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Newsletter #13
February 28, 2022 |
Planning Board Hearing on IQHQ’s Special Permit Application
Tuesday, March 1, 2022 at 6:30pm, on Zoom
The next key event in the development of the IQHQ site in North Cambridge is the City of Cambridge Planning Board (PB) meeting on March 1. Please attend the zoom meeting if you can! Even if you don’t want to speak, your attendance will show strong community interest in this development, which will bring big changes to the Alewife area in North Cambridge.
March 1 will be the first of maybe two PB meetings on IQHQ’s application. This first meeting is the best time to express your views, so the PB can consider them before they officially require or recommend any changes to IQHQ’s plans.
Click here to register for the meeting and see the agenda
Click here to see meeting documents:
- Map of the site
- IQHQ’s application
- City of Cambridge reviews of IQHQ’s application
- More PB information about this application and meeting
The PB will evaluate whether IQHQ’s proposal meets the City of Cambridge Zoning Ordinance, as well as other city regulations that apply, such as the Parking and Transportation Demand Management (PTDM) Ordinance. Community benefits such as improvements at Jerry’s Pond, the MBTA plaza, and the 83 bus turnaround, plus adding a community garden near Russell Field and a tree nursery on the parking garage, are not under the jurisdiction of the PB.
The March 1 hearing on the IQHQ plans will include:
- An IQHQ presentation summarizing their development plans
- The PB asking IQHQ clarifying questions
- Public comment
- Discussion by the PB (no public comment)
- Decision by PB to either approve the Special Permit or continue the hearing to another meeting (most likely)
Petition Seeks Time to Align Alewife Development Rules with City Plans
Over the last few years the Alewife area has had particular focus by the City for predicted increase in flooding and extreme heat. There have been well-thought-out city plans by Envision Cambridge and other city-lead processes that began in 2016. But there is still no revised or new zoning that aligns with these recommendations. One reason is that City staff say they are too busy reviewing individual development proposals to be able to set the overall guidance for how development in the area should be done. Meanwhile, developers are moving quickly to build more high density biotech labs in our neighborhoods using the old rules.
The Alewife District Plan seeks to preserve well-paying career jobs that don’t need college degrees, like those that currently exist in the light-industrial area between Fresh Pond and Alewife Station. Because of the extreme traffic congestion in the Alewife area, many workers at dense Biotech Labs and High Tech office parks will likely choose to live in Cambridge to get to and from their jobs in a reasonable time. This will drive up demand for housing, especially by people who can afford to buy up moderately priced houses or pay for upscale new ones, causing even higher housing prices in Cambridge..
A policy order (submitted by Patty Nolan and co-sponsored by Sumbul Siddiqui, Marc McGovern, and Burhan Azeem) seeks to allow the Cambridge Development Department time (with a cap of two years) to update zoning language to match city plans where labs and offices are proposed in the Alewife area. This includes the Triangle, Quadrangle and Fresh Pond Mall, but not the IQHQ property.
This zoning petition will be discussed at Council Ordinance Committee and Planning Board meetings. At least 7 supporting votes by City Councilors are needed to pass these important amendments. ASG is discussing the neighborhood issues with City Councilors individually, but community members are encouraged to contact Councilors directly to let them know that we care about fair jobs, climate change resiliency, housing, traffic, or just that the City zoning should be updated to match City plans as soon as possible. When the new rules are established, the restrictions on Alewife lab and office development will be lifted.
What can you do?
Write an email to City Councilors in support of the Alewife Overlay District zoning petition. Write to citycouncil@cambridgema.gov
Save these dates: Ordinance Committee Meeting on March 9, Planning Board meeting on March 15. Sign up for public comment if you want to voice your opinion, but at least attend the meetings to show that the community is interested. Find out more about Cambridge meetings by clicking here.
Cambridge is hiring a new City Manager!
https://www.cambridgecitymanagersearch.com
Our current City Manager, Louis A. DePasquale, is retiring in June 2022. The City of Cambridge will hire a new City Manager. The City Manager controls the budget, implements the city’s policies and ordinances, and appoints all the members of City boards and commissions. Their daily decisions impact all who live, work, and spend time in Cambridge, yet the City Council, including the mayor, cannot require the City Manager to take any particular action on any issue – they can only request actions be taken.
It is important that residents and stakeholders who will be affected by the City Manager’s decisions have a say in this process. Your feedback will help the City Council develop the City Manager job description, find ideal candidates for the role, and help guide the City Council to their final decision in May!
What can you do?
- Provide feedback, ask questions and interact with other residents by visiting the dedicated feedback website here!
- Communicate with the Executive Search Firm the City has hired to guide the search and hiring process by emailing them directly at: cambridge@randifrank.com
The City Manager is not elected, but oversees all of the city functions, with very limited ability by the City Council to affect these decisions. This makes the City Manager very powerful in how the city works. ASG encourages all Cambridge residents to be involved in the selection process, including by suggesting good candidates to the search firm.
Jefferson Park Update
On Feb 15, the Planning Board (PB) met to discuss updates to the design of Jefferson Park (on Rindge Ave), to tear down the existing buildings and add 103 units to bring the total to 278 affordable units (currently 175). Because the project is using the Affordable Housing Overlay zoning rules, the design does not need approval by the Planning Board (or anyone else), and the meeting was only for the PB to offer design advice. Little of substance has changed about the buildings since the last presentation to the PB. The new design adds more street trees along one of the roads, and some larger sized trees were added to open space areas to provide additional shading sooner.
More outdoor activity areas geared for smaller kids were added, as it’s easier for older kids to use Russell Field for activities. Additional benches were provided in common areas. Some indoor common areas, such as exercise rooms have been added.
Several members of the community and the Planning Board commented that by using the Affordable Housing Overlay zoning provisions, which limits the height of the building to four stories in this area, the design is less than ideal, but good for what they could do within the limitations. A better design might be to slightly increase the heights of some of the buildings by a floor or two, in order to get the same total number of units with one less building. This would allow more open space, trees, and allow for a better future connection across the train tracks to Danehy Park.
Such a design would require a “variance,” to allow them to exceed zoning rules, which is commonly granted for affordable housing projects but could cause delays if those allowances were appealed. Because their current plan could be built without the need for approvals, they could present a plan with more open space as a better alternative while noting they would use their current plan if there were any objections. That would reduce the likelihood of an appeal, and they could still proceed with their current plan if an appeal were filed. However, the developer chose not to seek approval of a better plan.
An article by the Cambridge Day reported on the meeting: Jefferson Park housing project wins some over during Planning Board process, moves onward.
ASG Newsletter
ASG will send email updates about once a month during this busy time in the development of the IQHQ site.
Click here for previous ASG Newsletters
Anyone can sign up for this newsletter by completing the Contact Form at the bottom of the ASG home page: alewife.org We also welcome your questions, comments, ideas, and offers of help!