department that has had an impact, that the community feels engaged and safe with.

and the other appropriate departments to sit down together, examine what has not worked, and come back with an approach. And I also, if it's not implied... That is why I have concerns about the amendment that would effectively remove the police department from the process and place an outside organization in a leading role. For me, this is fundamentally a question of good governance. If we were talking about redesigning a major intersection, I would not support writing the Community Development Department out of the process and asking an outside advocacy organization to take its place. We might invite that organization to the table, and it might have valuable ideas and perspective the city staff might want to hear. has the institutional responsibilities, professional expertise and accountability to the city we would expect it to participate so I believe the principle applies here

The Cambridge Police Department has been responding to situations for years. If that response has not worked well enough, then there is a – that is precisely why the department needs to be part of figuring out what should change. Young people, neighborhood organizations, community safety, human services and others may all have something useful to bring to the table. But participation is different from substitution. Thank you very much. and the reason why I don't accept that is because community safety has not been involved in this at all. And again, if they want to give some ideas, fine. Thank you very much.

I believe the best way to do that is to bring the appropriate city departments together, the ones that have a historical memory and the ones Favors and support that they received from the police department in particular. At the table, community voices require them to work collaboratively toward a better plan. for the next Fourth of July. And with that, I'm asking my colleagues to support the original order. And so I would respectfully ask that we adopt the original order that myself and my colleague has brought forward. And with that, I will yield the floor.

Simmons, Yield. I will just say to the folks in the audience, um, the charter, every, the POs will be back next week. So there's no, we'll be here for a while so there's Thank you, Madam Mayor.

This new amendment in the spirit of collaboration, I wanted to actually withdraw the amendment that was on the floor at the last council meeting and bring this new The piece that Councilor Simmons and Flaherty had brought up, again just clarifying Sobrinho-Wheeler and I were never trying to explicitly remove CPD, but to have someone new to lead the conversation to give us an opportunity to try exploring affecting behavioral change. So I will move a motion to withdraw the original amendment and then move a

So Councilor Al-Zubi is moving to withdraw. We can do a voice vote on withdrawing that original amendment. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Those against say no. The ayes have it. So that amendment has been taken out. There is a new amendment, Councilor Al-Zubi?

Yeah, sorry, I explained both of them at the same time. It's again just out of The spirit of collaboration is to say, we heard the points that you raised and want to make sure that it's clear that the Cambridge Police Department would be involved in these conversations and they would not be excluded. I'll yield.

Discussion. We have Councilor Flaherty.

I appreciate the collaboration. I think it's excellent and it's thoughtful, but I still don't understand the rationale behind Not having the Cambridge Police Department as the lead, this is a public nuisance issue. Police officers wear uniforms and have cruises with signs on them and blue lights for a reason. So when kids are shooting off fireworks and the police show up, they're alerted to their presence and maybe they stop. Thank you for joining us. The Emergencies Communication Department, and other relevant departments involved in a safety plan in advance of it.

I don't know why, I just don't understand the rationale of not having the Cambridge Police Department as the lead with responsibility for a public nuisance criminal activity on the 4th of July that impacts that neighborhood. I don't see what's wrong with that, and so that's my question.

I have a few folks on deck. We'll go to Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler, then Councilor McGovern.

Thanks. I would just say briefly, I think this new amendment is an attempt at a compromise to address the pieces that mentioned the Cambridge Police Department and the Emergency Communications Department also includes the community safety department It has all those, it's an attempt at that. I think in reality our city staff are very collaborative and when there is a department that needs to be brought in they aren't looking at the text of the policy order and saying oh no I'm the lead you can't be part of this Whoever staff needs to be involved, they will get that involved. I've seen that time and time again with the DPW and the transportation department and community development. Our city staff will work together Thank you for your time. McGovern, and then Councilor Zusy.

Thank you, Madam Mayor, through you. I sort of agree with Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler that I think there's collaboration that's going to happen. I would have been fine with the original order. names the police department as a lead in having the discussion. It doesn't necessarily say that the police are going to be the ones who are going At the end of the day, these different groups are going to be sitting around the table and having a conversation about how to address this issue. And I agree with Councilor Simmons that up until now anyway, the police department does have the experience in handling these issues as they come up. So again, I think whether we pass the amendment or the original order, we're getting to the same place so I think this is a lot of time that we should have just passed the original

And so I was ready to vote it. At that point, I'll vote for the original order today.

I'll be voting for the original order, too, because this is about following the rules. Thank God for Google. So it's illegal to shoot fireworks in Massachusetts. Banned items according to Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 148, Section 39. All consumer fireworks are prohibited. This includes sparklers, fireworks, Roman candles, cherry bombs and M-80s Thank you very much. are going to respond to the police and not to the care team. I think the care Their value, but I think it would be very awkward for them to be the front people and I don't think anybody would pay attention. Thank you. I yield. Anyone else?

I would say one thing I would maybe suggest because the original doesn't mention community safety. I would do an amendment to the amendment and just take out as lead. So then it's just Community Safety Department, Cambridge Police Department, Emergency Communications Department, and other relevant... departments. So that's or it doesn't look like there's interest in that. Yeah, I would support it personally. So I would move the amendment to the amendment and just strike... Strike as lead. Okay, so they'll do it here.

There were changes made, so I think If you take out as lead, then for me at least that tension evaporates. But again we can vote on the amendments see where they land and then vote accordingly. Yes, Councilor McGovern?

Thank you Madam Mayor. Just a question if we don't say who's leading the discussion

It would be as requested to confer with these departments to develop a coordinated July 4th response plan. and then it's requested to work with these departments to consider a sustained viable present. That's what it's calling for.

I'm sorry, could that be on the screen please?

Sorry, I'm opening the latest version now. One second.

Can I have the floor? I just had a question for the city manager. Now, given that it has these amendments as you see before them and also the original, does it make a practical difference to you?

Through you, Mayor. I think we'd be happy understanding that these departments work well together to take any of the prior mentioned versions.

Okay. I just wanted to clear the air a little bit in that I think whether this passes or not, we're going to end up at the same exact result. So it'll be okay.

So first, we'll do a roll call on these amendments before us discussion? Or can we go to the role? Let's go to

Wait, can I? We're already on the roll, Councilor Zusy. Can I make a recommendation?

Councilor Susi, we're moving on to the roll so you can vote no if you'd like or yes.

Councilor Al-Zubi, yes. Vice Mayor Azeem, present. Flaherty.

Present.

Present, Councilor McGovern? No. No. Councilor Nolan? Yes. Yes, Councilors Simmons? No! No, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler? Yes! Yes, Councillor Zusy?

No.

No, Mayor Siddiqui?

Yes.

Yes, and you have four members recorded in the affirmative, three recorded in

So the amendments fail, so we can go ahead and adopt on a motion by Councilor Simmons to adopt the original order. Do a roll call.

Al-Zubi, present. Vice Mayor Azeem? Yes. Councilor Flaherty? Yes! Councilor McGovern? Yes, Councilor Nolan? Yes. Councilor Simmons? Yes. Yes. Counselor Sobrinho-Wheeler? Present. Present. Counselors Zusy? Yes Yes, Mayor Siddiqui? Yes. And you have seven members recorded in the affirmative and two recorded as present.

The policy order is adopted as amended. Councilor Simmons? Simmons moves to suspend the rules and to do a reconsideration vote. On suspension, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Those against say no. The ayes have it. We're at suspension. We can now move on to the reconsideration vote. We'll do a roll call.

No. Councilor Nolan? No. No. Councillor Simmons? No, no. Councilors Sobrinho-Wheeler? No Councilor Zusy? No Mayor Siddiqui? No and you have nine members recorded in the negative

Reconciliation Fails for the renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction to serve the city's municipal energy use. This was passed through a second reading on our council meeting in September. It's eligible to be ordained. We'll move over. We'll go to applications. There's one on a motion by Councilor Nolan to adopt the application. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Those against, they know the ayes have it. The application is adopted. There are 25 communications on a motion by Vice Mayor Azeem to place all communications On file, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Those against say no. The ayes have it. The 25 communications are adopted. We now move on to consent agendas. I am going to poll number six. Any other...

Number two, please. Number two and number six have been pulled. We'll go ahead and do a roll call. A voice vote on the balance on a motion by Councilor Simmons, making them unanimous upon adoption. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Those against say no. The ayes have it. The resolutions are adopted. The balance is adopted. We'll go to number two. This is a congratulations to Tim Toomey as he is recognized and honored by Amigos de Turca as it celebrates its annual black tie celebration Dance Fundraiser on Saturday, October 3rd, 2026 at the Holy Ghost Society in Lowell, Massachusetts. Councilor Simmons, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. This is self-explanatory. Councilors and former State Representative Timothy Tooney is being recognized. I pulled this more so that I could add my colleague, Councilor Flaherty, to this policy order. It sounds like a wonderful event. I personally go, but I will have an ambassador going in my place. I think a counselor to me has done yeoman's work serving the city and the Commonwealth, and I'm glad that this group is acknowledging him. So the amendment is just to add Councilor Flaherty.

We'll go ahead on a voicemail to add Councilor Flaherty. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Those against, say no. Councilor is added. We will go ahead and adopt the resolution as amended. In favor say aye. Aye. Those against say no. The ayes have it. Resolution number two as amended is adopted. We're going to resolution number six, that the city council go on record honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Felton Toney. James Earls III, and extending its deepest sympathy to his family. This is filed by me. And I'll... You know, Councilor Simmons, I will add you... Me too. I wanted to just say... And Councilor McGovern... I met Tony when I was probably end of 8th grade, early 9th grade.

He was always so supportive of having a youth council and really encouraged us to do that. And so... He was a big kind of influence on many of us and I'll never forget meeting him in Harvard Square. I think Kari was there too and many people were there but he was just a really great leader and did a lot for Children, and so did... His wife. And so it's a big loss to the community and to many of the people who loved him, so wanted to bring this forward I will pass it to my colleagues. Councilor Simmons.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. I remember Dr. Earls in his strong advocacy for youth particularly youth of color he was everywhere all the time McGovern,

Thank you, Madam Mayor. Through you. Yeah, just to echo, I knew Dr. Earls when we were on the – well, now it's the Family Policy Council. It was the Kids' Council. Back then, and like everyone else, remember his advocacy and his support for young people in the community. who was living in the same building as my mom, so I got to see him. Actually, I saw him just about a month ago, so also would like to be added out of respect. Thank you.

Absolutely. We'll go ahead on a voice vote add Councilor Simmons and Councilor McGovern. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Those against say no. The ayes have it.

May I ask, I know we've already adopted it, but could we go back to number three by unanimous consent?

Yeah, let me just finish this up. Oh, I'm sorry. So we've added my colleagues will go ahead and adopt the resolution as amended making it unanimous upon adoption. This is resolution number six. All those in favor say aye. Those against say no. The resolution as amended is adopted. Well, Councilor Flaherty has asked for unanimous consent to go back to number three. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Sorry to do this. I'm sorry to interrupt, but I forgot to pull number three.

That's the resolution for Marvin Gilmore on his 102nd birthday. I spoke to him this afternoon. He's tremendous and I'll bore you with a quick story. Before his 100th birthday, I was with him here in City Hall and after the meeting we attended he asked if I would Have a drink with them. And I said, sure, Marvin, I'd love to. So we went across the street to the can tab on a Monday night and had a couple of beers at the bar and within ten minutes Marvin was asked to dance by two women, and he was dancing with them. And now it approached the hour. Maybe past where we are now. And I said, Marvin, I've got to go.

And he said, give me the keys, take a cab. So I left him at the can tab at 11 o'clock at night when he was 99 years old because I was tired and I had to go home. And I very much appreciate being Simmons. Thank you, Madam Chair. Have you yielded? I yield.

Seeing that I was not going to bring it up because the hour is getting late, but I think it's a huge accomplishment for anyone to be 102. 102 still working, owns a cannabis dispensary. Whelan and Dillon, I can barely get up in the morning and walk down the stairs. And this man is just doing so much more. He is really an inspiration to me. So he will be very soon having his 100th... Well, his birthday's already passed, but he'll be having a hundred... And maybe you all can keep up with him. I yield the floor.

Happy birthday to Marvin Gilmore. We'll go ahead on a motion to add Councilor Flaherty to the resolution. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Those against say no, the ayes have it. Thank you. Councilor Flaherty is added. We'll go ahead and adopt the resolution as amended, making it unanimous upon adoption. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Those against say no. Resolution number three as amended is adopted. We are done with the resolutions. Now we are going to committee reports. We're going to the committee report and Councilor Simmons has moved to accept the report and place it on file. Any discussion? We'll go ahead and do a roll call.

Al-Zubi, yes. Vice Mayor Azeem? Yes. Yes. Councilor Flaherty? Yes Yes. Counselor McGovern? Yes Counselor Nolan? Yes Councilor Simmons? Yes yes. Counselors Sobrinho Wheeler? Yes, Councilor Zusy? Yes. Yes, Mayor Siddiqui? Yes Yes and you have nine members recorded in the affirmative

The report has been accepted and placed on file. We'll move on to communication reports. Oh, we still have 1A to dispose of so the actual order is before us. City Manager is requested to work with CDD and relevant city departments to prepare zoning language based on the recommendations in the September 16th 2026 Joint Housing and Neighborhood and Long-Term Planning Committees for consideration by the full City Council. Councillor McGovern, you have the floor.

I can yield to someone else. I didn't know we were doing a separate vote on this, and I just wanted to make sure that I explained what the rest of the process was for folks. in terms of where this goes from here. So I'll listen to others and come back in a minute.

Okay, I'll go to Councilor Nolan. Thank you. Yes, this is the culmination of we're in a process of understanding how it is that we might choose to improve and propose some amendments and adjustments. I have a question through you, Mayor Siddiqui to the city manager since he continues to be here and I'm not sure if ACM Peters is. In the first order, we went through a lot of process and our whole goal is are there amendments and adjustments that can be made? That would make this a better ordinance and that would not, as per the amendments that we voted on, decrease the amount of housing that we can expect to see. My question is through you to the staff. I would hope and expect that that would include reviewing any past work, not to create new work but past work of alternatives That might produce more housing or the same amount of housing.

Is that something we would need to add to the order? Or is that understood that that might be part of it? And I'm just thinking of all the work that was done in a range of areas, and they might benefit from using They can unearth some ways that we might be able to fulfill the goals of this, which is again not to decrease the amount of housing and yet to come up with an ordinance that is more streamlined, that's comprehensive and it better meets the needs of the city.

Through you, Mayor Siddiqui, Assistant City Manager Peters is still online. She's just promoted. Great. So if you could just repeat your question, I think I was following most of it.

Did go over this in the meeting, so I don't think we need to re-discuss it since all of us were there. And I appreciate the support from as a joint committee meeting. One of the questions I had is in the ordered, one of the thoughts I had was that I would hope and expect that it would be understood that in modeling the impact of proposed amendments that CDD would include reviewing all the past work that they did on a range of ways we could get to where we want, which is more building in the city. and more, less disruption but not reduce the amount of housing including affordable housing that we might expect. So I wanted to point that out and make sure that we understand that's part of the charge here if that's understood.

Melissa?

Yeah, thank you. Through you, Mayor. So we will be bringing back There were several different scenarios that we evaluated that gave Council information to decide how to move forward with their policy recommendation. It would be helpful if there was a specific scenario that you wanted us to bring forward, we could do that as well. I think it'd probably best to kind of narrow it down so that discussing previous scenarios that no longer want to be considered but happy to bring forward any past analysis we did.

Councilor Nolan

Thanks. Yeah, I mean, I'm thinking of... I know that the 3 plus 3 was one that we debated back and forth, and there may be a way to have that provide the same amount of housing or more housing, same amount or more affordable housing and if that is something that the department judges is worth looking at. Again, not creating extra work but I know you did a ton of work modeling a lot of this so not a gazillion different models but I do think that was something I remember might be something worth exploring and including in the analysis

Yes, certainly we can bring that forward for discussion.

Councilor Nolan yields. We have a few other hands up. We'll go to I think it was Councillor Zusy and then Vice Mayor.

I will support this. I think I've made clear that I feel as though I would want greater setbacks, Green roofs and balconies not to qualify as open space because they're not really open space. And I think there is a real problem with saying that we're not going to require the larger setback. Thank you very much. and people in affordable units, those inclusionary units. They too like to be able to go outside and play so I think it's a disservice to them not to give them the larger setbacks and the requirement for less private open space.

I think there's a problem there, but I realize that I'm in a minority on this council in believing that And the amendment that I really wanted to see was that six-story buildings were only allowed on lots larger than 5,000 square feet. Again, Patrick Barrett, a developer... He also agrees that the lot should be 7,500 or 10,000 square feet before you have a six-story building. Again, I live on a little over 5,000 square foot lot. It is too small for a six-story building and I still think there's a problem with six-storey buildings on narrow one-way streets so I hope eventually we get to that place. but I realize we probably don't have support for that today. I am eager to move forward on these amendments as soon as possible

So again, even though I have some concerns about the amended policy order, I will be supporting it tonight. So thank you. I yield.

Vice Mayor Azeem. Thank you, Madam Mayor. So I think that we'll have plenty of opportunity to discuss this and so I don't feel like the need to go in length. There's just one point that I wanted to explain and clarify from my perspective which is that there seems to be this dichotomy between CDA telling us that, hey in the amount of housing that could fit under zoning that we think might happen this will not be a significant reduction. Thank you very much. When we had no tariffs and when everything was cheaper. And so 20% did work then, and we have seen no traction with Health Week. Cambridge Near Lechmere, the developments there that have been even grandfathered in at 10%, no construction has begun.

We did not only pass the multifamily housing last year. We also passed new zoning in northern Mass Ave that had much greater heights. Not one building has been proposed to take advantage of that higher zoning. My fear is not that we will have less zoned capacity. That is great, but that actually we are not going to get any of these larger developments in any of the places where people have said now that they do wish it will happen and the small number of developments that are penciling will then have even more restrictions and so not in theory will we have less housing in a significant version but in practice the housing that does pencil, we are limiting. And the housing doesn't pencil everyone has been telling me for my entire city council career Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

Push out market rate housing and then also the inclusionary housing we want is still not penciling. I think that there's other options, right? You can have these amendments but then do other stuff to make the inclusion area housing pencil and maybe that's in places where people want as well. I think that would be a great compromise actually but you have to actually then make the other housing into places where we do want it to pencil so that was all I wanted to say for today thank you

Thank you, Vice Mayor. We will go to Councilor Flaherty.

And I'll be quick because I think I agree with Councilor Azeem that we'll have lots of opportunities to discuss this. And and while we support the amendments that have been presented to us, I think a lot of it is nibbling around the edges and doesn't substantively reflect Change the multifamily housing zoning ordinance, which we've heard from so many people and we've seen in our own lives the dramatic impact it's had. But to Councilor Azeem's point, you know a lot of this as it has been explained to many of us about interest rates and tariffs. are real obstacles to development, but they are transitory. They're not permanent. I know they've been here longer than we may think, but what's not transitory is a zoning ordinance.

And maybe we should be considering maybe some sort of a sunset provision as well because I think Health Peak will go forward, North Point will go and the 12,500 unit projections that are in Cambridge Envision without any data supporting those projections. will be met, I think very quickly by some of the larger developments when those transitory interest rates and tariffs become Thank you very much.

In one generation, as you've all heard me say We won't be the city of Cambridge we've all come to love The one that I live in now and I'm choosing to raise my family in And will become We've got plenty of time to talk about it. And I look forward to the discussions. I yield.

Say too much about this. I mean, I will say that the city has a long history of changing over time. We're 400 years old and I would bet you dollars to donuts as they used to say that Every time there was a major change in the city, somebody said this is going to make Cambridge different from the city we've come to love and yet we still love it because every generation is different. Thank you for watching. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. People's, you know, I'm not sure anybody is still watching. But this will now go back to CDD. Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler and I who are co-chairs of the ordinance committee will talk with them about how much time they need to do the amendments and edit the ordinance. We will then have an ordinance committee meeting, at least one probably more than one I assume we'll have one that Thank you very much.

We then have to vote to send it to a second reading. It has to sit on the agenda for two weeks. So we are, through all of that, the public can comment via email or at public comment at the meetings and amendments can come and go throughout that right up until the last second so there are still a ways to go with this I would like to move it as quickly as possible because I know it is causing folks a lot of Anxiety, it's creating a lot of unpredictability in where things are going so we should move it quickly. Assistant Manager Peters, what do you think you need? I mean, I don't know if you can answer that now. But what do what do You think you might need in terms of a timeframe to bring something back to ordinance

Yeah, thank you. Through you, Mayor, we are committed to getting something back within six to eight weeks.

Okay. And so we can go? We can go ahead and schedule something long before that so that it's on the books as soon as possible. Thank you, Madam Mayor.

McGovern-Yields.

I think we've heard from everyone who'd like to be heard. I suggest we go ahead and do a roll call on this order.

Councilor Al-Zubi? Yes, Vice Mayor Azeem? Yes. Councilor Flaherty? Yes, Councilor McGovern? Yes Yes, Councillor Nolan? Yes Yes, Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler? Yes. Yes, Councillor Zusy? Yes Yes Mayor Siddiqui? Yes

The order passes. We move on to communications and reports from other city officers. There are two on a motion by Councilor Simmons to place both of these on file. All those in favor say aye. I, those against say no. The ayes have it. Those two communications reports are from other city officers placed on file. We don't have any late resolutions. We on a motion by Councilor Simmons to adjourn. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Those against say no. The ayes have it. We are adjourned. Good night, everyone.