June 20, 2026
Dear Fellow Cantabrigians,
Important City Meetings this Week
Monday, June 22 at 11am: the Health & Environment Comm.: Agenda #1 the Urban Forest Master Plan and #2 strengthening the Tree Protection Ordinance. We must protect our trees through this ordinance, not the MFH Ordinance.
Thursday, June 25 at 12:30pm: NLTP & Housing Comm., CDD presents concepts for MFH Ordinance Amendments. The Powerpoint will likely be posted Tuesday or Wednesday.
Monday night’s 5:30pm Council meeting to include discussion of many significant issues. The City Manager will report back on the drought and our water supply (#13), on-street parking (#16), short term rentals (#19), the housing needs study (#20), and N. Mass. Ave and Cambridge St. retail (#21 & 22). PO # 3 asks for greater traffic enforcement.
To access these meetings, sign up to give public comment, and to see CDD’s ideas for MFH O. amendments, go here: https://cambridgema.primegov.com/public/portal
Better Tools to Track the Impacts of the MFH Ordinance
See our updated list, now in spreadsheet form, for easier analysis: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xLTvVjy7rXNI2ftZSs0o26JfTYuvzNRv1in5OEu2h_A/edit?gid=0#gid=02.
See a new website that builds on this data set:
https://cambridge-redev-tracker.pages.dev/ . The side by side before and after images help one grasp the ordinance’s neighborhood impacts.
Please sign the online Action Network petition. 3,500 have already signed on. We need many more to sign on to demonstrate support for amendments! Share this link with friends.
Amendments to the MFH Ordinance
At the June 8 City Council meeting, I was surprised by how unhappy some of my colleagues were by Councillor Flaherty and my policy order suggesting amendments. Why not make the MFH O. better? Mostly, we see it producing luxury units out of scale and context with neighborhoods, devastating trees, displacing residents, and making Cambridge more expensive and less livable. That was not the ordinance’s intention.
Over the next weeks and months I will continue to advocate for greater, more flexible setbacks and permeable open space as well as moving taller buildings to the wider transportation corridors.
Recognizing that we must address the lack of affordable housing in our City, I will continue to encourage policies that encourage housing production for a broad spectrum of residents. These include: supporting the Cambridge Land Trust (which has funding in the FY27 budget), incentivizing the preservation of naturally affordable housing, supporting cooperative and alternative housing models, and exploring social housing. I believe that our longtime residents will be key to solving the problem. Many with a social conscience were drawn to Cambridge 30-60 years ago and have seen a great appreciation in their houses. We all know that to remain vital, Cambridge must create opportunities for younger and middle income residents.
Great News: We Are Producing Many Affordable Units
Cambridge’s Affordable Housing Trust shared its Housing Overlay (AHO) 5-Year Report.
Extraordinary progress: 16 projects in the pipeline will produce more than 1,000 new permanently affordable homes for low- and moderate-income residents. The first of these, Just a Start’s 52 New St., just opened. It includes 106 affordable apartments: 62 2-bedroom and 22 3-bedroom units. See housing program income limits here:
https://www.cambridgema.gov/-/media/files/cdd/housing/incomelimits/hudincomeguidelines.pdf.
Economic Development Committee Takeways
June 9 I was the catalyst and co-host for an Economic Development Committee meeting with City Manager Yi-an Huang. Cambridge’s Director of Economic Opportunity Pardis Saffari invited leaders of our startup and innovation economy ecosystem to share what was working and what needed improvement in order to to remain dynamic and retain startup businesses. Our participants were leaders at the Engine, LabCentral, the Cambridge Innovation Center, YCombinator, Ginkgo Bioworks, MIT & Harvard.
Startup leaders shared they needed rent relief or tax incentives, faster permitting, more off-hour fun, and, perhaps, more of “a white glove experience” from the City to keep innovators. Many startups begin here, but move to less expensive cities once their businesses grow. Our great schools, city services, parks and family friendly reputation all make innovators want to stay in Cambridge. We should be matching our millions of square feet of empty labs and offices with our young entrepreneurs. This was one of the most interesting meetings I’ve attended on the Council. Watch it here. [ https://cambridgema.v3.swagit.com/videos/390470]
How Much Active Retail? June 16 Ordinance Committee Meeting Updates
The Council is debating whether to follow Planning Board recommendations to require ground floor retail at 8 stories and higher north of Porter on Mass. Ave and at 4 stories and higher on Cambridge St.
In April, the Council discussion supported retail beginning at 4 stories north of Porter Square and 3 stories and higher on Cambridge St. I’m thinking that incentivizing housing on N. Mass Ave. makes sense, but that we should continue to require retail at 3 stories on Cambridge St. Please share your thoughts.
Grass Will Remain at the Ahern Field and Common
I’m thrilled with the City Manager’s decision, influenced by a petition with over 2,100 signatures and very positive and well-informed advocates. But we’re not done yet. We still need to find more playing fields for our youth sports teams, especially in East Cambridge, and figure out how to better maintain and manage our existing grass fields so that they can support more play time. I am committed to continuing to work with youth sport leaders on finding creative solutions to the scant playing field problem and to work with the School Committee on providing afterschool sports for our upper schools, another concern of the youth sport leaders.
Design Feedback Requested for East Cambridge’s Gold Star Mothers Memorial Park
June 9 City staff shared various concepts for the Gore St. park which was recently found to have toxic soil. Cambridge is committed to do the right thing well and fast; East Cambridge is short on open space. It will invest $15m in the 1.5 acre park—much of this for soil remediation. See design concepts here. [https://www.cambridgema.gov/-/media/files/publicworksdepartment/engineering/goldstarmothersparkrenovation/2026,-d-,06,-d-,09goldstarmothersmemorialparkcommunitymeeting3.pdf]
Please share feedback ASAP with DPW’s Kristin Kelleher at [email protected]. The goal is to develop construction documents this summer and fall, to bid the project out this winter, and to start construction in Spring 2027.
Street Trees Victory!
The City Manager has announced the City will preserve the street trees in front of 101 Pleasant St. and 15 Mt. Auburn St. The MFH developer at 101 Pleasant had wanted the Pin Oak removed because its roots would interfere with the sewage pipes of the expanded building. At 15 Auburn St., Harvard said that the Zelkova roots would intrude on their proposed new Native American Program building.
Around Town
Over the past weeks, I’ve responded to constituent concerns about the reopening of Carl Baron Plaza, the Church Street Theater, liquor licenses changes, water supply and rogue demolitions.
I was honored to be invited to speak at the Community Learning Center Raise a Glass fundraiser and celebrated the Cambridge Police Department’s receiving top CALEA accreditation, the Cambridge Historical Commission’s Preservation Awards, Juneteenth and Cambridge Pride Day.
I spoke at the East Cambridge Planning Team meeting and attended the Greater Boston Labor Council legislative breakfast, Cambridge Local First Small Business Summit and Lab Central’s Brilliant Collisions, which showcased their 2026 BioHub Cohort. I heard urbanist Jeff Speck effuse about the Walkable City and appreciated the Central Square Theater & MIT’s play No Recombination without Representation, in the City Hall Chamber. It commemorated the City Council’s 1976 decision that allowed Harvard and MIT to engage in DNA research. That bold decision has led to Cambridge’s rise as a Life Science center.
The FREE Olympic-sized pool at Magazine Beach opened today, Saturday, for the summer. For more information, see magazinebeach.org. Attend the Department of Conservation & Recreation’s update on recent improvements at the City’s 2nd largest park June 29 at @ 6pm by Zoom here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/eontb_4jQjyOchMfexkjSQ#/registration.
East Cambridge: Gold Star Pool, 123 Berkshire St. (Cambridge)
Beginner Pool (3-6 ft. deep) and larger pool with lap swimming
Sat-Sun: 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Mon-Fri: 2 – 7 p.m. (opens at 3 p.m. June 22-26 while school’s still in session)
https://www.cambridgema.gov/services/recgoldstarpool
East Cambridge: Richard McKinnon Park Spray Deck (DCR)
Education Circle
North Cambridge: Francis J. McCrehan Swimming Pool & Wading Pool, 359 Rindge Ave (DCR)
11am-7pm daily
About the DCR facilities, see: https://www.mass.gov/swimming-pools-wading-pools-and-spray-decks/locations
Note: DCR & Cambridge’s other FREE outdoor pools also opened Saturday. Stay cool!
Attend the Department of Conservation & Recreation’s update on recent improvements at Magazine Beach, the City’s 2nd largest park June 29 at @ 6pm by Zoom here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/eontb_4jQjyOchMfexkjSQ#/registration
Happy Summer!
Cathie
City Councillor
https://linktr.ee/cathie.zusy
Note: All the links to City Council meetings can be found here: https://cambridgema.primegov.com/public/portal
*Juneteenth celebration
*The CPD Receives Top CALEA accreditation
*Pride Day
*At Lab Central’s Brilliant Collisions
