* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. OKAY, [00:00:02] WELCOME EVERYWHERE. ONE GOOD AFTERNOON. I'M GOING TO CALL TODAY'S JOINT HOUSING AND NEIGHBORHOOD AND LONG-TERM PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETING. THE CALL OF THE MEETING IS TO CONTINUE THE JOINT PUBLIC HEARING, REVIEWING THE IMPACTS OF THE MULTIFAMILY HOUSING ORDINANCE. THIS MEETING WILL FEATURE OUTSIDE EXPERTS, INCLUDING A REALTOR, A DEVELOPER, AND PROFESSORS OF URBAN PLANNING, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, HOUSING, AND TRANSPORTATION POLICY. THEY WILL SHARE THEIR OBSERVATIONS, IDEAS FOR OTHER WAYS TO ACCOMPLISH OUR GOALS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENTS. UH, THIS WILL BE FOLLOWED BY COMMITTEE DISCUSSION. THERE WILL BE NO PUBLIC COMMENT TODAY. MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE WELCOME TO SUBMIT WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS TO THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE AT CITY CLERK@CAMBRIDGEMASS.GOV. PURSUANT TO CHAPTER TWO OF THE ACTS OF 2025, ADOPTED BY MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL COURT AND APPROVED BY THE GOVERNOR, THE CITY IS AUTHORIZED TO USE REMOTE PARTICIPATION AT MEETINGS OF THE CAMBRIDGE CITY COUNCIL AND ITS COMMITTEES. WE HAVE SET UP ZOOM TELECONFERENCE FOR MEMBERS WHO WOULD ALSO LIKE TO PARTICIPATE REMOTELY AND FOR PUB THE PUBLIC TO VIEW. YOU CAN ALSO VIEW THE MEETING VIA THE CITY'S OPEN MEETING PORTAL OR ON THE CITY'S 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 VIDEO RECORDING. THIS MEETING, THE FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS IS, IS A ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS PRESENT FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND LONG-TERM PLANNING COMMITTEE. COUNCIL ZUBIE. PRESENT, PRESENT, VICE MEZE. PRESENT. PRESENT, COUNCILLOR FLAHERTY. PRESENT. PRESENT. COUNCILOR NOLAN. PRESENT, COUNCILLOR ZUI. PRESENT, PRESENT. FIVE MEMBERS PRESENT FOR THE HOUSING COMMITTEE. COUNCILOR ZUBI. PRESENT, PRESENT, VICE PRESENT. PRESENT. COUNCILOR SIMMONS. PRESENT. PRESENT. COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER. PRESENT. PRESENT, COUNCILOR ZUI. PRESENT, PRESENT. FIVE MEMBERS PRESENT. THIS IS THE SECOND OF AT LEAST THREE MEETINGS TO CONSIDER THE IMPACTS OF THE MULTIFAMILY HOUSING ORDINANCE AND ULTIMATELY TO AMEND IT TO BETTER ALIGN IT WITH ITS GOALS. UH, ITS GOALS WERE AND ARE TO REDUCE REGULATIONS TO SPUR HOUSING PRODUCTION, ESPECIALLY OF AFFORDABLE UNITS, AND TO REMOVE ONE IN TWO STORY FAMILY ONLY ZONES, UH, TO AND TO ALLOW MULTIFAMILY HOUSING IN ALL AREAS. ULTIMATELY, THE GOAL WAS TO MAKE CAMBRIDGE MORE AFFORDABLE SO THAT YOUNG PEOPLE, YOUNG FAMILIES, AND CITY, CITY WORKERS COULD ALL LIVE HERE. UH, THE MULTIFAMILY HOUSING ORDINANCE ALLOWS, UM, UH, IT PERMITS, UH, FOUR STORIES. UH, 45 FOOT BUILDINGS CITYWIDE WITH SIX STORIES OR 74 FOOT BUILDINGS FOR PROJECTS, INCLUDING 20% INCLUSIONARY INCOME RESTRICTED UNITS. IT ALSO STREAMLINES REQUIREMENTS REMOVING THE MINIMUM LOT SIZE AND FAR REQUIREMENTS AND ALLOWING AS OF RIGHT DEVELOPMENT, UM, WITH SPECIAL PERMITS ONLY NEEDED FOR PROJECTS OVER 75,000 SQUARE FEET. 30% OF OPEN SPACE IS REQUIRED, BUT THIS CAN BE SATISFIED WITH BALCONIES AND ROOF DECKS, UM, PRIVATE SPACES THAT ARE IMPERMEABLE. AND THERE IS A FIVE FOOT SIDE AND REAR SETBACK IN A 10, IN 10 FOOT FRONT SETBACK, AND THERE'S NO PARKING MINIMUM. AT OUR FIRST MEETING ON MARCH 25TH, 26TH, THE CITY PRESENTED THE IMPACTS TO DATE OF THIS ORDINANCE SUGGESTING THAT THAT LITTLE, UH, SUGGESTING A WAIT AND SEE APPROACH, AND THAT LITTLE HAD HAPPENED. ONLY 40 PROJECTS OF VARYING SCALES HAVE STARTED OR FINISHED, UH, UM, SOME FORM OF REVIEW AND ONLY 50 PERMITS HAVE BEEN ISSUED, WHICH IS ABOUT NORMAL SINCE FEBRUARY OF 2025 WHEN WE PASSED THE MULTIFAMILY HOUSING ORDINANCE. WE HAVE ALSO UPZONED CAMBRIDGE STREET IN NORTH MASS AVE, AND WE'RE ABOUT TO UP ZONE CENTRAL SQUARE. MY BIG TAKEAWAYS FROM THE MARCH 25TH PRESENTATION WERE THAT THE CITY SAW THAT MOST PROJECTS ARE FOR TWO TO THREE UNITS. UH, THERE ARE 13 OF THESE THAT THEY RECORDED AND EIGHT PROJECTS FOR FOUR TO SIX UNITS. UM, AND THAT THE HISTORICAL COMMISSION HAD HAD A HUGE UPTAKE IN INFORMAL REQUESTS FOR HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE. IN 2024, THEY'D BEEN ASKED TO REVIEW 43 43 PROPERTIES AND TWENTY FIVE, TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY TWO PROPERTIES [00:05:01] IN, IN 2026. AS OF MARCH 25TH, 42 PROPERTIES, UH, 37 SIGNIFICANT TREES HAD BEEN REMOVED. BUT THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE ABUTS TREES THAT ARE CLOSE TO THE LOT LINE. UM, AND THESE ARE, THESE 37 SIGNIFICANT TREES WILL BE REPLACED WITH 26 SMALLER TREES. WELL, ALL OF THESE THINGS, UM, MAYBE TRUE. I WOULD ARGUE THAT FAR MORE IS HAPPENING AND THAT THE DATA SHARED DOESN'T REFLECT THE FULL IMPACT OF THE ORDINANCE. UM, OVER THE, WELL, OVER THE LAST 14 MONTHS, UM, MY AIDES AND THE COMMUNITY HAVE HELPED ME CROWDSOURCE A LIST THAT'S INCLUDED IN YOUR PACKET. IT'S A 16 PAGE PACKET THAT SHOWS OVER 74 PROJECTS THAT ARE IN DEVELOPMENT AT SOME PHASE IN 26 THAT ARE, UH, WILL SOON BE IN DEVELOPMENT, THAT THEY'RE PROPERTIES THAT WILL SOON CHANGE HANDS THAT ARE FOR SALE FOR MULTIFAMILY PROJECTS. UM, KNOW THAT THIS LIST WILL EVOLVE AS PROJECTS, UH, UM, EVOLVE. THIS, THIS, UH, PRINTOUT HERE IS JUST OF, IT REFLECTS THIS POINT IN TIME. UM, AND IT'S TO SORT OF SUGGEST IT, IT IS TO SUGGEST THAT AN AN AWFUL LOT IS, IS HAPPENING OR IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. I'M VERY EAGER TO HEAR FROM OUR EXPERTS TODAY, UM, ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE OBSERVING AND CAN RE RECOMMEND TO BETTER ACHIEVE CAMBRIDGE'S GOALS AND ENVISION CAMBRIDGE'S GOALS TO EXPAND OUR HOUSING STOCK WHILE PRESERVING NEIGHBORHOODS. WITH THAT, I WILL, UM, INTRODUCE OUR SPEAKERS. THEY ARE, AND I'LL GIVE EACH ONE AN INTRODUCTION JUST BEFORE I PRESENT THEM. REALTOR ED ABRAMS URBAN PLANNER, TIM LOVE, UH, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT, GARY HILDERBRAND. AND THEN WE HAVE, UM, MAGDA, MAY WE OF, UH, ALSO AN URBAN PLANNER WILL BE JOINING US. AND JASON KB UH, A DEVELOPER WILL BE JOINING US. UM, SO LET'S GET STARTED. AND THE FORMAT FOR TODAY WILL BE THAT, UM, OUR SPEAKERS WILL PRESENT, UM, THEY'RE, EACH, THEIR PRESENTATIONS WILL LAST ABOUT FIVE TO SEVEN MINUTES MAX. AND THEN FOLLOWING ALL THE PRESENTATIONS, WE'LL HAVE Q AND A. AND I'M HOPING THAT WILL BE A ROBUST CONVERSATION. AND I JUST, I WANNA INTRODUCE CITY, CITY STAFF THAT IS HERE. 'CAUSE I'M THRILLED THAT THEY'RE HERE. WE'VE GOT OUR, UM, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER FOR, UM, OR FOR PLANNING, WE'VE GOT MELISSA PETERS. UM, WE'VE GOT JEN K KRO, OR CAIRO, I'M SORRY, RA RA, UH, THE DEPUTY, UH, THE DEPUTY. AND THEN WE'VE GOT JEFF, UM, ROBERTS, OUR HEAD OF ZONING. WE'VE GOT CHARLIE SULLIVAN, THE HEAD OF OUR HISTORICAL COMMISSION. SO I'M THRILLED THAT YOU'RE HERE AND, UM, I HOPE YOU'LL PARTAKE IN THE CONVERSATION AS WELL. 'CAUSE A, AGAIN, THE, THE GOAL OF THIS MEETING IS TO MAKE THINGS BETTER. SO WE'RE EAGER TO HEAR FROM ALL OF YOU. AND, UM, AGAIN, TO, UH, I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING MY COLLEAGUES QUESTIONS. THANK YOU. SO OUR FIRST PRESENTER IS ED ABRAMS, UH, CAMBRIDGE RESIDENT OF 30 YEARS. AND, UH, FOR 20 YEARS HE HAS BEEN A REALTOR AND HAS MADE HUNDREDS OF TRANSACTIONS. UH, HE WORKS FOR, UM, MAX REAL ESTATE CENTER, RE, UH, RE MAX, UH, REAL ESTATE CENTER. AND HE HAS WORKED WITH BOTH INDIVIDUAL BUYERS AND WITH DEVELOPERS TOO. SO LET'S START WITH ED. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE, MA. MADAM CHAIR, I JUST WANTED TO, UM, LET THE COMMITTEES KNOW THAT COUNCILOR MCGOVERN AND MAYOR SADIKI ARE BOTH ONLINE. AND JUST A FRIENDLY REMINDER FOR THE PRESENTERS TO SPEAK DIRECTLY INTO THE MICROPHONE WHEN YOU'RE PRESENTING. THANK YOU. THANKS. UH, GOOD AFTERNOON. UH, I'M, MY NAME IS ED ABRAMS REALTOR WITH RE MAX REAL ESTATE CENTER, AND I'VE LIVED IN THE BALDWIN NEIGHBORHOOD FOR OVER 30 YEARS. UH, SO TODAY I'M GONNA PROVIDE YOU WITH MY REALTOR'S PERSPECTIVE ON THE MULTIFAMILY HOUSING ORDINANCE AND ITS IMPACT ON THE, UH, REAL ESTATE MARKET, BOTH TODAY AND, UH, IN THE NEAR FUTURE. WHAT I'D REALLY LIKE EVERYONE TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT GREATER HOUSING DENSITY DOES NOT NECESSARILY INCREASE AFFORDABILITY. IN FACT, THE EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT, LET'S GO TO SLIDE TWO, PLEASE. SO WHAT UPZONING DOES IS ACTUALLY CAN DECREASE HOUSING AFFORDABILITY BECAUSE [00:10:01] IT INCREASES THE UNDERLYING LAND VALUE. AS YOU CAN SEE ON THIS CHART ON THE LEFT, UH, THE HIGHER THE ALLOWABLE BUILDING DENSITY, THE MORE VALUABLE THE LAND BECOMES. CONSEQUENTLY, DEVELOPERS WILL BID MORE FOR IT, AND IT WILL INCENTIVIZE THEM TO BUILD HIGHER COST LUXURY UNITS, NOT AFFORDABLE HOUSING. AND WE'RE SEEING IT PLAYING OUT IN THAT THERE'S VERY FEW, UH, AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS THAT IN INCORPORATE INCLUSIONARY ZONING BECAUSE IT JUST DOESN'T PENCIL OUT. UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT, UH, DEVELOPERS AND THEIR BACKERS, BANKS AND, UH, INVESTORS THEN COMPETE AGAINST INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY HOME BUYERS CAUSING HOUSING PRICES TO RISE FURTHER. I USED A SPECIFIC EXAMPLE. SO FROM, UH, 2017 TO 2025, WHILE THE AVERAGE CAMBRIDGE HOME SALE PRICE, IT INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY 66% THE SALE PRICE FOR A SPECIFIC PROPERTY AT, UH, 1 61 GROVE STREET, WHICH IS WITH A NEW UPZONING. IT'S NOW AVAILABLE FOR MUCH MORE DENSITY, MORE THAN DOUBLE TO $3.3 MILLION. THAT WAS A SALE IN THE FALL OF 2025. UH, AND THEN THIS YEAR, THE DEVELOPER ACTUALLY TRIED TO RELIST IT AT 5.7 MILLION. SO WE'RE SEEING EVIDENCE OF SIGNIFICANT INFLATION IN THE VALUE OF LAND. UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO, IT REALLY IS GETTING WORSE FOR MIDDLE CLASS FAMILIES LIVING ON, UH, LESS THAN 5,000 SQUARE FOOT LOTS, ESPECIALLY IN FORMER RESIDENTIAL B DISTRICTS, UH, LIKE STRAWBERRY HILL, WHICH WERE ALREADY ZONED FOR MULTIFAMILY HOUSING, BUT WITH HIGH LIMITATIONS AND SETBACKS. SO WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING IS THEIR PROPERTY VALUES ARE GETTING REDUCED, AND THIS IS BECOMING A REALLY BIG WEALTH TRANSFER, UH, LONG TERM MULTI-GENERATIONAL FAMILIES. THEY'RE LOSING PROPERTY VALUE AND REALLY MORE IS MUCH MORE AS THEY GET OVERWHELMED BY OUTTA SCALE OUTTA CHARACTER DEVELOPMENTS. SO, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THIS IS AN EXAMPLE THAT I'M SURE MANY PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF. UH, 95 CUSHING STREET. IT'S A PROPOSED FOUR STORY, SIX UNIT LUXURY CONDOMINIUM DEVELOPMENT IN STRAWBERRY HILL. SO HERE, THE DEVELOPER HAS REALLY MAXED OUT EVERY ALLOWABLE SQUARE FOOTAGE OF THE PROPERTY, BUT ALSO MANIPULATED THE DESIGN TO KEEP THE, UH, THE FLOOR AREA JUST SHORT OF REQUIRING AN INCLUSIONARY UNIT. SO THIS WON'T BE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UH, I'D CALL IT A MONSTER. IT OVERPOWERS NEIGHBORING PROPERTIES BY 12 FEET OR MORE. AND THEN I'M ALSO GONNA SHOW YOU ON THE NEXT SLIDE, THE IMPACT OF THAT IT HAS ON ITS, UH, NEIGHBORING PROPERTIES VALUE. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO WHAT I ACTUALLY DID IS I WENT INTO, UH, CHAT GPT, WHICH IS REALLY GOOD AT, UH, ANALYZING, UH, REAL ESTATE. AND I ASKED, IT PROMPTED IT USING APPRAISAL FOUNDATION'S PRINCIPLES OF ADVERSE EXTERNAL INFLUENCES. AND WHAT IT DID IS IT PROJECTED A 13 TO 18% LOSS IN PROPERTY VALUE FOR THE ABUTTING PROPERTY AT 99 DASH 1 0 1 CUSHING STREET. UH, AND I'VE WORKED WITH MANY APPRAISERS, AND THEY REALLY HAVE TO LOOK AT THE INFLUENCE OF ABUTTING PROPERTIES. SO THIS IS REALLY TRUE. UM, AND THE SPECIFIC FACTORS ARE THE, UH, PROXIMITY, THE REDUCED PRIVACY DIMINISHED SUNLIGHT TO THE SOUTH FACING UNIT, LOSS OF STREET PARKING AND DETERIORATION OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER. SO WHAT I'M SEEING IS THAT UPZONING MAY ACTUALLY DRIVE GENTRIFICATION AT THE SAME TIME HARMING MANY LONG-TERM MIDDLE CLASS RESIDENTS. AND I WOULD INCLUDE MYSELF IN THAT. AND THE LAST SLIDE, PLEASE. AND SO I'D LIKE TO SUM IT UP WITH, UH, UH, WITH ONE OF THE POINTS MADE BY A STUDY IN, UH, URBAN STUDIES BASED ON, UH, UPZONING IN NEW YORK CITY. AND THEY STATE THAT WE FIND THAT UPZONING IS POSITIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH SIGNS OF GENTRIFICATION, UP ZONE NEIGHBORHOODS BECOME WHITER, MORE EDUCATED AND MORE AFFLUENT IN THE LONG RUN. SO AFFORDABLE HOUSING, IF THAT'S THE GOAL, IN MY OPINION, IS NOT GONNA BE ACCOMPLISHED BY THE UPZONING AS IT CURRENTLY STANDS. THANKS. THANK YOU SO MUCH, ED. UM, NEXT WE HAVE URBAN PLANNER, TIM LOVE. HE [00:15:01] IS THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF THE MASTER IN REAL ESTATE PROGRAM AND LECTURER AND SENIOR FELLOW IN REAL ESTATE AND URBAN PLANNING AT THE HARVARD, UH, GRADUATE SCHOOL OF DESIGN. HE IS THE FOUNDING PRINCIPAL OF UTI AND LEADS THE FIRM'S URBAN, UH, DESIGN AND PLANNING PRACTICE. HE ALSO TEACHES AT NORTHEASTERN, AND HE WAS THE LEAD CONSULTANT FOR OUR 2019 ENVISION CAMBRIDGE STUDY. THANK YOU, TIM. SO, UM, I THINK I HAVE SLIDES TWO AND I MIGHT, I, I HAVE MORE THAN FIVE TO SEVEN MINUTES WOULD ALLOW, BUT I'M GONNA GIVE YOU A FLAVOR OF WHAT I HAVE IF YOU WANT TO ASK QUESTIONS AND DIVE BACK IN. UM, I, I THINK THE OTHER THING WHILE WE'RE WAITING THE SLIDES TO COME UP IS THAT, UM, UH, UH, IN ADDITION TO LEADING COMPREHENSIVE PLANS FOR CITIES AS A CONSULTANT, UM, I'VE BEEN LEADING REZONING EFFORTS, UH, UH, PROBABLY FOR THE LAST SIX OR SEVEN YEARS, UH, INCLUDING, UH, THE REVAMPING OF ALL OF THE, OUR DISTRICTS IN BURLINGTON, VERMONT. UM, UH, I WORKED WITH JEN CARA AND NEWTON ON THE VILLAGE CENTER ZONING AND SOME OUR DISTRICT REZONING THAT TOOK SOME TIME, BUT WAS SUCCESSFUL. WE JUST WRAPPED UP THE ORLEANS MASSACHUSETTS ZONING. UM, AND I'M CURRENTLY WRITING THE MODEL ZONING CODE FOR THE STATE OF VERMONT, WHICH WILL BE A, UM, FIVE TIER FORM-BASED LIGHT CODE THAT COMMUNITIES IN VERMONT CAN OPT INTO. SO, UH, MY CONSULTING WORK IS FOCUSED MORE AND MORE ON ZONING 'CAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE ACTION IS. OKAY. UM, NEXT. SO, UH, KNOWING THE OTHER SPEAKERS, UM, I THOUGHT I WOULD FOCUS ON THE URBAN FORM CONSEQUENCES OF THE ZONING, BUT I ALSO WANT TO MAKE, UH, PICK UP ON SOME COMMENTS THAT ED ED MADE ABOUT, ABOUT WHAT THE MARKET HAS BEEN DOING IN RESPONSE TO THE NEW ZONING. I, I THINK, AGAIN, THIS IS JUST A TEASER, WE CAN COME BACK. UM, UH, YOU, YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND, WHEN YOU DEVISE A ZONING CODE, UM, A DEVELOPER WILL, UM, ALWAYS TRY TO MAX OUT THE GROSS FLOOR AREA THAT THEY CAN HARVEST FROM THE ZONING CODE. AND SO THE INCENTIVE WITH FOUR STORIES AND UH, SIX STORIES IS TO MAKE A FLAT ROOF BUILDING. AND I FOUND LOOKING AT THE EXCELLENT LIST OF IN THE WORKS PROJECTS THAT, UH, THE COUNSELOR PROVIDED THAT THE ONLY THING THAT TAMPS DOWN, UM, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE FULL DENSITY OF THE PROJECT IS IF IT'S A CONDO PROJECT, BECAUSE YOU CAN'T GET FINANCING FOR A CONDO PROJECT UNLESS YOU PROVIDE ONE ONSITE PARKING SPACE. SO THE, THE TAIL THAT WAGS THE DOG IN TERMS OF DENSITY FOR THESE UNDER 10 UNIT PROJECTS IS GETTING THE PARKING ON SITE, WHICH I'LL TALK TO IN A MINUTE. SO O ONE THING THAT WE'VE INTRODUCED IN OUR CODES FOR POLITICAL REASONS IS, UM, ALWAYS TO REQUIRE SOME OTHER KIND OF SHAPE MAKING ON THE TOP FLOOR. AND THIS WAS TRUE IN NEWTON. IT WAS TRUE IN ORLEANS. NEXT SLIDE. UM, UM, AND, AND WHAT WE'VE BEEN RECOMMENDING IS THAT YOU CAN EITHER MAKE THAT AN OCCUPIABLE PITCH ROOF WITH VERY LIBERAL DORMER ALLOWANCES OR A PENTHOUSE SETBACK. AND SO THE, THESE GRAPHICS ARE RIPPED RIGHT FROM THE PAGES OF THE ZOOMING THE NEWTON PROCESS. NEXT. UM, THE OTHER THING, UM, IS THAT, UM, I CALL WHAT'S BEING BUILT, UH, FOR CONDOMINIUMS, MULLETS, BECAUSE IT'S FRIENDLY ON THE FRONT AND PUSHES TO THE FULL SETBACKS ON THE BACK. AND THE REASON WHY THIS MASSING IS BEING, UM, UH, THIS IS THE SOLUTION FOR CONDOS BECAUSE YOU, THE, THE PARKING ENDS UP BEING IN THOSE PARKING COURTS IN THE FRONT. THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO, TO GET AS MUCH REAL ESTATE AS POSSIBLE, UH, IS TO HAVE A WIDE CURB CUT THAT EXTENDS RIGHT DOWN TO THE STREET. UM, AND THE NUMBER OF SPACES YOU CAN GET IN THAT SETBACK TENDS TO BE THE NUMBER OF UNITS THAT YOU'RE GETTING. AND SO WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THAT CASE, I THINK, I DON'T KNOW, IS THAT'S PROBABLY A THREE OR FOUR UNIT CONDO PROJECT. THERE'S THREE OR FOUR PARKING SPACES, AND THAT'S AS MUCH PARKING AS THEY COULD GET THAT THEY COULD MARKET. SO I I, THAT, THAT'S JUST A MARKET OBSERVATION. BUT YOU SEE, YOU SEE A LOT OF NEW PROPOSALS THAT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE FULL POSSIBILITY FOR FIVE FOOT SIDE AND REAR. AND THERE'S A LITTLE BIT MORE SPACE ON THE FRONT, I THINK, TO MAKE THE PROJECTS MORE MARKETABLE TOO. THAT'S AN EXISTING BUILDING THAT WAS PARTIALLY SAVED. UM, AND THEN NEXT, UM, UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. UM, AND SO I THINK ONE THING THAT I'M RECOMMENDING, IF THERE'S GONNA BE SOME DESIGN STANDARDS BUILT INTO THE CODE, IS TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE MINDFUL ABOUT HOW MUCH TARMAC FROM THAT PARKING YOU WANT RUNNING ACROSS THE SIDEWALK AND DOWN TO THE STREETS. UM, AND SO THESE ARE SOME DIAGRAMS OF SOME RECENT CODES WE'VE WRITTEN THAT REQUIRE A DRIVEWAY THAT'S NO WIDER THAN MAYBE 20 FEET OF WITHIN THE FRONTAGE ZONE AND BEYOND THE FRONTAGE ZONE, YOU CAN HAVE PARKING RATHER THAN [00:20:01] ALLOWING THE WHOLE DRIVEWAY TO DUMP INTO THE STREET. SO I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT LATER. NEXT. UM, THE OTHER PHENOMENON ARE EXTREME MULLETS WHERE, UM, THE EXISTING BUILDING, UM, REMAINS. AND THEN BECAUSE THERE'S A DEEP BACKYARD AND BECAUSE OF THE SETBACKS, YOU CAN GO TO SIX STORIES IF IT'S 20% AFFORDABLE. UM, I HAVE SOME MORE COMMENTS ABOUT THE SIX STORY PROJECTS IN A MINUTE NEXT. UM, AND ONE OF THE THINGS, UM, IN, IN ALL OF THE RECENT CODES WE'VE WRITTEN IS RATHER THAN ALLOW ON SMALL SITES, ONE BIG BUILDING, UM, WHAT WE'VE HAD SUCCESS WITH POLITICALLY AND I THINK MAKES MORE SENSE FROM AN URBAN DESIGN STANDPOINT IS THAT YOU SET A MAXIMUM BUILDING FOOTPRINT, BUT YOU ALLOW MULTIPLE STRUCTURES ON A SITE, WHICH IS MORE LIKE A HISTORIC BUILDING PATTERN LIKE IN SOUTH BOSTON WHERE I LIVED FOR 27 YEARS, WHERE THE, THE, THE BUILDING WAS ON THE FRONT AND A SEPARATE STANDALONE BUILDING WITH A WALKWAYS IN THE BACK. AND THAT AT LEAST CREATES, IN TERMS OF BUILDING SCALE, SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE MORE CONTEXTUAL. IT YOU, THERE'S NOT A BIG LOSS IN, UM, TOTAL GFA THAT'S POSSIBLE. UM, SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE WORTH CONSIDERING. IN, IN BURLINGTON, VERMONT, UH, THE DECISION WAS MADE TO MAKE THE REAR BUILDING A LITTLE BIT SMALLER THAN THE FRONT BUILDING, BUT THAT ISN'T TRUE IN THE WORK WE DID IN NEWTON AND THE WORK WE'RE DOING FOR THE VERMONT MODEL CO UH, ZONING. NEXT, AGAIN, I'M GOING VERY QUICKLY THROUGH THIS, UM, THE SIX STORY PROJECTS. UM, I KNOW BECAUSE, UM, WE'RE A 90 PERSON FIRM AND WE DO A LOT OF AFFORDABLE AND MARKET RATE MULTIFAMILY HOUSING ARE PROBABLY PROPOSALS THAT AREN'T MEANT TO MOVE AHEAD, BUT ARE MEANT TO GET SITES ENTITLED, UH, SO THAT THOSE DEVELOPERS CAN THEN FLIP THE SITES WITH A FULLY, UH, ENTITLED PROJECT. AND I, I SAY THAT JUST BECAUSE OF THE MIXED QUALITY OF SOME OF THE DESIGNS THAT WE SEE UP HERE. I ALSO THINK 2 36 HERON STREET SUGGESTS THAT YOU MIGHT WANT TO BAKE INTO YOUR ZONING CODE ITSELF, A PERCENTAGE OF FENESTRATION ON THE FRONT FACADE BECAUSE, UM, THAT THAT DOESN'T HAVE IT. OKAY, NEXT. UM, AND THEN THE, UH, THE, AND SO FOR THE NEWTON CODE, FOR EXAMPLE, THE DESIGN STANDARDS AREN'T A SEPARATE SET OF DESIGN GUIDELINES. THEY'RE BAKED INTO THE CODE ITSELF. YOU CAN BAKE IN ANY DIMENSIONAL STANDARD THAT YOU WANT TO IN A CODE, AS LONG AS IT'S NON-DISCRETIONARY, THE WAY THAT SETBACKS ARE NON-DISCRETIONARY. AND SO, UH, NEXT, UM, UH, NEXT, UM, AND SO ALL OF THE THINGS THAT MAKE THAT THE BUILDING YOU CAN BUILD HERE ARE ALL, UH, EMBEDDED IN THE ZONING CODE ITSELF. UM, AND, UM, WAS PART OF THE POLITICAL ARGUMENT TO GET AS OF RIGHT ZONING IN A, IN A POLITICAL CLIMATE THAT WAS AFRAID TO GO THERE. SO, UM, ALL OF THOSE THINGS THAT ARE MAKING THAT LOOK LIKE THAT OR ACTUALLY, UM, UH, UH, THE CODE NEXT, THE LAST THING THAT I DON'T HAVE TIME TO TALK ABOUT IS, UM, MAYBE WHAT TO DO ABOUT TEAR DOWNS. UM, NEXT, THIS WILL BE THE LAST SLIDE, I PROMISE, KATHY. UM, UH, WHAT WE DID IN NEWTON IS WE INCENTIVIZED DEVELOPERS TO TRY TO SAVE BUILDINGS VERSUS TEARING THEM DOWN. AND THE SECRET SAUCE THERE WAS TO, UH, ONLY ALLOW IN WHAT'S CALLED THE MRT DISTRICT, UM, WITH NEW CONSTRUCTION, JUST FOUR UNITS. BUT IF YOU SAVE THE EXISTING STRUCTURE, UM, YOU COULD DO A SIX UNIT PROJECT, BUT THE ADDITION YOU COULD PUT ON THE EXISTING STRUCTURE COULD ONLY BE A TOTAL OF HALF THE FOOTPRINT OF THE EXISTING BUILDING. AND THAT ADDITION HAD TO BE 20 FEET OFF THE FRONT FACE. AND, UM, DEVELOPERS, UH, ARE ATTRACTED TO THAT. AND THERE'S A COUPLE OF PROJECTS IN THE PIPELINE THAT ARE IN NEWTON THAT ARE, UM, TAKING THE BAIT, AS WE SAY, IN THE ZONING WORLD. SO I THINK THAT THAT'S A SUMMARY. I HAVE MORE THINGS I CAN SAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. OUR, AND WE MAY COME BACK TO YOU, TIM, SO YOU HAVE MORE TIME TO TALK ABOUT THIS. BUT OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS GARY HILDERBRAND, UH, WHO IS THE CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, THE PETER, UH, LUIS HORNBECK PROFESSOR AND PRACTICE OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AT THE HARVARD, UH, GRADUATE SCHOOL OF DESIGN. UH, HE'S TAUGHT THERE SINCE 1990 AND CHAIRED THE DEPARTMENT SINCE 2022, AND HE AUTHORED THE, UH, CAMBRIDGE'S URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN. THANK YOU COUNCILOR FOR THE INVITATION AND FOR THE KIND INTRODUCTION. GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE. I'M HERE TODAY BECAUSE MY FIRM HAS PROVIDED ONGOING CONSULTING TO THE CITY ON GROUNDBREAKING URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN WORK. WE'RE CURRENTLY COMPLETING OUR FIVE YEAR UPDATE, AND THAT WILL BE RELEASED VERY SOON. I'M PROUD TO BE A BUSINESS OWNER IN CAMBRIDGE WITH A FIRM OF 60 [00:25:01] EMPLOYEES, AND I'M ALSO PRIVILEGED TO OWN A HOME WITH MY SPOUSE IN CAMBRIDGE. EVERYONE AGREES THERE'S URGENT DEMAND FOR HOUSING. THERE IS MUCH TO PRAISE. 180 MILLION INVESTED 900 UNITS. YOU, YOU'VE ALL EITHER WRITTEN THE REPORT OR REPORTED IT. UM, WE ALSO RE SUPPORT THE REZONING EFFORTS TO INCREASE DENSITY ON MASS AVE AND CAMBRIDGE STREET. THAT SEEMS LIKE GOOD CITY BUILDING TO ME. MY MAIN MESSAGE FOR THE COUNCIL TODAY AND THE COMMITTEES, UH, RESPECTFULLY, IS THAT THE ZONING REFORM NEEDS ADDITIONAL MEASURES. SOMETHING LIKE WHAT HAS JUST BEEN SHOWN BY TIM TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE NOT DOING PERMANENT HARM TO THE AMAZING QUALITY OF CITY DISTRICTS THAT PEOPLE HAVE INVESTED IN FOR GENERATIONS AND EVEN CENTURIES. IN RECENT YEARS, CAMBRIDGE HAS RECOGNIZED, BEEN A RECOGNIZED LEADER IN EXAMINING ITS CLIMATE VULNERABILITY, THE BENEFITS OF RESILIENT ZONING, THE GREEN FACTOR AND COOL SCORING, REQUIRING ELECTRIFICATION, PURCHASING RENEWABLES, ON AND ON. CAMBRIDGE IS A LEADER. AND THE HOUSING, UM, THING IS, IS ALSO BECAUSE CAMBRIDGE WANTS TO BE IN THE LEAD. AND I THINK HOUSING THE EFFORT ON HOUSING PRODUCTION IS RADICAL AND VERY WELL INTENDED. THE CITY'S ALSO MADE GREAT STRIDES IN ITS URBAN CANOPY COVERAGE, CHANGING PRACTICES, AND ALTERING THE TREE PROTECTION ORDINANCE TO STEM THE LOSS OF URBAN CANOPY AND TO EXPAND IT WHEREVER POSSIBLE AS THE LIVING INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WORKS IN THE BATTLE AGAINST THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT. THIS IS AMAZING SHARED WORK WITH THE CITY AND ITS RESIDENTS THAT GETS TO THE HEART OF EQUITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE HERE. STEMMING TREE LOSS IN THE CITY AND EXPANDING THE URBAN CANOPY IS A MAJOR FRONTLINE IN THE CLIMATE CRISIS. AND THE A HO, THE A HO AND THE MULTIFAMILY ZONING REFORM AS CURRENTLY CONSTRUED MIGHT BE MOVING THE NEEDLE ON THAT FIGHT IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. IN THE CURRENT FIVE YEAR UPDATE TO THE PLAN, WE NOTE THAT CANOPY COVERAGE CITYWIDE HAS GROWN FROM 25% IN 2018 TO 30% TODAY. THAT'S GOOD STUFF. UH, THE SUCCESS LEADS US TO CONSIDER EVEN HIGHER GOALS CITYWIDE, THOUGH INEQUITIES SURELY PERSIST IN PARTS OF THE CITY, WE ARE MAKING GOOD HEADWAY. WE HAVE PROOF THAT THIS INCREASE COMES BOTH FROM EXISTING TREES SURVIVING THROUGH MANDATED PROTECTION AND THEY'RE GROWING. IT'S ALSO THE RESULT OF THE CITY'S RIGHT OF WHITE PLANTINGS OF 1200 TREES PER YEAR FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. FIVE YEARS AGO, WE DEMONSTRATED THAT THE GREATEST POTENTIAL AREA FOR PLANTING IS ON RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES, WHICH CONSTITUTE 36% OF LAND AREA IN THE CITY. IN FACT, AT THIS POINT, THE CITY HAS NEARLY MAXED OUT ITS PUBLIC REALM SPACES FOR PLANTING. OUR NEXT FRONT IS TO REDUCE SURFACE PARKING TO MAKE SPACE FOR TREES, BUT THAT'S PRETTY HARD. AND IT'S STILL TRUE THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF IMPACT TO MAKE IN RESIDENTIAL FRONT YARDS AND BACKYARDS. NOW, WHERE THE FORMER RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS, A AND B REQUIRED 50% AND 40% OPEN SPACE, AND THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THE CHARACTER OF NEIGHBORHOODS. THE NEW COMPREHENSIVE C ONE DISTRICT REQUIRES 30%. SO OUR AREA OF GREATEST POTENTIAL ON THE CLIMATE FRONT IS DIMINISHED AS DEVELOPMENT PROCEEDS REQUIRED. OPEN SPACE FULFILLS SEVERAL FUNCTIONS, SPACE FOR PLANTING CANOPY TREES, IMPROVEMENTS IN STORMWATER MANAGEMENT AND SOIL PERMEABILITY, IMPROVED ECOLOGICAL HEALTH, INCREASED BIODIVERSITY. THAT'S ANOTHER IMPORTANT FRONT IN THE CLIMATE RESPONSE AND WHAT WE MIGHT CALL THE CHARACTER OF A NEIGHBORHOOD OR A STREET PRODUCED SUBJECTIVELY BY SOME QUALITY OF SPACE ON STREETS AND BETWEEN AND AROUND RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS. AS TIM HAS POINTED OUT IN THE MULTI-STORY REZONING ZONING REFORM, DEVELOPERS ARE ALLOWED TO COUNT GREEN ROOFS AND BALCONIES TOWARDS THE COOL FACTOR EVALUATION THAT SO-CALLED PRIVATE OPEN SPACE BENEFITS OWNERS AND RENTERS. BUT IT DOESN'T SATISFY THE OBJECTIVE AIMS OF SHADE, PERMEABILITY, STORMWATER MANAGEMENT, BIODIVERSITY IN THE PUBLIC REALM. IT'S NOT ACTUALLY OPEN SPACE. SO I THINK COUNTING IT IS PROBLEMATIC. THE RESULT IS THAT WITH FIVE FOOT SIDE YARD AND REAR YARD SETBACKS, AS THE COUNSELOR MENTIONED EARLIER, 10 FOOT FRONT YARD SETBACKS, AND WITH MAXED OUT FOOTPRINTS, WE WILL HAVE MORE TREES REMOVED AND FEWER TREES PLANTED. AND WE HAVE FOUND IN THE UPDATE THAT THE REPLACEMENT TREES HAVE A GREAT TENDENCY TOWARDS SUB CANOPY ORNAMENTAL TREES, NOT CANOPY TREES, FEWER POLLINATORS, LESS BIRD LIFE, DANGEROUS HEAT EXPOSURES, INCREASED RESPIRATORY ILLNESS, AND HIGHER ENERGY COSTS. I'M NOT SURE YOU CAN REQUIRE PLANTING TO SOLVE THIS, BUT WE NEED TO REVISE ZONING TO ENSURE THAT THERE'S ENOUGH ROOM, AT LEAST FOR PLANTING FIVE FEET ISN'T ENOUGH, 10 FEET, BARELY ENOUGH. RIGHT NOW, AS WE KNOW, THE MARKET IS CONSTRAINED ON UNCERTAINTY RAINS, AND IT'S HARD TO DEVELOP. [00:30:01] BUT ONCE WE SEE THE KIND OF SURGING MARKET LIKE WE HAD IN THE PERIOD BEFORE THE COVID PANDEMIC IN CAMBRIDGE, WE SAW THE NUMBERS FROM ED'S PRESENTATION ABOUT THE INCREASE IN, UH, VALUES. WE'LL BE ON THE LOSING END OF OUR BEST TOOLS TO RESPOND TO THE CLIMATE CRISIS. I'M ARGUING FOR BETTER ALIGNMENT IN OUR GOALS FOR INCREASED DENSITY, INCREASED HOUSING PRODUCTION, AND OUR FIGHT FOR CLIMATE RESILIENCY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH, GARY. UM, I AM, I'M WAITING FOR MAGDA. ARE YOU HERE ANYWHERE? OH, SHE'S ONLINE. OKAY. UH, FANTASTIC. UM, MAGDA OE IS OUR, OUR NEXT SPEAKER, UM, WELCOME MAGDA. MAGDA IS AN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF URBAN PLANNING, ALSO AT THE HARVARD GSD AND A RESEARCHER AFFILIATED WITH THE JOINT CENTER FOR HOUSING STUDIES AND HEALTHY PLACES DESIGN LAB, THE HARVARD DATA SCIENCE INITIATIVE IN THE BLOOMBERG CENTER FOR CITIES. UM, MAGDA, WE'RE SO HAPPY THAT YOU'RE HERE. UM, YOU'RE ON. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I HOPE THAT YOU CAN HEAR ME WELL. UM, I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT BEING IN THE ROOM, UM, AND, UM, REALLY APPRECIATE THE INVITATION. UM, SO I'D LIKE TO ADDRESS THE CHAIRS AND MEMBERS OF THE JOINT HOUSING AND NEIGHBORHOOD AND LONG-TERM PLANNING COMMITTEES WITH A FEW THOUGHTS, UH, ABOUT CAMBRIDGE, UM, SORT OF DATA ANALYSIS THAT SHOWS THE RESULTS, UH, OF THE CURRENT REFORM. UM, BUT I'LL ALSO TAKE YOU ELSEWHERE TO JUST UNDERSCORE HOW VITAL IT IS TO CONTINUE SECURING THE, UM, BATTLE FOR SUCH A REFORM. UM, MY NAME IS MAGDA MAUI. I AM A PROUD CAMBRIDGE RESIDENT, A PARENT, UH, AND AN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF URBAN PLANNING AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY'S GRADUATE SCHOOL OF DESIGN. MY RESEARCH FOCUSES ON HOUSING, ZONING AND HEALTH, UM, AND ALONGSIDE WHITNEY AIR GOOD AUBREY AT THE JOINT CENTER FOR HOUSING STUDIES AT HARVARD, I'VE BEEN STUDYING CAMBRIDGE'S MULTIPLE ZONING REFORMS, INCLUDING THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING OVERLAY AND THE MORE RECENT MULTIFAMILY ZONING REFORM USING CITY DATA, UM, MAPPING SPATIAL ANALYSIS AND INTERVIEWS WITH LOCAL DEVELOPERS, STAFF AND ADVOCATES. UM, I'M HERE TO REALLY URGE YOU NOT TO BORDER DOWN THE 2025 MULTIFAMILY ZONING REFORM AND INSTEAD TO BUILD ON IT WITH ADDITIONAL TOOLS THAT INCREASE BOTH HOUSING SUPPLY AND PRESERVE, IF NOT DEEPEN AFFORDABILITY GOALS. MY FIRST ARGUMENT, I REALLY WANNA ASSESS HOW CAMBRIDGE'S REFORMS ARE STARTING TO WORK. UM, WE ALL KNOW THE BASIC FACTS. UM, IN CAMBRIDGE, THE AVERAGE SINGLE FAMILY HOME NOW SELLS FOR WELL OVER $1.5 MILLION. TYPICAL ONE BEDROOM RENTS ARE ABOVE $2,700. HUNDREDS OF RESIDENTS ARE UNHOUSED, AND MORE THAN 20,000 HOUSEHOLDS ARE ON SUBSIDIZED HOUSING WAIT LISTS. AGAINST THAT BACKDROP, CAMBRIDGE HAS DONE SOMETHING RARE. IN 2020, FOR INSTANCE, IT ADOPTED THE A HUNDRED PERCENT AFFORDABLE HOUSING OVERLAY, STRENGTHENED IT IN 2023, SO DEEPLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS COULD BUILD TALLER AND DENSER AND MORE PARTS OF THE CITY. AND THEN IN FEBRUARY, 2025, UH, YOU ENDED SINGLE FAMILY ONLY ZONING AND LEGALIZED MULTIFAMILY HOUSING CITYWIDE WITH FOUR STORIES BY RIGHT. IN ALL RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS AND MORE WHERE INCLUSIONARY UNITS ARE PROVIDED, WE ALREADY SEE, UM, STEADY RESULTS FOR THESE, YOU KNOW, THIS TYPE OF REFORMS. UM, AS OF LATE 2025, UM, ON THE A O FRONT, AT LEAST 10 PROJECTS, ABOUT 700 NEW PERMANENTLY AFFORDABLE HOMES ARE IN THE PIPELINE, SERVING ROUGHLY 2000 RESIDENTS, MOST BELOW 80% OF AREA MEDIAN INCOME WITH MANY TWO TO FOUR BEDROOM UNITS FOR FAMILIES. THE CAMBRIDGE HOUSING AUTHORITY, FOR INSTANCE, EXPECTS ITS PORTFOLIO TO GROW BY ROUGHLY 10% FROM A HO PROJECTS. NOW MOVING FORWARD AND CITYWIDE ANNUAL PRODUCTION OF INCOME RESTRICTED UNITS HAS JUMPED FROM ON THE ORDER OF A FEW DOZEN PER YEAR TO SEVERAL HUNDRED PER YEAR. NOW, THE 2025 MULTIFAMILY REFORM IS THE LOGICAL NEXT STEP IN THIS STORY. IT DOESN'T REPLACE THE A HO AT ALL, BUT IT EXTENDS THE BASIC RIGHT TO BUILD APARTMENTS, TRIPLE DECKERS, TOWNHOUSES, AND NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE THEY'RE EFFECTIVELY, YOU KNOW, THESE TYPES OF TYPOLOGIES WERE ILLEGAL FOR DECADES, AND IT CREATES MORE REALISTIC SITES FOR INCLUSIONARY. AND A HO PROJECTS. CITY STAFF ESTIMATE THAT BY 2040, THE REFORM COULD ENABLE THOUSANDS OF NEW HOMES, INCLUDING HUNDREDS OF PERMANENTE AFFORDABLE UNITS IF WE LET IT FUNCTION AS INTENDED. NOW, MY SECOND ARGUMENT IS TO URGE US TO ZOOM FOR A SECOND OUT OF CAMBRIDGE AND THINK OF ITS PLACE, YOU KNOW, ALONGSIDE OTHER HOUSING MARKETS IN THE COUNTRY AND GLOBALLY, TO BE HONEST, UM, THIS ARGUMENT IS EVEN MORE SO EMPIRICALLY BACKED BY DATA. UM, AND IT'S THAT OTHER PLACES SHOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN REFORMS ARE DILUTED. SO SOMEBODY WAS MENTIONING, UM, A FEW MINUTES AGO, AN URBAN STUDIES PAPER, AND I WANNA ADD A COUNTERPOINT TO SUCH DATA ABOUT NYC UP ZONINGS BECAUSE IT'S ALSO AN AREA OF EXPERTISE OF MINE. UM, NYC UP ZONINGS DO NOT CAUSE GENTRIFICATION. I WANNA REALLY UNDERSCORE THAT. UM, A RECENTLY PUBLISHED PAPER I CO-AUTHORED, WHICH [00:35:01] IS AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS THAT WAS PUBLISHED TWO WEEKS AGO, UM, IN LAND USE POLICY LOOKS AT, UM, THE DATA RELATED TO UPZONING AND PRICE, UH, VARIATION. AND WE FIND THAT UPZONING IS NOT CORRELATED TO PRICE ESCALATION. IT DOES NOT ACT AS A TROJAN HORSE FOR GENTRIFICATION AS SOME CRITICS FEAR. OUR DATA ANALYSIS DOES SUGGEST, HOWEVER, A NEED FOR MORE SPATIALLY INTEGRATED PLANNING APPROACHES TO ENSURE THAT AFFORDABILITY PROTECTIONS EXTEND BEYOND NARROW ZONING BOUNDARIES. AND THAT'S A FINDING THAT REALLY ORIENTS SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS I'M GONNA SHARE TODAY. UM, ZOOMING INTO ANOTHER CASE STUDY THAT'S I THINK SIMILAR TO MASSACHUSETTS, WHICH IS CALIFORNIA. CALIFORNIA, THE STATE HAS EFFECTIVELY ENDED SINGLE FAMILY ONLY ZONING ON PAPER THROUGH SB NINE, WHICH ALLOWS UP TO FOUR HOMES ON MOST LOTS. AND THAT WAS A FEW YEARS AGO, AND THEY HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME TO ASSESS WHAT CAN BE GENERATED THROUGH THOSE REFORMS. NEARLY TWO THIRDS OF CALIFORNIA'S ZONE LAND HAD BEEN RESTRICTED TO SINGLE FAMILY HOMES. SO THIS WAS A BIG STEP FOR THEM, RIGHT? BUT ANALYSIS FROM THE TURNER CENTER FOUND THAT UNDER CURRENT PRICES AND COSTS, ONLY ABOUT 5% OF PARCELS ARE FINANCIALLY FEASIBLE AS BENIGN CANDIDATES. AND MANY CITIES HAVE KIND OF LAYERED ON NEW OBJECTIVE STANDARDS AND PROSECUTORIAL HURDLES TO BLEND THE LAW. THE RESULT HAS BEEN A TRICKLE OF PROJECTS AND A CONSTANT NEED FOR STATE LEVEL ENFORCEMENT THAT SHOWS THAT WE CANNOT SORT OF BACKTRACK IN TERMS OF THE EFFORTS THAT HAVE BEEN PUT TOGETHER IN CAMBRIDGE, A THIRD EXAMPLE OR CASE STUDY TO ALLOW US TO UNDERSCORE HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO CONTINUE THAT DIRECTION. I'M TAKING YOU GUYS TO NEW ZEALAND, UM, WITH THE CASE OF AUCKLANDS. SO IN 2016, THE UNITARY PLAN THAT WAS PASSED IN NEW ZEALAND FOR THE CITY OF AUCKLAND UP ZONED ABOUT THREE QUARTERS OF ALL RESIDENTIAL LAND. CAREFUL QUASI EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH FINDS THAT, AND THAT'S BY OTHER AUTHORS, NOT ME, UH, FINDS THAT BY 2021, THAT REFORM ENABLED ON THE ORDER OF 21,000 ADDITIONAL HOMES, ROUGHLY A 4% INCREASE IN THE REGION'S HOUSING STOCK, WHILE SHIFTING NEW CONSTRUCTION TOWARD TOWNHOUSES AND APARTMENTS IN EXISTING SUBURBS. BUILDING ON THAT, THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT LATER REQUIRED MOST URBAN LOTS IN THE LARGEST CITIES TO ALLOW THREE HOMES OF UP TO THREE STORIES. BY RIGHT WHERE THOSE STANDARDS WERE IMPLEMENTED, THEY OPENED TENS OF THOUSANDS OF POTENTIAL HOMES AND SLOWED RENT GROWTH WHERE LOCAL COUNCILS AND THE NEW GOVERNMENT HAVE MOVED TO ROLL THEM BACK THE PROJECT, THE PROTECTED GAINS HAVE REALLY SHARPLY SHRUNK. THE SHARED LESSON FROM, UM, THESE THREE PLACES FOR CAMBRIDGE IS THAT HALF MEASURES IN BACKPEDALING BLUNT, THE IMPACT OF REFORM. WITHOUT SOLVING THE CRISIS, THEY SIMPLY DEFER HARD DECISIONS AND SHIFT COSTS ONTO RENTERS LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS AND FUTURE COUNCILS. SO TO CONCLUDE, AND THIS IS THE THIRD STEP OF MY ARGUMENTATION, CAMBRIDGE CAN ADDRESS LEGITIMATE CONCERNS WITHOUT WEAKENING THE REFORM ITSELF. AND THIS IS WHAT I PROPOSE. YOU SHOULD KEEP THE 2025 MULTIFAMILY FRAMEWORK INTACT. DO NOT REESTABLISH SINGLE OR TWO FAMILY ENCLAVES. AVOID BACKDOOR DOWN ZONING THROUGH EXCESSIVE HEIGHT, SETBACK, OR LOT SIZE REQUIREMENTS. SECOND, STRENGTHEN AND FULLY FUND AFFORDABILITY TOOLS CONTINUE TO SUPPORT AND EXPAND THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING OVERLAY INCLUSIONARY ZONING REFORM AND SUCH OTHER REFORMS. BUT AS WE AWAIT LARGER COMMITMENTS FROM THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS, UM, ADD SUBSTANTIALLY MORE LOCAL CAPITAL TO THE CAMBRIDGE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST THROUGH BONDING, PERHAPS THROUGH ANNUAL APPROPRIATIONS. MANY STRATEGIES THAT I'M NOT NECESSARILY THE EXPERT ON, SO THAT NONPROFIT DEVELOPERS AND OTHER DEVELOPERS, UM, CAN ACTUALLY USE THE NEW ZONING CAPACITY, ESPECIALLY WESTERN NORTH OF CAMBRIDGE IN HIGH OPPORTUNITY NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE LAND IS SIMPLY EXPENSIVE. THIRD PAIR UP ZONING, UM, WITH STRONG ANTI-DISPLACEMENT MEASURES, INVEST IN RIGHT TO COUNSEL, EVICTION PREVENTION, TENANT PROTECTIONS, AND MONITOR WHERE TEAR DOWNS AND SPECULATIVE ACQUISITIONS COULD BE OCCURRING. SO PROTECTIONS CAN BE TARGETED. AND LASTLY, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT OTHER PEOPLE IN THE ROOM I KNOW WILL ADDRESS VERY WELL, INSIST ON GOOD DESIGN AND GENUINE ENGAGEMENT. UH, NOT NECESSARILY VETO POWER. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I'M NOT GONNA ELABORATE ON. I CAN SPEAK TO THAT IN THE Q AND A. I JUST WANNA SAY THAT CAMBRIDGE'S LEADERSHIP, UM, TO PRESS THE COMMONWEALTH AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR THE SUBSIDY TAX CREDITS AND OPERATING SUPPORT, UM, WE WILL NEED TO TRANSLATE NEW MULTI-FAMILY CAPACITY INTO REALLY WHAT IS DEEPLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UM, AND ENOUGH MIXED INCOME PROJECTS TO MAINTAIN PEOPLE IN PLACE, UM, IS REALLY NECESSARY. DO NOT WAIT PASSIVELY FOR THOSE DOLLARS. KEEP OUR REFORMS STRONG, KEEP BUILDING UP THE DIFFERENT REFORMS THAT HAVE BEEN, UM, SECURED AND, YOU KNOW, FOUGHT FOR. UM, AND SO THAT WE ARE READY TO MATCH AND LEVERAGE OUTSIDE FUNDS WHEN THEY ARRIVE. CAMBRIDGE HAS ALREADY SHOWN IT CAN BE BOLD. THIS IS NOT THE MOMENT TO RETREAT. IT IS THE MOMENT TO CONSOLIDATE AND EXTEND WHAT WE HAVE STARTED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS DURING THE Q AND A. UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH MAGDA, AND GREAT TO MEET YOU. UH, AT THIS POINT I'M GONNA TURN [00:40:01] THIS OVER TO MY COLLEAGUES FOR QUESTIONS OF OUR EXPERTS. UM, JASON KORB, WHO IS THE, IS THE DEVELOPER THAT, UM, MY COLLEAGUES, UM, JUVAN, SABRINA WHEELER, AND HAN AZI RECOMMENDED HE WILL BE, UH, JOINING US AROUND FOUR. SO WHEN HE COMES, HE'LL DO HIS PRESENTATION. BUT IN THE MEANTIME, UM, POINT OF ORDER. I WELCOME YOUR THOUGHTS. ARE YOU HERE? UM, NO. UM, UH, COUNCILLOR ZUI. UM, I WANTED TO SAY THAT OUR THIRD PANELIST, CATHERINE EINSTEIN, COULD NOT MAKE IT, BUT SHE WROTE A LETTER AND I WOULD LOVE TO JUST READ THAT IN THE, INTO THE RECORD, OR HAVE YOU READ IT INTO THE RECORD? UH, SURE. OKAY. UM, I THINK IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN EMAILED TO EVERYONE, UH, BUT I WILL JUST READ IT ALOUD AS WELL TO EVERYONE, UM, FROM, UH, KATHERINE EINSTEIN, WHO'S BEEN, UH, SOMEONE WE SAID OFTEN CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS AND HAS DONE A, AN ANALYSIS ACROSS THE COUNTRY OF HOUSING POLICY AND HOW, UH, LOCAL CITY COUNCILS ARE IMPACTED. DEAR CAMBRIDGE CITY COUNCIL, I UNFORTUNATELY CANNOT ATTEND TODAY'S MEETING AS A PANELIST, BUT HAVE ENCLOSED SOME REMARKS HERE. I WRITE IN SUPPORT OF CAMBRIDGE'S MULTIFAMILY HOUSING ORDINANCE IN MY CAPACITY AS AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY AND SUBJECT AREA EXPERT IN HOUSING POLICY AND LAND USE REGULATIONS, BUILDING MORE MARKET RATE. HOUSING IS A CRITICAL COMPONENT OF IMPROVING HOUSING AFFORDABILITY. WE HAVE SEEN SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN RENT AND PURCHASE PRICES IN PLACES LIKE AUSTIN, TEXAS, AND MINNEAPOLIS THAT HAVE STREAMLINED THEIR BUILDING PROCESSES AND MADE IT EASIER TO CONSTRUCT NEW HOUSING POLICIES LIKE CAMBRIDGE'S. MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING ORDINANCE ARE AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE PUZZLE TO MAKE IT EASIER AND MORE PREDICTABLE, AND HENCE CHEAPER FOR HOME BUILDERS TO CONSTRUCT MUCH NEEDED UNITS. THE BENEFITS WILL TAKE TIME TO MATERIALIZE, IN PART DUE TO BROADER ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AFFECTING CONSTRUCTION COSTS, SUPPORTING REFORMS SUCH AS, UH, STREAMLINING BUILDING CODES WILL ALSO BE NEEDED TO, IM, UH, MAXIMIZE IMPACT, BUT THEY'RE AN IMPORTANT STEP TO ADDRESSING OUR REGION'S PRESSING HOUSING CRISIS. PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO REACH OUT. UM, AND THEN SHE SIGNS OFF CATHERINE EINSTEIN. UM, AND JUST WANTED TO MAKE ME CLEAR THAT SHE'S HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS, UM, AND ATTEND A FUTURE MEETING AS WELL. THANK YOU. UH, THANK YOU. SO IS SHE ONLINE OR SHE'S NOT ONLINE. SHE WAS NOT ABLE TO MAKE THIS TIME. OKAY. SOUNDS, SOUNDS GOOD. UM, THANK YOU HAN, UH, OR THANK YOU CHAIR JIE. I MM-HMM. JUST, I DIDN'T SEE IT IN MY EMAIL, SO I DID NOT RECEIVE A LETTER. I JUST ASKED FOR A COPY OF IT, AND WE WILL INCLUDE IT IN THE MINUTES FOR THE OFFICIAL RECORD. THAT'D BE GREAT. THANK YOU. UH, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? SURE. I, I'M HAPPY TO BE BEGIN THE DISCUSSION. UM, THANK YOU, UM, ZUI, UM, AND THANK YOU ALL TO THE PANELISTS. IT WAS INTERESTING. UM, I, I'D LIKE TO NOTE, YOU KNOW, JUST FOR THE RECORD, CONTEXTUALLY HOW I THINK ABOUT THE MULTIFAMILY HOUSING ZONING ORDINANCE IN THIS PARTICULAR COMMUNITY. THE COMMUNITY OF CAMBRIDGE, CITY OF CAMBRIDGE, SOMEWHERE AROUND 118,000 PEOPLE LIVE HERE. UH, MAYBE IT'S THE SECOND MOST DENSE CITY, UH, IN THE STATE. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S AFFORDABILITY IN MANY RESPECTS IS OUT OF REACH. I'VE LIVED HERE MY ENTIRE LIFE. I'VE SEEN WHAT HA WHAT HAS HAPPENED, UH, IN ADDITION TO THE ARTIFICIAL STRESSORS THAT WE HAVE ON OUR REAL ESTATE MARKET, INCLUDING THE, UM, BOTH THE BENEFITS AND, UM, THE STRESS THAT'S PLACED UPON US BY, UH, WORLD CLASS UNIVERSITIES AND, AND THE EXISTENCE OF THE, UM, SQUARE MILE OF THE, UH, BIOTECH EPICENTER CALLED KENDALL SQUARE. UH, IT'S A FANTASTIC PLACE TO LIVE. IT'S, IT'S, UH, PARK IT'S PROXIMITY TO BOSTON, WHICH HAS TRANSFORMED INTO A REALLY, A FINANCIAL, UH, HEAVYWEIGHT IN THE WORLD, UM, MAKES IT LESS AFFORDABLE TO LIVE IN CAMBRIDGE. BUT WE'VE GOTTA ALSO CONSIDER THE EXTENSION OF THE RED LINE INTO CAMBRIDGE AND THE, UM, AND, UH, THE VALUE INCREASE TO CAMBRIDGE AS A RESULT OF THAT. AND IN CONTEXT, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S NOT REALLY SPOKEN ABOUT WHEN WE THINK ABOUT, UH, THE, THIS UPZONING ORDINANCE, WHICH PASSED IN 2025, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID HERE IN THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE IS WE PARTNERED, UH, WITH THE STATE AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. WE INVESTED $2.2 BILLION ON THE GREEN LINE EXTENSION AND WENT THROUGH AN ARDUOUS PROCESS OVER MAYBE A DECADE, UH, TO GET THROUGH THAT CONSTRUCTION, UM, OF THAT EXTENSION TO MAKE THE COMMUNITIES OF SOMERVILLE AND MEDFORD, UH, MORE ACCESSIBLE, UH, TO THIS CITY AND MAKE THOSE COMMUNITIES, WHICH IN MANY RESPECTS ARE, UH, LESS [00:45:01] EXPENSIVE TO LIVE IN THAN, THAN IN CAMBRIDGE. UM, EASY COMMUTES TO THE HIGH PAYING JOBS IN KENDALL SQUARE, AND ALSO CONNECTING TO BOSTON. UH, AND IN, IN THE WAKE OF THAT, UH, IN THE WAKE OF ALL OF THAT, AND IN THE WAKE OF THE DENSITY AND IN THE WAKE OF THE, UH, THE EXPLOSION, I THINK IN MANY RESPECTS OF OUR POPULATION IN CAMBRIDGE. UH, AND WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR MOST RECENT RESIDENT SURVEY SURVEY WHERE WE SEE THAT THERE IS A, UM, A, A A LOWER PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES IN THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE, LESS PEOPLE WITH CHILDREN IN THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE, WHAT WE'VE DONE IS WE'VE UP ZONED THE CITY, NOT JUST A SECTION OF THE CITY, BUT THE ENTIRE CITY. EVERY STREET, EVERY BLOCK, EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD HAS BEEN UP ZONED. SO NOW ANY, ANY LOT, ANY SIZE LOT IN THE CITY, UM, WHATEVER THE STRUCTURE IS ON THAT LOT, A ONE, A TWO OR A THREE FAMILY HOME HAS BEEN INCENTIVIZED TO BE DEMOLISHED AND REPLACED BY A FOUR STORY APARTMENT BUILDING. AND HAS ED APTLY POINTED OUT VERY ARTICULATELY. WHAT THAT DOES IS IT WORKS NOT TO INCREASE AFFORDABILITY, BUT ACTUALLY TO RAISE PRICES BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY DEVELOPERS, AND THIS IS BEING SPOKEN FROM A MAN WHO LIVED, UH, IN MY COLLEGE ROOMMATE, IS A REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER, ONE OF MY VERY BEST FRIENDS IN LIFE. UH, HE'S GIVE FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITIES TO HIS BANKS AND TO HIS INVESTORS. AND HE'S A GOOD MAN. HE'S A GREAT MAN, GREAT PERSON, TREMENDOUS FAMILY PERSON. ONE OF THE THINGS HE'S NOT, I WILL TELL YOU IS HE'S NOT BENEVOLENT, UH, HE'S IN IT TO MAKE A BUCK. AND, UM, THAT'S THE POINT OF THIS. I THINK IT'S APTLY NOTED THAT REAL ESTATE INVESTS WILL MAXIMIZE THE ZONING REQUIREMENTS TO INCREASE THE GFA TO MAXIMIZE THEIR PROFITS AS IS THEIR OBLIGATION. WE LIVE IN A CAPITALIST SOCIETY, AS IS THE OBLIGATION, THEIR FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY TO DO ANYTHING ELSE WOULD BE NOT ONLY NEGLIGENT, BUT, UM, IT WOULD, IT, IT MAY BE WORSE. SO I THINK WHEN WE CONSIDER IN CONTEXT ALL OF THAT, AND WE THINK OF THE, UM, THE UPZONING, WHICH INCENTIVIZES THE DEMOLITION OF ONE, TWO, AND THREE FAMILY HOMES, WHICH IN MANY RESPECTS ARE NATURALLY OCCURRING AFFORDABLE HOUSING. UM, AND WE ARE REPLACING THOSE STRUCTURES WITH FOUR STORY BUILDINGS WITH ZERO AFFORDABILITY. I MEAN, THAT'S THE LOOPHOLE, THAT'S THE INCENTIVE. UH, THE LACK OF PREEXISTING SETBACKS IS THE INCENTIVE, THE LACK OF ANY AFFORDABILITY RE REQUIREMENTS IS THE INCENTIVE TO DEVELOP FOUR STORY BUILDINGS, UH, WITHOUT THAT INCLUSIONARY HOUSING. UH, WHAT WE'VE DONE IS WE'VE CREATED A SITUATION WITH UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES, WHICH AS WE SEE FROM SOME OF THE, UM, IMAGES ON THE PROJECTION RESULTS IN, UH, PROPOSALS IN THE PIPELINE IN THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE THAT ARE HAVING DRAMATIC CONSEQUENCES, NOT JUST ON THE CHARACTER OF NEIGHBORHOODS. AND I'M ONE, I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT I AM VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE CHARACTER OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT I GREW UP IN, IN NORTH CAMBRIDGE, AND WHICH I LIVE IN NOW IN WEST CAMBRIDGE. AND WHICH I SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN INMAN SQUARE ON EAST CAMBRIDGE. VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE CHARACTER OF THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS. UM, AND IF ANYBODY WANTS TO CALL ME A NIMBY, GO RIGHT AHEAD AND CALL ME IT BECAUSE THIS IS MY BACKYARD. SO I'M VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THAT. BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT REALLY, REALLY, AND ED POINTED THIS OUT, WHICH REALLY CAUSES SIGNIFICANT CONCERN TO ME, IS THE LOSS OF PROPERTY VALUES, UH, IN PLACES LIKE CUSHING STREET AND STRAWBERRY HILL, WHICH IN MY BOOK IS CALLED MOUNT AUBURN. AND, UH, THE IMPACT AND THE ENCROACHMENT UPON THE NEIGHBORS OF THAT DEVELOPMENT IS SEVERE, UH, NOT JUST IN ITS CHARACTER AND ITS LIVABILITY AND LOSS OF PRIVACY, BUT IN ITS VALUE. AND THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE OF THAT, IF IT'S NOT HAPPENING, AL ALREADY WILL HAPPEN IN THE SHORT FUTURE, IS WE WILL PIT NEIGHBORS AGAINST NEIGHBORS WHO WILL SELL FIRST TO THE DEVELOPER WHO MAKES THE OFFER THEY CAN LIVE WITH. AND THAT'S, IN MY VIEW, NOT WHAT THIS, UH, MULTIFAMILY ZONING ORDINANCE WAS INTENDED TO CREATE. AND IT'S AN UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE THAT IS, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT WAS WELL INTENDED, BUT I THINK IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO RECORD RECOGNIZE FOR THE, FOR, FOR THE RECORD AND FOR WHOMEVER MIGHT BE LISTENING OR THINKING ABOUT THIS, THAT CAMBRIDGE IS SORT OF LIKE A REMBRANDT, IT'S UNIQUE. UM, IT IS A TREMENDOUS PLACE TO LIVE AND TO RAISE A FAMILY. AND UNLIKE AUSTIN OR MINNEAPOLIS, MINNEAPOLIS OR MANY PARTS OF CALIFORNIA OR NEW ZEALAND, UH, THERE ARE, UM, [00:50:01] THERE ARE SO MANY ASSETS TO LIVING IN CAMBRIDGE THAT ITS AFFORDABILITY WILL NOT BE REDUCED, UH, BY THE GOALS OF ABUNDANCE. WE CAN'T BUILD OUR WAY OUT OF THIS. AND I THINK THAT WHEN WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT THIS, WHAT WE HAVE TO DO, AND WITH ALL DUE RESPECT TO EVERYONE'S THINKING ABOUT THE URBAN PLANNING, I THINK WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THAT THIS IS NOT A CAMBRIDGE SPECIFIC ISSUE. WE DON'T LIVE IN A SILO. UH, I MEAN, IT'S SILLY TO THINK THAT WAY. UH, THIS IS A, IF NOT A REGIONAL, I, I THINK MORE LIKELY A NATIONAL ISSUE. UM, AND, UH, AND THE SOLUTIONS AREN'T, CAN'T BE DEALT WITH WITH, UH, ZONING IN THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE BECAUSE IN, IN EFFECT, WHAT WE'LL BE DOING IS BITING OFF OUR NOSE, SPITE OUR FACE, WE'LL HAVE AN OVER DENSE, UH, LOCATION WITH MORE PEOPLE, UH, WANTING TO LIVE HERE. AND THE RESULT, AGAIN, WILL BE A DISPLACEMENT OF THE MIDDLE CLASS PEOPLE WITH MORE MONEY WILL PAY MORE TO LIVE HERE. THAT'S WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. I MEAN, WE SEE IT ALREADY IN THIS CITY, SO WE'VE GOTTA HAVE A SMARTER APPROACH. I HAPPEN TO THINK THAT THE ZONING THAT WE DID HAVE WHERE WE USED VARIANCES AND WE GRANTED RELIEF FOR SPECIFIC PROJECTS, UH, IN EXCHANGE FOR AFFORDABILITY REQUIREMENTS OR INCREASED DENSITY WAS GOOD. IT, IT ALLOWED FOR COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT, GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT, DESIGN REVIEW, UH, PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO SPECIFIC ISSUES. AND THAT THIS, UM, AS OF RIGHT ZONING ORDINANCE IN MY MIND IS SORT OF AN ABROGATION OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THOSE LOCAL BOARDS. SO, UH, YOU KNOW, LOOK, I'M IN FAVOR OF HOUSING. I, I, I TELL ANYONE WHO WILL LISTEN TO ME THAT, UH, POPE FRANCIS IS MY POLITICAL HERO. HE'S THE FELLOW WHO CARES FOR THE MIGRANTS AND THE POOR AND THE IMPOVERISHED AND, AND THE MARGINALIZING PUT A ROOF OVER EVERYONE'S HEAD AND GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT. UM, BUT I THINK IF WE'RE NOT RECOGNIZING THAT THIS IS A REGIONAL ISSUE THAT SHOULD BE DEALT WITH IN A REGIONAL WAY, WITH A REGIONAL SOLUTION, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR MUNICIPAL NEIGHBORS, I, I THINK WE'RE JUST, WE'RE BEING SHORTSIGHTED ABOUT IT. AND I RECOGNIZE THAT, LOOK, OUR IMMEDIATE ANSWER TO THIS, OUR RESPONSE TO THIS IS WE CHANGE THE ZONING IN CAMBRIDGE, BUT IN THE, IN THE LARGE SCHEME OF THINGS, WE'RE NOT GONNA MAKE THE DIFFERENCE THAT WE WANT TO MAKE. WE SHOULD BE PARTNERING WITH CAMBRIDGE SOME OVER WATERTOWN BOSTON AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO, UH, UH, AND MASS. UM, AND I THINK GOVERNOR HEALY HAS DONE SOME OF THAT WITH HER HOUSING REPORT. AND I, FRANKLY, I REALLY, UH, LIKED TIM'S, UM, UM, REFERENCE ABOUT BUILDING, UM, HOMES THAT APPEARED TO ME TWO ON THE SAME LOT. AND MAGDA MENTIONED IT IN CALIFORNIA THERE WERE FOUR ON THE SAME LOT, WHICH IS SORT OF LIKE ADUS ON STEROIDS. UM, IT, IT LOOKED TO ME TO BE A, UM, A SMARTER APPROACH TO, UH, INCREASE HOUSING IN AN ALREADY DENSE CITY, UM, WITHOUT DOING SO IN A WAY THAT WE SEE AT NINE WYMAN ROAD OR 95 CUSHING, OR 2 26 OR 36 HURON AVE, UH, IN SHERMAN STREET AND, AND JACKSON STREET AND COPLEY STREET AND ALL THE OTHER PLACES THAT I'VE VISITED AROUND THE CITY AND PORTER STREET. I, I'M VERY CONCERNED, AND AS I HEARD DURING THIS CAMPAIGN, AND I KNOW GENTLEMEN, YOU DON'T KNOW ME, BUT I'M A, UH, ROOKIE CITY COUNSELOR. I'M NEW TO THIS, BUT WHEN I WAS KNOCKING ON DOORS, I MET A WOMAN ON PORTER STREET IN EAST CAMBRIDGE WHO POINTED TO AN EMPTY LOT AND SAID, WE'RE GETTING A SIX STORY BUILDING WITH ZERO MINIMUM PARKING. UM, AND YOU KNOW, SHE UH, MENTIONED THAT SHE WAS VERY HAPPY ABOUT THE INFLUX OF RESIDENTS IN EAST CAMBRIDGE. SHE RENTED TO THEM AND SHE ENJOYED IT, BUT SHE WAS KIND OF AGHAST AT THE SIZE AND SCALE OF THE DEVELOPMENT IMMEDIATELY NEXT DOOR TO HER. AND HER COMMENT TO ME, WHICH HAS IT RESONATED WITH ME THEN, AND IT STAYS WITH ME TO THIS DAY, AND I KNOW THAT'S MAYBE MISPLACED, IS SHE POINTED OUT AND SHE SAID, THIS IS THE FIRST SIGN OF THE URBAN RENEWAL PROJECT THAT ERADICATED THE WEST END IN THE CITY OF BOSTON. IT WAS SHOCKING TO ME 'CAUSE I THOUGHT ABOUT IT THAT NIGHT AND I THOUGHT ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, AND MAYBE THIS IS FEAR MONGERING, BUT IF YOU CONSIDER A REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT WITH THE CAPITAL TO DO IT, IF HE GETS, UM, IN HIS MIND THAT THIS ZONING ORDINANCE IS A WAY FOR HIM TO TURN A BUCK IN THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE, AND HE DEPLOYS ALL THAT CAPITAL TO THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE AND PITT'S NEIGHBOR AGAINST NEIGHBOR, THEN IN A SHORT A PERIOD OF TIME AS ONE GENERATION, WE'LL LOSE, UH, THIS [00:55:01] CITY AND IT WILL BECOME A MONOLITHIC STRUCTURE. AND I'M VERY SORRY TO GO ON AND ON AND ON THAT WAY. UM, I REALLY LIKE THE QUESTION, BUT THE QUESTION IS, THE QUESTION IS HOW DO WE, AND THIS IS FOR TIM, HOW DO WE ADVANCE IN OUR EXISTING, UH, MULTIFAMILY ZONING ORDINANCE, THE, UM, THE SECONDARY STRUCTURE THAT YOU, UM, INCORPORATE IN THE MIT IN NEWTON, WHICH I BELIEVE, I BELIEVE IT'S IN THE MIT IN NEWTON. YEAH. I DON'T KNOW. UM, I HAVE A, I GUESS THE, I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN PULL THE SLIDES BACK UP. I THINK THE SLIDE PERSON IS TAKING A BREAK. SO, UM, I I IF YOU JUST GIMME ONE SECOND, I CAN PULL IT UP THE, THE LAST SLIDE AND MY, THE VERY LAST SLIDE. YEAH. OKAY. UM, I, I THINK A COUPLE OF THINGS. ONE IS, UM, UH, FOR ARGUMENT'S SAKE, WHETHER THE REMAINING ZONING STAYS OR THERE'S A ROLLBACK OR THERE'S SOME TWEAKS, LET'S SAY FOR ARGUMENT'S SAKE, FOR EVERY RESIDENTIAL UNIT IN CAMBRIDGE, FIVE PEOPLE WANNA LIVE IN IT. THERE'S A SUPPLY AND DEMAND PROBLEM, RIGHT? UM, AND, UH, I KNOW FROM OTHER PLANNING WORK WE'VE DONE IS THAT, UM, A LOT OF THE SINGLE FAMILY HOUSES, UM, I SUSPECT IN CAMBRIDGE THAT STILL HAVE AN OWNER RESIDENT IN THEM, UM, PROBABLY A LARGE PERCENT OF THOSE ARE EMPTY NESTERS THAT MAYBE RAISED A FAMILY THERE ONCE, UM, AND ARE STILL LIVING THERE, BUT THEY CAN'T AFFORD TO LIVE ANYWHERE ELSE, OR IT'S A NICE HOUSE. UM, AND SO I, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS RESEARCH HAS BEEN DONE, BUT THERE'S PROBABLY A LOT OF SINGLE FAMILY HOUSES THAT ARE LOCKED UP IN CAMBRIDGE RIGHT NOW. UM, THEY WANNA WAIT UNTIL THEIR, HES CAN TAKE AND REAP THE VALUE, WHICH IS GONNA BE HIGHER NOW BECAUSE OF THE REDEVELOPMENT VALUE. SO, UM, THE OTHER THING THAT'S TRUE FROM MY QUICK OBSERVATIONS AND ED CAN BACK THIS UP, IS THAT MOST OF THE, UH, UNDER SIX UNIT PROJECTS WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE, I'M SURE ARE CONDOMINIUM PROJECTS AND NOT, UH, RENTAL PROJECTS BECAUSE THERE'S NO WAY AT NINE UNITS FOR THOSE PROPERTY VALUES THAT DEVELOPMENT WOULD MAKE SENSE. SO THERE IS AN ARGUMENT THAT THESE NEW CONDOMINIUMS ARE CREATING MORE ATTAINABLE HOUSING FOR FAMILIES THAN THE BIG SINGLE FAMILY HOUSES THAT ARE NOW WORTH $5 MILLION. SO I, I DO THINK EVEN ON THE MARKET RATE SIDE, THAT THE CONDOMINIUMS THAT ARE BEING BUILT ARE MAYBE GIVING PEOPLE WHO MAKE SERIOUS MONEY WITH, WITH YOUNG KIDS A CHANCE TO LIVE IN CAMBRIDGE. I JUST WANTED TO MAKE THAT POINT. UM, A A COUPLE OF THINGS TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION COUNSELOR. ONE IS, I, I DON'T THINK INTRODUCING A COUPLE OF DESIGN STANDARDS IN THE ZONING NECESSARILY WOULD DECREASE HOUSING PRODUCTION, BECAUSE IF WE LOOK AT THE CONDOMINIUMS THAT ARE BEING BUILT, MOST OF THEM AREN'T TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE FULL DEVELOPMENT ENVELOPE ANYWAY BECAUSE TO GET FINANCING FOR CONDO PROJECT, YOU'VE GOTTA HAVE ON, ON ONSITE PARKING. AND SO THE PROBLEM WITH THE CONDOMINIUM PROJECTS IS THE OPEN SPACE THAT GARY WANTS FOR TREE CANOPY IS, UH, A PARKING LOT THAT FACES DIRECTLY TO THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING. SO I THINK SOME DESIGN STANDARDS MIGHT REPRIORITIZE OPEN SPACE WITH THOSE CONDO PROJECTS DELIVERING ANYWAY. UM, AND SO WHAT ARE THOSE TWEAKS? WHAT ARE THE IMPACTS? I THINK, UH, CDD COULD, COULD, COULD STUDY THAT IF THAT'S AN INTEREST OF THE COUNCIL. UM, AND I THINK GETTING THE LOCATION OF THE DRIVEWAYS AND PARKING IT RIGHT SHOULD BE A TOP PRIORITY. I THINK THE MARKET HAS FIGURED OUT THAT YOU PUT THE PARKING NOT IN THE FRONT SETBACK, BUT YOU KNOW, IN THAT ZONE I SHOWED. UM, AND I THINK, UM, UH, A WAY TO SOLVE THOSE BIG BUILDINGS IS TO MAYBE IMAGINE THEM AS TWO BUILDINGS AND NOT ONE, UM, UH, LIKE YOUR, YOUR, I LIKED YOUR A DU ON STEROIDS BECAUSE THAT'S GONNA MAKE, UM, BETTER NEIGHBORS FOR THE EXISTING HOUSING STOCK THAT'S NEARBY. UM, SO THAT'S ALL, I DON'T KNOW IF I ANSWER YOUR QUESTION OR NOT, BUT THAT'S, I DON'T THINK, UH, BACK TO MAGNA'S PRESENTATION, I DON'T THINK, I DON'T THINK INTRODUCING DESIGN STANDARDS STANDARDS NECESSARILY WILL ROLL BACK, UM, HOUSING PRODUCTION IN, IN THE CITY. IT'LL JUST MAKE THE OUTCOMES MAYBE LESS IMPACTFUL TO NEIGHBORING PROPERTIES AND, UM, UH, UH, MAYBE RESULT IN BETTER HOUSING FOR FAMILIES. THAT'S ALL. UM, TIM, WAS THAT, DID YOU WANNA SHOW, DID YOU WANNA SHOW SOME PICTURES OR? I, I DON'T THINK SO. NOT UNLESS THERE'S A, A SPECIFIC QUESTION I'VE TALKED ENOUGH. OKAY. UM, UM, YEAH, THANKS. UM, ELISE, FOR ME, JUST TO ASSURE, YOU KNOW, GETTING RID OF SINGLE AND TWO FAMILY ONLY ZONES [01:00:01] IS SOMETHING I STARTED ON THIS COUNCIL YEARS AGO AND HAVE SUPPORTED FROM DAY ONE. SO I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYONE WHO SAYS WE SHOULD ROLL THAT BACK. UH, NO. I'M SURE THERE ARE SOME IN THE CITY, BUT NO ONE ON THE COUNCIL AND MOST PEOPLE IN THE CITY DON'T WANNA ROLL THAT BACK. THE QUESTION IS THE IMPACT AND THE DESIGN AND SOME OF THE OTHERS. UM, AND ALSO TO THE POINT BEING MADE IS I THINK WE ALSO ALL RECOGNIZE THAT CAMBRIDGE HAS DONE A PHENOMENAL JOB ACROSS THE BOARD FOR YEARS, AND IT'S A REGIONAL ISSUE THAT WE WILL NOT SOLVE ON OUR OWN. SO, SO IT'S IMPORTANT TO KEEP THAT IN MIND WHEN WE COMPARE OURSELVES TO LARGER, UH, LARGER METROPOLITAN AREAS THAT WE ARE ACTUALLY, AS MUCH AS WE LIKE TO THINK WE'RE THE BIGGEST KID IN TOWN, WE'RE ACTUALLY WAY, WAY SMALLER THAN BOSTON, FOR INSTANCE. SO THE, THE, IT'S A REGIONAL DEMAND. SO I, I, I THINK PART OF THAT'S THE CONFLATING QUESTION OF WHO DO WE COMPARE OURSELVES TO WITH, UM, WHEN WE DO THIS, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN MINNEAPOLIS WAS THE FIRST CITY THAT DID THAT, THEY HAD, YOU KNOW, 80% OF THEIR HOUSING LOTS WERE RESTRICTED TO SINGLE FAMILY ONLY ZONES. FOR US, 7% OF OUR HOUSING UNITS WERE ACTUALLY SINGLE FAMILY, UH, ON, ON SINGLE FAMILIES. SO IT'S A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT LANDSCAPE. UM, BUT I'M REALLY PROUD THAT I STARTED THAT AND THAT WE FINALLY GOT TO THE POINT WHERE SINGLE FAMILY ONLY AND TWO FAMILY ONLY ARE DISAPPEARED FROM THE CITY. UM, I AM INTERESTED IN ONE OF THE, UH, QUESTIONS MENTIONED ON THE, UH, EMPTY NESTERS. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT AT LEAST ONE OF THE PROJECTS ON KIRKLAND STREET WAS. HEY, I WANT A PLACE IN THE CITY FOR MY FRIENDS WHO LIVE IN THESE VERY LARGE HOUSES TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD TO STAY IN CAMBRIDGE WITH A SMALLER UNIT, BUT STILL ARGUABLY IT'S A MIDDLE INCOME, NOT EVEN MIDDLE INCOME, IT'S AN UPPER MIDDLE INCOME UNIT PRICE. SO THAT INSTEAD OF THE $5 MILLION SINGLE FAMILY, THE HOPE IS THAT PEOPLE WILL LIVE, IT'S A SINGLE FAMILY ON KIRKLAND STREET THAT IS NOW GONNA BE, I THINK IT'S FOUR UNITS, FOUR OR FIVE. UM, I'M LOOKING TO IT, IT DEFINITELY IS AT AT LEAST FOUR. AND IT WAS, IT'S ALREADY IN PROCESS, IT'S BEEN APPROVED, AND THAT'S EXACTLY THE TYPE OF, OF UNIT AND HOUSING UNIT THAT, THAT THE DEVELOPER AND PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD ARE HOPING I CAN MOVE IN THERE, STAY IN MY EXACT SAME NEIGHBORHOOD, BUT BE IN A SMALLER FOOTPRINT AND STILL AFFORD TO LIVE IN CAMBRIDGE MORE REASONABLY. SO I, I THINK WE HAVE SOME EXAMPLES OF SOME PROJECTS THAT ARE MEETING OUR NEEDS AND THEN THERE'S SOME OTHERS THAT SEEM PRETTY DRASTIC. TWO OF THEM ON THE LIST ARE LITERALLY A BLOCK FROM MY HOUSE SINCE I LIVE AT 180 4 HURON AVE. SO I'M VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE WYMAN ROAD AND THE 2 36 HURON AVE PROJECT. WHAT'S INTERESTING ABOUT BOTH OF THOSE IS ONE IS A FIVE UNIT BUILDING ON BASICALLY A LOT, AND THE OTHER IS PROPOSED TO BE 56 UNITS ON A LOT. THAT IS STUNNING. TO THE NEIGHBORS THAT THEY CAN EVEN FIT IT. AND IT'S ALL STUDIO OR ONE BEDROOM. SO THAT IS NOT MEETING THE NEEDS OR WHAT WE WANT TO SEE A FAMILY SIZE UNIT. IT WOULD, IF IT GETS BUILT, MEET THE NEEDS OF HAVING LITERALLY 50, UH, 49 MORE UNITS THAN WHAT'S ON THAT SITE NOW. UM, SO I I, I THINK AS WE REVIEW THIS, I'M VERY INTERESTED IN HEARING FROM CITY STAFF AND ALSO SOME ON THE PANEL, AS IT SEEMS TO ME THERE'S, THERE'S TWO THINGS THAT WE ARE TRYING TO ADDRESS FOR SOLUTIONS. ONE IS, CAN WE GET TO MORE AFFORDABILITY? THERE'S SOME HERE THAT IN NEWTON, SOME OF THE DESIGN STANDARDS MEANS THAT IT IS ACTUALLY MORE AFFORDABLE. AND THE QUESTION IS WHETHER MORE AFFORDABLE MEANS, WELL, INSTEAD OF 6 MILLION FOR A SINGLE FAMILY, IT'S 3 MILLION FOR A, YOU KNOW, CONDO. OR IS IT THAT INSTEAD OF 6 MILLION, INSTEAD OF A FEW MILLION FOR A CONDO, THAT WE ARE FINDING RENTAL PROPERTIES OR CONDOS THAT ARE MORE AFFORDABLE TO THE MEDIAN INCOME WE HAVE, WHICH IS THE MIDDLE CLASS WHO WE HAVE KNOW THAT WE HAVE LOST IN THE CITY GREATER THAN ANY OTHER, UH, PORTION OF OUR, UH, OF OUR RESIDENTS. WE, WE HAVE LOST MORE IN THE MIDDLE CLASS PERCENTAGE-WISE AND NUMBER-WISE THAN ANY OTHER GROUP. SO THAT'S, THAT'S ONE. JUST HOW IS IT THAT, ARE THERE WAYS THAT WE COULD INCENTIVIZE AND INCREASE AFFORDABILITY? AND I DO THINK THERE'S A QUESTION OF THE KIND OF GREEN SPACE AND OPEN SPACE AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE THAT WE HAVE SEEN IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TO OUR FUTURE AS A CITY. I KNOW THAT NEXT WEEK, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE CITY ENGINEERS ARE GOING OUT TO WEST CAMBRIDGE BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF BUILDING HAPPENING ON SOME NARROW LOTS THAT USED TO HAVE A RIVER RUNNING UNDER IT, AND THERE'S ALREADY FLOODING AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE. SO CAN WE BUILD THERE AND STILL MAINTAIN OUR COMMITMENT TO ENSURING THAT THERE'S, WE ARE NOT EXACERBATING AN, UH, AN ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE AND THAT WE'RE TAKING INTO ACCOUNT OUR CLIMATE RESILIENCY STANDARDS. SO I THINK, I DUNNO IF THE, THE STAFF HAS ANY RESPONSE TO THIS. I'M VERY INTERESTED IN HEARING THIS QUESTION OF INCENTIVES FOR SOME AFFORDABILITY AND POSSIBLY SOME INTEREST IN ENSURING THAT [01:05:01] WE ARE MEETING SOME OF OUR GOALS, UH, RELATED TO, TO GREEN SPACE AND OPEN SPACE. OH, AND I JUST WANNA MAKE ONE THING ON PARKING. WE DON'T REQUIRE ANY PARKING. SO IS IT REALLY TRUE? YOU LITERALLY CANNOT BUILD A CONDO WITHOUT A PARKING ON SITE? NO. YOU CAN'T GET FINANCING FOR IT WITHOUT INCLUDING A PARKING SPACE AND YOU CAN'T REALLY SELL IT. . YES. J JUST, JUST ONE, JUST ONE BRIEF COMMENT, WHICH IS THE MARKET, THE REAL ESTATE MARKET, THE MARKET SMALL M WILL ALWAYS TRY TO MAXIMIZE RETURNS. AND SO UNLESS THERE'S SPECIFIC POLICY TO, THROUGH THE I EXCLUSIONARY ZONING REQUIREMENT AT SIX STORIES, THE MARKET'S GONNA CHARGE WHATEVER RENTS IT CAN CHARGE. SO I THINK ZONING IS, UM, THE GAME BOARD THAT THE MARKET USES TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT, ABOUT WHERE TO DEVELOP. I THINK THE OTHER POINT, I, I I, I I, THE, YOUR NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES ARE, HAVE ALSO CREATED AS OF RIGHT ZONING REGIMES. WE, UM, WE WERE THE CONSULTANT FOR BELMONT FOR THEIR NEW ZONING SO THAT THEY CAN BE THE MB UTE TA COMMUNITIES LAW. RECENTLY THEY HAVE AS OF RIGHT ZONING THAT'S GOT MORE DESIGN STANDARDS THAN YOU DO. UM, AND WE JUST HELPED WATERTOWN WITH THEIR NEW ZONING AND WATERTOWN SQUARE, AND THEN WE WERE THE CO-AUTHORS OF THE SOMERVILLE CODE THAT'S NOW 10 YEARS OLD. SO YOU'RE SURROUNDED BY COMMUNITIES NOW, SORT OF NEWTON, I SUPPOSE, YOU DON'T REALLY NEIGHBOR NEWTON THAT ARE UP TO SPEED ON AS OF RIGHT ZONING. UM, AND SO IN A WAY, THE CLOSEST COMMUNITIES HAVE KIND OF DONE THEIR PART, I THINK IN, IN WAYS THAT ARE, UM, MORE CONTROLS, MAYBE ALLOWING FEWER UNITS. BUT, UM, UH, THE, THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT, THAT THE LARGER MARKET IS UP TO SPEED WITH ITS ZONING CODE. JUST WANNA FOLLOW UP WITH, 'CAUSE WHAT YOU WROTE HERE ON NEWTON MRT ZONING POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE SMALLER UNITS AT A LOWER PRICE POINT WILL HELP PRODUCE AFFORDABLE. ARE YOU SAYING WE'RE ALREADY DOING THAT, OR THIS IS AN EXAMPLE THAT WE'RE NOT DOING IT AND NEWTON IS THAT, THAT'S WHY I ASKED THE QUESTION. 'CAUSE ARE YOU REFERRING TO A SLIDE? OH, THAT'S, UM, THAT, THAT'S, UH, UM, UH, IS THAT THE, OH, THAT, THAT, THAT WAS RIPPED RIGHT FROM THE, THE, THE A COUNCIL MEETING WE HAD, UM, ON MRT ZONING. BUT THE LOGIC WAS THAT, UM, IN THE CASE OF NEWTON, THE CHALLENGE ON THE OTHER HAND IS THERE ARE NO SMALLER UNITS FOR YOUNG, YOUNG PEOPLE TO LIVE. AND SO THE IDEA OF MRT IF YOU SAVE THE EXISTING PROPERTY, UM, AND YOU WERE ALLOWED SIX UNITS THAT WOULD INCENTIVIZE THE MARKET TO PUT SMALLER UNITS IN A, IN A, IN AN OLD VICTORIAN HOUSE, AND THAT WOULD MEET DEMANDS FOR PEOPLE. THERE IS NO PLACE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE TO LIVE IN NEWTON. UM, THAT IS KIND OF WHAT WE'RE DOING, WHAT WE DID WITH THIS ON SOME LEVEL, THE MULTI-FAMILY ZONING. YES. I MEAN, I THINK, I, I THINK THE OTHER POINT, AND ED CAN BACK THIS UP, IS THAT, UM, IN THE MARKET RIGHT NOW, UM, UH, FOR A MARKET RATE PROJECT, UM, IT, IT'S NOT VIABLE TO DELIVER, UH, A SIX STORY PROJECT AT THE NUMBER OF UNITS OF ALL THOSE EXAMPLES I HAD ON THE SLIDE AT 20% OF, UH, INCLUSIONARY. SO THOSE PROJECTS ARE VERY UNLIKELY TO MOVE AHEAD. AND SO, UM, UH, THEY JUST DON'T PENCIL OUT BECAUSE OF EXPERIENCES WE'RE HAVING WITH PROJECTS IN OUR OFFICE TOO. SO I THINK, HUH? YEAH, YOU'VE HEARD THAT BEFORE. OKAY. UH, YEAH, I WANNA RESPOND TO THAT QUESTION. AND THEN WE HAVE JASON COR IS ONLINE AND WE HAVE A FEW MORE QUESTIONS. YEAH. JUST QUICKLY. YEAH. I THINK TO YOUR POINT, UM, YOU KNOW, AFFORDABILITY, LOWERCASE A THE GOAL OF CREATING MORE HOUSING WAS AT THE MARKET ABSOLUTELY IN CAMBRIDGE IS STILL GONNA BE AT THE HIGHER END OF THE MARKET. UM, BUT THAT PROVIDES MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR MORE FAMILIES TO LIVE HERE. UM, A A RANGE OF UNIT SIZES FOR PEOPLE AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF THEIR LIFE, UM, AND HELPS ADDRESS THE REGIONAL CHALLENGE, BUT RECOGNIZING THAT IT'S STILL GONNA BE VERY EXPENSIVE TO, TO QUALIFY TO LIVE IN ONE OF THOSE UNITS. THERE, THERE'S NO, UM, MISTAKE ABOUT THAT. UH, THE WAY THE ZONING WAS DRAFTED WAS TO, UM, REQUIRE INCLUSIONARY UNITS TO, TO CAPTURE THE GREATER DENSITY. AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S STILL THE GOAL TO GET THOSE, UH, DEED RESTRICTED CAPITAL A AFFORDABLE UNITS. AND I THINK WE SHOULD CONTINUE TO MONITOR THAT AND SEE HOW EFFECTIVE THAT IS. UM, BUT I THINK THAT WAS THE INTENT OF, UM, OF THE HOUSING. AND I, I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE SEEING OUR, OUR NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES FOLLOW SUIT. THANK YOU, MELISSA. UM, JASON KB HAS, UH, JOINED US. HE IS ONLINE. UH, JASON [01:10:01] IS, UM, UH, A DEVELOPER. HE'S THE PRINCIPAL OF CAPSTONE COMMUNITIES LLC, WHERE HE HAS DEVELOPED MARKET RATE MIXED INCOME IN A HUNDRED PERCENT AFFORDABLE HOUSING. SINCE FOUNDING CAPSTONE IN OCTOBER, 2010, JASON HAS SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED A TOTAL OF A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS OF DEVELOPMENT TRANSACTIONS IN CAMBRIDGE, SOMERVILLE, ARLINGTON, NEWTON, BROCKTON, BRIDGEWATER IN BRIDGEWATER, MASSACHUSETTS. UM, WELCOME JASON. THANK YOU. THANKS FOR HAVING ME. I APOLOGIZE, I'M THAT, I'M LATE. I ACTUALLY JUST GOT OFF A PLANE FROM INDIANAPOLIS WHERE, UH, MY WOLVERINES WON THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP LAST NIGHT. SO, APOLOGIES THOUGH FOR, UH, FOR BEING LATE. I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. UM, I'VE DEDICATED MY CAREER TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING. WE'VE COMPLETED TWO PROJECTS IN CAMBRIDGE. UH, NEITHER ONE WAS UNDER THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING OVERLAY. THE PROJECT BEHIND ME IS FROST TERRACE, WHICH I THINK MOST OF YOU KNOW, UH, PORT LANDING IN THE PORT NEIGHBORHOOD. WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON 2072 MASS AVE. UM, WE ALSO OWN A MARKET RATE PORTFOLIO IN CAMBRIDGE, THAT'S 26 APARTMENTS. AND THEN WE'RE CURRENTLY, I WOULD SAY CUSTODIANS OF 23 MORE UNITS OF WHAT ARE CURRENTLY MARKET RATE HOUSING UNITS BEHIND FROST TERRACE THAT EVENTUALLY WE HOPE TO REPOSITION AND DEVELOP INTO A HUNDRED PERCENT AFFORDABLE HOUSING. UM, SO I, I, I THINK THE ONE THING I WOULD SAY, AND I DO LIVE IN NEWTON BY THE WAY, AND I CAN COMMENT AS A CITIZEN OF NEWTON AND AS A FORMER MEMBER OF THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST IN NEWTON, UM, IF, IF, IF CAMBRIDGE IS COMPARING ITSELF TO NEWTON, UM, AND THE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT NEWTON HAS APPROACHED ZONING, UM, SOME OF WHICH I THINK HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL, SOME OF WHICH I THINK THEY NEED ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENT. AND I CAN SPEAK AS A RESIDENT OF NEWTON, SOMEONE WHO GREW UP IN NEWTON, UM, ABOUT SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE WE'RE FACING THERE AND HOW THOSE CORRELATE TO CAMBRIDGE AS WELL. BUT I WOULD SAY AS A DEVELOPER, YOU KNOW, THE IMPEDIMENTS TO AS OF RIGHT BUILDING AND AS OF RIGHT, UM, DEVELOPMENT ARE SO SIGNIFICANT NOW THAT IN GENERAL, UNLESS IT'S LIKE A FRIENDLY 40 B WHERE A CITY AND TOWN HASN'T REACHED THIS 10% THRESHOLD OR LAND AREA THRESHOLD, WE WON'T EVEN LOOK AT A COMMUNITY TO WORK THERE BECAUSE THE CHALLENGES ARE JUST TOO GREAT. THE, THE RISKS ARE TOO GREAT. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE, WE SPEND, WE COULD SPEND A MILLION DOLLARS TO TRY TO GET A PROJECT ZONED, AND THEN IF IT GETS DEFEATED AT THE END, THAT'S A MILLION DOLLARS DOWN THE TUBES, , AND YEARS OF, OF OUR TIME AND WORK, WHICH IS ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY COST. UM, SO I'M PERSONALLY VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THE WORK THAT CAMBRIDGE HAS DONE, BOTH ON THE MARKET RATE ZONING SIDE, WHICH WE REALLY, UM, DON'T UTILIZE, BUT ALSO CERTAINLY THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING OVERLAY. UM, SO I GUESS THOSE WOULD BE JUST MY INITIAL THOUGHTS. UM, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR HAVE A DISCUSSION REGARDING ANYTHING THAT, THAT YOU'D LIKE. SO, YEAH. YEAH. JASON, I HAD, UH, UM, SOME QUESTIONS THAT I'D HOPED HAD BEEN SHARED WITH YOU. UM, I WONDERED AS A DEVELOPER, IF YOU COULD SPEAK ABOUT THE CHALLENGES OF THE MULTIFAMILY HOUSING ORDINANCE AS IT'S BEEN WRITTEN, THE COORDINATION WITH INSPECTION SERVICES, COORDINATING STAGING AREAS. IF YOU COULD TALK ABOUT THE VALUE OF THE COMMUNITY MEETING, FINANCING CHALLENGES. ARE THERE WAYS THAT WE CAN BETTER STRUCTURE THINGS SO THAT MIDDLE INCOME PEOPLE CAN BENEFIT? SO I CAN, I GUESS I CAN TALK MORE SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING OVERLAY, UM, BECAUSE THAT'S, THAT'S THE PROCESS THAT WE'VE GONE THROUGH. I HAVEN'T GONE THROUGH THE MULTIFAMILY PROCESS BEFORE. UM, BUT I DO THINK THAT THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING OVERLAY PROCESS WORKED QUITE WELL. UM, AND WE DID, WELL, I KNOW SOME COMMUNITY MEMBERS MAY NOT AGREE. WE DID INCORPORATE OR TRIED TO INCORPORATE A NUMBER OF, UH, COMMUNITY FEEDBACK AND WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH THE CITY STAFF, UM, AS WELL AS THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE. SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVEN'T GONE THROUGH THE BUILDING PERMIT PROCESS ON 2072. WE'RE STILL WORKING ON THE FINANCING. UM, BUT I THINK IT'S A REALLY INNOVATIVE SOLUTION TO AT LEAST CREATE MORE MULTIFAMILY, AFFORDABLE HOUSING. UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE TIMING OF THE MIDDLE INCOME MARKET RATE HOUSING, UM, DENSITY INCREASE THAT PASSED IN 2025 IS SOMEWHAT UNFORTUNATE BECAUSE I THINK THE 20% INCLUSIONARY REQUIREMENT IS VERY CHALLENGING, CERTAINLY IN THIS ENVIRONMENT. UM, I THINK ANOTHER PANEL HAS REFERENCED THAT, UM, NOTHING'S IMPOSSIBLE IN LIFE, BUT I'D SAY IT'S FAIRLY CLOSE TO IMPOSSIBLE AT THE CURRENT STAGE THAT WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW WITH THE ECONOMY. UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY THAT THAT ZONING ORDINANCE IS THERE FOR THE LONG TERM AND WHEN THINGS TURN AROUND, UM, IT'LL BECOME [01:15:01] MORE VIABLE. I THINK WE'RE ALSO, YOU KNOW, ALL OF US IN THE INDUSTRY WHERE, WHERE WE'RE ON THE MARKET RATE SIDE OR THE AFFORDABLE START ARE STRUGGLING WITH COSTS. UM, AND HOW CAN WE BRING DOWN COSTS? AND I THINK IT'S EASY SOMETIMES FOR FOLKS ON THE SIDELINES TO COME UP WITH SOLUTIONS, UM, AND WE WELCOME THOSE, BUT COSTS JUST CONTINUE TO GO UP AND UP AND UP, AND IT'S VERY, VERY CHALLENGING FOR US. SO, JASON, JASON, THINK THAT AND ZONING ARE, ARE OUR BIGGEST IMPEDIMENTS, UM, SINCE THIS IS, WE'RE FOCUSING ON THE MULTIFAMILY HOUSING ORDINANCE, IS THERE ANYTHING, UH, WITH PERMITTING THAT I, I MEAN, I GUESS IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVEN'T WORKED WITH MULTIFAMILY HOUSING, SO MAY, MAYBE YOU CAN'T SPEAK TO THIS, BUT IS THERE ANYTHING THAT WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT STREAMLINING, PERMITTING AND COMMUNITY MEETINGS? OR IS THAT OUT OF, I THINK IT'S HARD FOR ME TO SPEAK DIRECTLY TO THE MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING ORDINANCE BECAUSE I, I COULD TELL YOU, I COULD TESTIFY MORE ON THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING OVERLAY . YEAH. I'M, I'M SORRY. BUT, UM, BECAUSE THAT'S NOT THE TOPIC OF THIS, UM, NO, I UNDERSTAND. I TOTALLY GET IT. I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND. YEAH. OKAY. UM, THANK, THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH, JASON. UH, THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US AND, UM, WELCOME BACK. UM, THANKS. SO WE HAVE, WE HAVE A FEW, UM, A FEW FOLKS THAT ALSO WANNA ASK QUESTIONS. AND, AND I JUST WANNA EXPLAIN THAT THIS IS A, A JOINT MEETING OF HOUSING AND, UM, THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND LONG-TERM PLANNING. SO MY SPEAKERS ARE, ARE HERE AND, UM, HOUSING SPEAKERS ARE ON ONLINE. UM, OKAY. COUNSELOR MCGOVERN, I UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR HAND HAS BEEN RAISED. I WELCOME YOUR QUESTIONS AND I HOPE PEOPLE WILL ASK MORE QUESTIONS RATHER THAN GIVING TESTIMONY. 'CAUSE WE REALLY SHOULD BE TAPPING INTO OUR EXPERTS. THAT'S WHY THEY'RE HERE. UM, COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN. OH, THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. AND THANK YOU TO EVERYONE. UM, I WILL GET TO A QUESTION, BUT JUST A COUPLE COMMENTS FIRST, IF YOU INDULGE ME. UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE GET WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE MULTIFAMILY HOUSING ORDINANCE OR, OR ANY OF THIS, IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK GETS, WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT AFFORDABILITY, AND I THINK WE DON'T, WE HAVE TO DO A BETTER JOB OF DEFINING WHAT WE MEAN BY THAT. 'CAUSE THERE'S DIFFERENT WAYS TO LOOK AT AFFORDABILITY, RIGHT? SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE A HO, THAT WAS ALL ABOUT SUBSIDIZED LOW INCOME HOUSING, RIGHT? UM, NO MARKET WHATSOEVER. MULTIFAMILY HOUSING, ALTHOUGH WE WILL SEE SOME SUBSIDIZED HOUSING CREATED THROUGH INCLUSIONARY FOR THOSE PROJECTS THAT ARE SIX STORIES OR MORE ON A LOT OF 10,000 SQUARE FEET OR MORE. THAT WASN'T THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF THE MULTIFAMILY HOUSING ORDINANCE. IT WAS THE OTHER TYPE OF AFFORDABILITY, RIGHT? AND IF YOU LOOK AT CUSHING STREET, FOR EXAMPLE, 'CAUSE IT WAS MENTIONED IN MR. ABRAMS, UM, PRESENTATION, AND I'M NOT GONNA TALK ABOUT THE LOOK OF THE BUILDING OR ANYTHING ELSE. 'CAUSE THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A WHOLE OTHER THING. IF YOU'RE JUST LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS, WHAT YOU SEE IN STRAWBERRY HILL, IF, IF, IF THAT PROJECT WAS HAPPENING PRIOR TO MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING ZONING, WHAT YOU WOULD'VE SEEN IS A PROPOSAL TO BUILD ONE, PROBABLY ONE, MAYBE TWO, BUT PROBABLY ONE SINGLE FAMILY HOME IN THE BACKYARD, AS WE SEE THROUGHOUT STRAWBERRY HILL HAPPENING, THAT WOULD'VE SOLD FOR THREE PLUS MILLION DOLLARS INSTEAD BECAUSE THE ZONING HAS CHANGED. YOU'RE SEEING A PROPOSAL FOR SIX TOWNHOUSES THAT ARE GONNA SELL YOU, YOU KNOW, 2 MILLION, RIGHT? A PIECE. NOW, 2 MILLION OR 1.8 MILLION IS STILL A LOT OF MONEY, BUT IT'S A LOT LESS THAN THREE AND A HALF MILLION, AND YOU'RE GETTING SIX UNITS VERSUS ONE. SO IN THAT RESPECT, IT WORKED, RIGHT? YOU'RE GETTING MORE UNITS AND THOSE UNITS ARE LESS EXPENSIVE THAN WHAT YOU WOULD'VE GOTTEN OTHERWISE. UM, AND SO, I DON'T KNOW, AND I, I, I MEAN, TOM, I SORT OF LOOK AT YOU FOR A MINUTE AND I ASK, YOU KNOW, THE CONUNDRUM WE'RE IN, YOU KNOW, YOU DID ENVISION YOU WERE THERE. I I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S A FOND MEMORY FOR YOU OR NOT. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A GOAL OF BUILDING 12,500 UNITS OF HOUSING THAT CAME OUT OF THAT PROCESS. HOW ARE WE GONNA REACH THAT GOAL IF WE'RE NOT ALLOWING MORE HEIGHT AND MORE DENSITY IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS? BECAUSE IF YOU'RE GONNA SAY JUST BUILD IT ALL ON THE CORRIDORS, FINE, RIGHT? THAT'S A WHOLE OTHER DISCUSSION. BUT YOU LOOK AT MARKET CENTRAL AT 1920, STORY BUILDING HAS 200 UNITS IN IT. IF YOU [01:20:01] SORT OF TAKE THAT AS A BAROMETER, YOU WOULD NEED OVER, YOU WOULD NEED 62 MARKET CENTRALS IN CAMBRIDGE TO GET TO 12,500 PEOPLE WOULD GO BERSERK IF WE SAID THAT. UM, SO I GUESS MY QUESTION IS, YOU KNOW, IF PEOPLE ARE SAYING WE CAN'T GO UP AN ADDITIONAL 10 FEET IN NEIGHBORHOODS, 'CAUSE IT DESTROYS THE NEIGHBORHOOD, WHICH I DON'T AGREE WITH, BY THE WAY. UM, TELL ME HOW TO DO IT. HOW, HOW ARE YOU? I, I HEAR A LOT OF WHAT WE'RE NOT DOING RIGHT, BUT I'M NOT HEARING, I'M NOT HEARING A LOT OF, HOW DO WE GET TO THAT NUMBER? HOW DO WE GET TO THE 12,500 NUMBER? OKAY. TIM'S READY TO RESPOND. YEAH. FIRST OF ALL, UM, UH, COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN, I'M, I'M SURPRISED THAT AFTER FOUR AND A HALF YEARS OF ENVISION, YOU STILL THINK I'M TOM AND NOT TIM. UM, BUT, BUT THAT'S OKAY. THAT . I, I THINK, UM, I, I THINK THE, I DON'T THINK INCLUDING ADDING A FEW DESIGN CONTROLS AND RETHINKING BY A COUPLE OF FEET, THE SETBACKS, UM, IS A ROLLBACK. UH, IT'S A TWEAK. UH, I, UM, UH, I'M GENERALLY VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THE FOUR STORY, THE SIX STORIES, UM, AND, UH, THE LARGER GOALS AS OUTLINED BY SOME OF YOUR COLLEAGUES. SO, UM, BUT I, I DO THINK THAT IT'S WORTH TAKING A LOOK AT NOW THAT PROJECTS ARE IN THE PIPELINE AND THERE ARE DESIGNS TO TAKE A HARD LOOK AT WHAT SOME OF THE DESIGN CONSEQUENCES ARE OF WHAT'S BEING PROPOSED. AND I THINK THE REAR INSIDE SETBACKS, UM, JUST WITH A COUPLE OF FEET, UM, AND BEING A LITTLE BIT CLEAR ABOUT WHERE PARKING CAN GO AND NOT GO, UM, AND HOW BIG A CURB CUT CAN BE TO ACCESS THE PARKING. UM, AND MAYBE INCENTIVIZING MULTIPLE BUILDINGS ON A SITE VERSUS ONE, UH, MAYBE WITH A LITTLE EXTRA JUICE YOU GET, IF YOU DO THAT, UM, WOULD RESULT IN OUTCOMES THAT MAYBE WOULD MAINTAIN THE KIND OF PROPERTY VALUE ISSUES THAT, THAT ED HIGHLIGHTED, UM, AND MAYBE INCENTIVIZE THE, THE NEXT PROPERTY OWNER TO ALSO WANNA DO A MULTIFAMILY PROJECT. I'M WORRIED THAT THE CODE NOW IS A, THE FIRST ONE IN WINS AND THEN, UM, THE VALUE OF THE NEXT CONDO PROJECT. PEOPLE ARE GONNA SKIP THE POOR GUY WHO'S THE NEIGHBOR OF THAT PROJECT AND DO THE NEXT CONDO PROJECT BECAUSE THE NEXT CONDO, THE PROJECT THAT GOES IN WON'T BE MARKETABLE. 'CAUSE IT'S ONLY, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S ONLY FIVE FEET AWAY FROM THE LONG WALL. SO I, I JUST THINK THAT THERE'S A WAY TO MAYBE HYPOTHETICALLY EVEN INCREASE HOUSING PRODUCTION BY HAVING A CODE THAT, YOU KNOW, NOT TO GET, I'M GONNA PUT MY ACADEMIC HAT ON. IT WAS THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY IN 1916 THAT DECIDED THAT THERE SHOULD BE STEP BACKS FOR SKYSCRAPERS IN MANHATTAN TO PROTECT THEIR PROPERTY VALUES. IT WASN'T REALLY FOR LIGHT AND AIR. AND SO I THINK WE HAVE A KIND OF 1916 MANHATTAN THING HERE, WHICH IS, UM, IF WE WANT, IF WE TRULY WANT EVERY SINGLE FAMILY HOUSE IS UNDERUTILIZED TO TURN OVER TO YIELD SIX, EIGHT UNITS, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE PROPERTY NEXT TO THE FIRST PROPERTY OUT, UM, CAN SEE ITS VALUE TOO. THAT, THAT, THAT'S MY PERSPECTIVE ON THIS. UM, I'M NOT OKAY, A NIMBY I'M NOT, UM, I, I'M, I'M, I, I GO TO YIMBY TOWN, LIKE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT OTHER CREDENTIALS I NEED HERE, BUT I THINK I, I THINK, UM, I, I JUST THINK THAT WE SHOULD TAKE A HARD LOOK AT, UM, WHAT DOES A WHOLE STREET LOOK LIKE, HYPOTHETICALLY, IF EVERYBODY TOOK ADVANTAGE. UM, AND I THINK RIGHT NOW IT'S A FIRST PERSON IN WINS GAME. THAT'S MY CONCERN. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? WELL, THANK, THANK, YEAH. AND I, I APPRECIATE THAT. AND, UM, SORRY, IT'S FUNNY, I HAD, UH, I WROTE DOWN EVERYONE'S NAME AND I HAD IT DOWN AS TIM, AND THEN I JUST NO. CALLED YOU TOM FOR SOME REASON. UM, I'M HAPPY TO COMMENT ON THE ENVISION PROCESS AT SOME OTHER TIME, BUT NOT, NOT SOME, NOT TODAY. SO I HAVE A QUESTION. UH, MADAM CHAIR, MAYBE, I DON'T KNOW IF LEGAL IS THERE, MAYBE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT CDD COULD ANSWER. UM, BUT WE HAD TALKED IN THE PAST ABOUT THE DESIGN GUIDELINES PIECE AND, YOU KNOW, IS THERE A WAY, YOU KNOW, ON ONE HAND WE WANT TO STREAMLINE PERMITTING SO THAT PROJECTS DON'T GET, UM, YOU KNOW, HELD UP OR DON'T GET DRAMATICALLY DOWNSIZED OR WHAT HAVE YOU. BUT, YOU KNOW, THERE IS THIS OTHER PART OF, YOU KNOW, DO YOU GET TO THE POINT WHERE YOU CAN, IS IT RIGHT TO COMPLETELY ELIMINATE COMMUNITY INPUT? AND WE'RE TRY TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO SORT OF BALANCE THAT A LITTLE BIT BY REQUIRING AT AT LEAST ONE MEETING, WHICH IS A WHOLE OTHER SUBJECT. 'CAUSE THOSE MEETINGS DON'T [01:25:01] GO TERRIBLY WELL, . UM, IS THERE SOME, YOU KNOW, I, I'M THINKING OF THE, UM, I THINK IT'S THE GREEN CODE OR WHAT, WHICHEVER ONE WE PASS, AGAIN, SOME OF MY ENVIRONMENTAL STUFF CONFUSED WHERE THERE'S THIS POINT SYSTEM OF, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO, YOU HAVE TO, IF YOU ACCUMULATE IN A CERTAIN NUMBER OF POINTS, YOU, YOU GET TO DO CERTAIN THINGS. IS THAT SOMETHING THAT'S POSSIBLE AROUND THE DESIGN GUIDELINES? LIKE IF WE SAID THERE'S, YOU KNOW, X NUMBER OF DESIGN GUIDELINES AND WE'RE NOT GONNA TELL A DEVELOPER WHICH ONES THEY HAVE TO DO, THERE'S A LIST, BUT WE ARE GONNA SAY YOU HAVE TO DO A CERTAIN NUMBER OF THOSE IN ORDER TO QUALIFY FOR THE ZONING TO AT LEAST GUARANTEE TO THE COMMUNITY THAT DEVELOPERS AREN'T JUST GONNA COME IN AND JUST SAY, YOU KNOW, I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK THE HELL WITH WHAT THE DESIGN GUIDELINES, I'M JUST GONNA DO WHATEVER I WANT. IS THERE SOME MIDDLE GROUND THAT, DO YOU MIND IF I WEIGH IN, IN ALLOW SOME, OR I DON'T, WHOEVER WANTS TO ANSWER, BUT, UM, YEAH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, I JUST MARK, I SORT OF THINK TIM'S READY TO THING IS KIND OF TIM'S READY TO ANSWER. I, I THINK, I THINK YOU WANNA PUT THE DESIGN STANDARDS IN THE CODE ITSELF. UM, DESIGN GUIDELINES ARE BY DEFINITION DISCRETIONARY, AND YOU O OPEN UP, UM, DISCRETIONARY DECISION MAKING. BUT ANY, ANY DIMENSION THAT, UM, IS NON-DISCRETIONARY CAN BE IN THE ZONING CODE. IF YOU THINK ABOUT SETBACKS ARE THE SIMPLEST DESIGN STANDARD. UM, BUT YOU CAN BAKE IN OTHER THINGS INTO THE CODE ITSELF, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING. NOT TOO MANY THINGS, BECAUSE THEN YOU HAVE THE CUMBERSOME SOMERVILLE CODE, WHICH, UM, UH, THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY HATES. UM, BUT YOU CAN ALSO, UM, SET UP A MULTIPLE CHOICE QUICK QUIZ OF THINGS THAT YOU CAN, UH, FOLLOW OR NOT. THAT'S ALSO LEGAL. UM, WE DID THAT FOR THE HAVE MASSACHUSETTS CODE WHERE YOU HAVE TO DO THREE OF THE FIVE DIMENSIONAL STANDARDS, AND THEN A DEVELOPER CAN PICK THEIR OWN ADVENTURE. BUT I, I DON'T THINK BACK TO, I, I KNOW THE STAFF'S INTERESTS AND MANY OF THE COUNSELORS, YOU, YOU DON'T WANT TO OPEN THE PROCESS UP TO NEGOTIATION BECAUSE, UM, THE WHOLE POINT OF YOUR, UM, MOSTLY EXCELLENT NEW ZONING CODE IS THAT, EXCEPT FOR A COURTESY MEETING, WHICH CAN HELP, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST ADJUST A PROJECT EARLY ENOUGH IN THE PROCESS. YOU DON'T WANT TO OPEN UP, UH, ALL OF THESE THINGS TO NEGOTIATION BECAUSE, UM, THAT'S HOW ALL COMMUNITIES IN MASSACHUSETTS WORKED UNTIL ABOUT FIVE MINUTES AGO. AND THAT'S WHY THERE WAS NO HOUSING PRODUCTION. I, THERE ARE PROBABLY OTHER PEOPLE HERE THAT DON'T AGREE WITH THAT. YEAH. YES. I'D, I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM THANK YOU, MARK. I THINK, UM, THANK THAT WAS VERY HELPFUL. I'LL YIELD. YEAH, I THINK MELISSA PETERS WAS GONNA RESPOND. Y YEAH, NO, UH, THANK YOU, TIM. UH, TIM'S CORRECT. I THINK, UM, CERTAINLY WE COULD INCORPORATE MORE DESIGN STANDARDS INTO THE ZONING, UM, MOVING TOWARDS STANDARDS, NOT GUIDELINES, BECAUSE AS TIM DESCRIBED, THOSE ARE DISCRETIONARY. AND PART OF THE HUGE BENEFIT OF THE MULTIFAMILY ZONING ORDINANCE WAS MOVING TO AS OF RIGHT. SO, UM, AS, AND AS JASON KB DESCRIBED, THAT THAT PERMITTING, UM, UH, TRANSPARENCY, UM, IS, IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO GET PROJECTS TO MOVE FORWARD. SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE THE GOAL. I, I THINK THERE'S A QUESTION ABOUT WHAT THOSE STANDARDS ARE, AND I'D LOVE THIS CONVERSATION TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT, LESS ABOUT THE VALUE OF BUILDING HOUSING FROM AN AFFORDABILITY PERSPECTIVE, BUT WHAT ARE THE IMPACTS THAT YOU'D LIKE TO SEE? 'CAUSE THAT WOULD REALLY HELP INFORM STAFF TO BE ABLE TO COME BACK AND SAY IT'S, UM, THE LACK OF TREES, IT'S, UM, SHADOWS, WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE THAT COULD HELP US THINK OF WHAT ARE THEIR, WHAT STANDARDS WE COULD IMPOSE IN THE ZONING, WHETHER OR NOT IT'S, UM, A, A CHECKLIST OR SOME TYPE OF MULTIPLE CHOICE SCORING CARD THAT YOU CAN PICK AND CHOOSE AS YOU PLEASE. SO THERE'S, THOSE ARE CERTAINLY OPTIONS FOR US TO THINK OF. BUT, SO, YOU KNOW, MAYBE, YOU KNOW, JUST IF I CAN ASK THE QUESTION TO THE COUNCIL, LIKE, OF THE THINGS YOU'VE BEEN HEARING IN THE COMMUNITY, WHAT ARE OPPORTUNITIES THAT YOU THINK, UM, AGAIN, THE GOAL IS NOT TO DECREASE THE NUMBER OF HOUSING UNITS, BUT HOW CAN WE MODIFY THAT SLIGHTLY TO GET BETTER URBAN FORM OUTCOMES AND HAVE LESS IMPACT ON NEIGHBORS? AND I THINK THAT WOULD BE AN ULTIMATE GOAL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT. UM, MELISSA, UM, AND, AND I, AND I, AGAIN, THIS MEETING WILL BE FOLLOWED BY AN AT LEAST ONE MORE, I THINK IT'LL PROBABLY BE A SERIES OF THEM, BUT GOING FORWARD, WE, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT WHETHER WE WANNA BE TALKING ABOUT SETBACKS, OPEN SPACE, UM, LIGHT AND SOLAR PROTECTIONS, UM, DESIGN REVIEW FOR, UH, TALLER BUILDINGS. WHETHER A 5,000 SQUARE FOOT LOT IS TOO SMALL FOR A SIX STORY BUILDING, WHETHER WE WANNA CHANGE THE PARKING REQUIREMENTS. [01:30:01] I MEAN, I, I HOPE THAT, WE'LL, THAT AT OUR NEXT MEETING WE'LL HAVE A MORE SPECIFIC CONVERSATION, SORT OF ADDRESSING THOSE DIFFERENT THINGS AND HOW WE MIGHT, UM, HOW WE MIGHT CHANGE THEM NOW. UM, UH, CHARLES SULLIVAN, THE HEAD OF THE HISTORIC COMMISSION HAS JOINED US. UH, YES. YEAH, MADAM CHAIR, I'D LIKE TO ADD TO MELISSA'S ANSWER AND TO RESPOND TO TIM, UM, ABOUT DISCRETIONARY REVIEW. WE HAVE A LITTLE LABORATORY, UM, OF EVALUATING MULTIFAMILY HOUSING THIS YEAR IN THE MID CAMBRIDGE NEIGHBORHOOD CONSERVATION DISTRICT, WHERE THERE HAVE BEEN FOUR PROJECTS THAT HAVE GONE THROUGH THE PROCESS, UH, ALL ARE ON A PATH TO REVIEW THE, WHAT THEY HAVE STRUGGLED MOST WITH IS THE ABSOLUTELY BRUTAL INTRUSION OF A CUBICLE, A CUBE, UH, SIX STORIES HIGH, FIVE FEET FROM THE LOT LINES, UM, IMPINGING ON A SETTLED NEIGHBORHOOD. UM, AND IN A COUPLE OF CASES, UH, THREATENING SIGNIFICANT BUILDINGS AND A COUPLE OF OTHER CASES, THE COMMISSION HAS ALLOWED EXISTING BUILDINGS TO BE SCRAPED. BUT THE ABSENCE OF DESIGN GUIDELINES IN THE ZONING IS MAKES THE DISCUSSION EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. UH, WE'VE HAD MULTIPLE HEARINGS ON EACH OF THOSE PROJECTS, UH, TO GET THE, SOME MINIMAL IMPROVEMENTS IN THE EXTERIOR CLADDING, UH, TO NEGOTIATE, UH, SOME OTHER IMPROVEMENTS THAT MAKE THEM SOMEWHAT MORE PALATABLE TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD, TO THE NEIGHBORS. SO IF THERE WERE THE KIND OF, UH, GUIDELINES, OR NOT THE GUIDELINES, BUT UH, PROVISIONS OF THE ZONING CODE, UH, THAT INCENTIVIZE SOME FLEXIBILITY, UM, YOU GET BETTER POINTS OR MORE POINTS FOR MORE TREES, OR A LITTLE BIT MORE SETBACK, OR A LITTLE BIT OF, OF LESS, UH, RIGID GEOMETRY IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE BUILDING. THAT'S ALL TO THE GOOD AND WOULD, I THINK WOULD MAKE THE WHOLE PROCESS, UH, GO MUCH EASIER. AND WE'D BE HAPPY AT A FUTURE MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE TO TALK ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE WE'VE HAD, UH, WITH THESE PROJECTS, UM, ONTO THE NEW CODE IN MID CAMBRIDGE, IF THAT WOULD BE USEFUL. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH, CHARLIE. I THINK IT'S ESSENTIAL TO HEAR THOSE STORIES, AND AS, AS YOU KNOW, I LISTEN IN ON YOUR MEETINGS AND I'M ALWAYS IMPRESSED WITH THE HIGH LEVEL OF DISCUSSION. UM, AND I'VE ESPECIALLY SEEN WITH 84 86 RIE STREET, I FEEL LIKE THAT BUILDING HAS REALLY EVOLVED THANKS TO THE, UH, WORK OF THE ARCHITECTS COMMITTEE THERE. I THINK IT'S, IT'S, IT'S FAR BETTER THAN IT WAS TO BEGIN WITH. UM, SO I, I THINK THAT SHOULD BE PART OF OUR ONGOING DISCUSSION. I ALSO WANNA SAY, I, I FEEL LIKE THE COM I'VE ATTENDED, I THINK AT LEAST 10 TO 12 COMMUNITY MEETINGS, WHICH ARE ALWAYS VERY HARD, NOT ONLY FOR THE COMMUNITY, BUT I ALSO FEEL LIKE THE DEVELOPER. THERE'S, UH, THEY'RE HORRIBLE. UM, AND, UH, AND, AND I, I JUST THINK WE HA ONE OF THE THINGS WE NEED TO BE DOING IS BETTER COMMUNICATING WITH OUR RESIDENTS, UM, ABOUT THE TIMING OF THINGS, ABOUT LIKE, WHEN THE COMMUNITY MEETING IS SCHEDULED, WHO'S SUPPOSED TO BE THERE, UM, ARE THERE LEGAL NOTICE REQUIREMENTS? I, I THINK PART OF, I GET HUNDREDS OF E EMAILS, I DON'T KNOW IF THE WHOLE COUNCIL DOES FROM RESIDENTS THAT THEY JUST, IT'S JUST SO HARD HAVING A FOUR TO SIX STORY BUILDING RISE UP BESIDE YOU AS OF RIGHT, FIVE FEET FROM THE LOT LINE, AND NOT TO HAVE A SENSE FOR WHAT YOUR RIGHTS ARE. SO I JUST FEEL LIKE IT WOULD BE, OR WHAT THE PROCESS IS ACTUALLY. SO I THINK IT, IT'S VERY, VERY IMPORTANT THAT THAT PROCESS IS STANDARDIZED AND POSTED ON THE ISD SITE OR ON THE CDD SITE, SO THAT, UM, WE DON'T HAVE ALL THESE RESIDENTS, UM, EMAILING US IN A PANIC, YOU KNOW, EACH, FOR EACH ONE, IT'S ANEW, RIGHT? IT'S, UH, AND I, I THINK WE'VE, WE'VE GOTTA HAVE A PROCESS, UH, A VERY CLEAR PROCESS FOR HOW, SO THAT PEOPLE CAN ANTICIPATE WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN NEXT. UM, GARY MADAM CHAIR, I JUST WANNA MAKE A COMMENT ABOUT THE FIVE FOOT SETBACK, UH, SIDE YARD AND, AND REAR YARD. I LIVE IN A NON-CONFORMING LOT, UH, IN THE OLD A DISTRICT. AND, UM, MY SETBACK ON THE NORTH SIDE OF MY PROPERTY IS SEVEN AND A HALF FEET. I PLANTED 44 TREES ON MY 7,000 SQUARE FOOT LOT. I BUILT A FOREST, BUT I CAN'T PLANT ON THAT SIDE. I HAVE SHRUBS, AND THAT'S SEVEN AND A HALF FEET. AND THAT REALITY OF FACE TO FACE, 10 FEET APART, IT'S, IT'S NOT WORKABLE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT. UM, YEAH, I, [01:35:01] I JUST WANNA, UM, VICE MAYOR AZIM HAS A QUESTION. I, I, I JUST WANNA ENTERTAIN A FEW MORE COUNCILOR QUESTIONS. UM, VICE MAYOR AZI, UH, THANK YOU, COUNCILOR ZI. SO I'LL KEEP COMMENTS TO A MINIMUM KNOWING THAT WE HAVE A FUTURE COMMITTEE HEARING. UM, I JUST HAVE A FEW RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS. UM, UH, TWO, UH, MR. SULLIVAN, UM, I WAS WONDERING WHAT DOES THE FINANCING LOOK LIKE FOR 60 AND 84 RE STREET? UM, HOW HAS THE REVIEW PROCESS IMPACTED THEIR ABILITY TO PROCEED? AND DO YOU THINK THAT THEY'LL HAVE, UH, BE PROFITABLE ENOUGH TO PROCEED AT THE END OF THIS PROCESS? WELL, THROUGH YOU, MADAM CHAIR, I'M REALLY NOT QUALIFIED TO TALK ABOUT THE FINANCING. IT'S NOT PART OF THE COMMISSION'S DISCUSSION. UM, AND IT'S NOT PART OF ANY CITY REVIEW PROCESS. BUT, UH, ONE OF THE PRESENTATIONS THAT WAS MADE TODAY, I IDENTIFIED SEVERAL OF THESE PROJECTS AS NOT FINANCEABLE. UM, SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW THE DETAILS OF THAT, BUT WE DO HAVE SUSPICION THAT, THAT, UH, FOR WHATEVER REASON, UM, NONE OF THE PROJECTS THAT THE MID CAMBRIDGE COMMISSION OR THE HISTORICAL COMMISSION HAVE REVIEWED HAVE ACTUALLY PROCEEDED TO, UH, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING BOARD REVIEW. AND WE CAN ONLY ASSUME THAT THAT'S BECAUSE THEY DON'T PENCIL OUT AND THAT THEY'RE GETTING THEIR APPROVALS FROM THIS INITIAL STAGE. UH, BUT BEYOND THAT, THEY'RE NOT MOVING. WONDERFUL. THANK YOU. UM, NOT WONDERFUL, BUT, WELL, I, I JUST MEANT, UH, LIKE, YOU KNOW, UH, WONDERFUL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ANSWER. UM, ED, UM, I KNOW YOU HAD SPOKEN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT INCLUSIONARY AND IT BEING QUITE HARD TO PENCIL. HAS THAT BEEN YOUR EXPERIENCE OR YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE MARKET AS WELL? I RUN THOSE CALCULATIONS FROM MY DEVELOPER CLIENTS, AND THAT DISCOUNT ON THE INCLUSIONARY UNITS JUST MEANS THE PROJECT'S NOT GOING TO BE AFFORDABLE AT 20%. I MEAN, THAT'S ABOUT AS MUCH AS I CAN COME. I'M NOT, I DON'T GET INVOLVED IN THE FINANCING SIDE OR TOO MUCH ON THE DEVELOPMENT SIDE. I'VE ONLY DONE VERY SMALL PROJECTS, BUT ANECDOTALLY, I'M HEARING THROUGHOUT THE CITY THAT FROM OTHER DEVELOPERS AND RESIDENTS, THAT THESE PROJECTS SIMPLY JUST DON'T PENCIL, IF THEY CALL IT. AND I THINK THE EVIDENCE IS HOW FEW, IF ANY, ARE IN THE PIPELINE. WONDERFUL. UH, THANK YOU. UM, AND THEN, UM, I, I'M SORRY. UM, UH, I ALSO HAD A QUICK FOLLOW UP QUESTION. TO THAT POINT, YOU HAD MENTIONED THAT YOU THINK THAT DEVELOPERS, UM, BUILD OUT TO THE BIGGEST SIZE POSSIBLE BECAUSE THAT'S PROFIT MAXIMIZING FOR THEM. IS THAT CORRECT? ABSOLUTELY. UH, FOR MOST PROJECTS IN CAMBRIDGE NEW CONSTRUCTION, THE SALE PRICE IS A THOUSAND TO $1,500 A SQUARE FOOT. SO THAT'S THE VALUE OF EVERY SINGLE SQUARE FOOT OF, OF LIVING AREA AND DEVELOPERS THAT THEIR FIDUCIARY DUTY TO THEIR INVESTORS AND THEIR, THEIR LENDERS IS TO MAXIMIZE THE PROFIT. AND THEY, I THINK 95 CUSHING IS, IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THAT. THEIR, THEIR BUILDING AS HIGH AND AS DEEP AND AS WIDE AS THE ZONING WILL ALLOW THEM TO MAXIMIZE THEIR PROFIT. IN FACT, DEVELOPER POSTED ON FACEBOOK PROJECTED RESALE 16 MILLION POTENTIAL $9 MILLION PROFIT TO INVESTORS IN AN 18 MONTH EXECUTION WINDOW. I THINK THAT PROVES THE CASE RIGHT THERE. I AGREE. UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO START WITH THAT POINT, WHICH IS I THINK ALMOST EVERYONE ON THIS PANEL, EVERYONE IN THE AUDIENCE AGREES THAT THE INCLUSIONARY PROJECTS ARE NOT PENCILING. AND I THINK THAT KIND OF BRINGS US TO HOW DID WE LAND HERE? I THINK THAT I MYSELF WOULD HAVE, IN IDEAL CIRCUMSTANCES PASSED AS DIFFERENT ZONING ORDINANCE IN THE ONE WE HAD. BUT IF WE LOOK AT THE VALUES, WHICH COUNSELORS UI ALLUDED TO IN THE BEGINNING, IT WAS, WE WANT MORE HOUSING, BUT WE ALSO WANT MORE INCLUSIONARY ZONING. AND IN ORDER TO MAKE INCLUSIONARY ZONING ALMOST KIND OF PENCIL, WE WENT WITH THE SIX STORIES WITH A LOT OF DIMENSIONAL FLEXIBILITY. SINCE THEN, THE ECONOMY HAS GOTTEN EVEN WORSE, EVEN THOUGH SOME WERE SAYING THAT, OH, THE ECONOMY WAS TEMPORARY IN A BAD PLACE, BUT IT WAS GOING TO GET BETTER. INSTEAD IT GOT WORSE. AND NOW EVEN THOSE PROJECTS ARE BEING, UH, UH, SQUEEZED OUT. SO I THINK THAT AS WE'RE THINKING ABOUT ADDING MORE REQUIREMENTS, I THINK WE SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT DEVELOPERS ARE RIGHTFULLY BEING AS BUILD BIG AS THEY CAN TO MAKE THEIR PROJECTS AS PROFITABLE AS THEY CAN BE, AND YET THEY ARE STILL NOT PENCILING. AND SO IF WE WANT TO ADD MORE REQUIREMENTS, WHICH I AM OPEN TO, WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING ON THE OTHER END TO MAKE THESE BUILDINGS PENCIL, OTHERWISE WE WILL JUST GET MORE OF NOTHING, RIGHT? WE'LL HAVE THE IDEAL PROJECT THAT DOES NOT START CONSTRUCTION. UM, AND I THINK THAT'S A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT I FEAR. UM, I HAD TWO MORE QUICK QUESTIONS, UM, AND THEN, UH, I'LL WRAP THINGS UP. OKAY. LET'S, SO JASON, [01:40:01] VERY QUICK. I DIDN'T MAKE ANY, UH, STARTING REMARKS. I THINK I'M UNDER TIME. UM, JASON, UM, YOU JUST MENTIONED, UM, GOING THROUGH A SPECIAL PERMIT PROCESS IN THE PAST VERSUS, UM, BY, RIGHT. THAT WAS ONE OF THE BIG CHANGES THAT WE MADE IN OUR ZONING. COULD YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT DIFFERENCE OF THAT PROCESS? I THINK ONE QUESTION HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, IS SPECIAL PERMIT, LIKE A BETTER ANSWER WHERE YOU CAN GET COMMUNITY INPUT AND FEEDBACK AND STILL HAVE PROJECTS PENCIL AT THE OTHER END? UH, I MEAN, WE WILL, WE IN GENERAL WILL NOT DO A SPECIAL PERMIT PROCESS OR A, OR A CERTAINLY DEFINITELY NOT VARIANCES. UM, BUT EVEN SPECIAL PERMITS YOU CAN OR APPEALABLE AND THEY CAN TIE YOU UP FOREVER. SO IF YOU GOT, IF YOU HAD A PROJECT THAT GOT APPROVED IN 2022 OR 23 AND YOU GOT HELD UP IN COURT UNTIL 2025, YOUR PROJECT'S DEAD. AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, I THINK MOST OF US FEEL THE SAME WAY ACROSS THE INDUSTRY, EVEN THOUGH I'M AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPER, I'M VERY CONNECTED TO THE MARKET RATE WORLD, UM, FRIENDS WITH MOST OF THE LARGER MARKET RATE DEVELOPERS IN THE CITY. UM, AND THEY'RE, EVERYBODY'S LOOKING FOR THE EASY PLACE TO BUILD. I MEAN, I THINK THE GLOBE HAS DONE A GREAT JOB OF COVERING THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT CRITICIZING BOSTON, BUT FOLKS HAVE GONE UP TO LYNN AND REVERE, AND THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF THE MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IS HAPPENING BECAUSE THINGS ARE JUST EASIER UP THERE. UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S A, I THINK PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE THEY, EVERY, EVERYBODY THINKS DEVELOPERS HAVE ENDLESS POCKETS AND ENDLESS TIME AND ARE WILLING TO TAKE ENDLESS AMOUNTS OF RISK. AND IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER, . AND, YOU KNOW, IF YOU STEP BACK AND REALIZE LIKE, IT DOES MATTER, OUR TIME IS WORTH SOMETHING, OUR CAPITAL IS WORTH SOMETHING. UM, AND SO, UH, SO YEAH, I MEAN, AND I THINK THE GLOBE JUST RAN AN ARTICLE ABOUT AN INVESTOR, A LARGE INVESTOR WHO SAID HE'S NO LONGER GONNA BE INVESTING IN MASSACHUSETTS. UM, MOST OTHER FOLKS ARE ACTUALLY, I THINK, SCARED TO TALK TO THE GLOBE WHO JUST OPERATE LOCALLY. SO I THINK THERE'S A PARADIGM SHIFT RIGHT NOW THAT'S HAPPENING. UM, AND FOLKS ARE NOT JUST LOOKING AT LIKE, DO I LOOK AT WORCESTER OR CAMBRIDGE, BUT AM I GONNA GO TO NORTH CAROLINA OR AM I GONNA GO TO AUSTIN, OR AM I GONNA TO GO TO KNOXVILLE? UM, OR NASHVILLE? I MEANT TO SAY, UM, WHERE THEY WELCOME DEVELOPMENT . AND THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S THE BIG DISCUSSION THAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW. UM, IF WE WANT PRODUCTION AND WE CAN ALL SAY IT ALL LOOKS DIFFERENT TO DIFFERENT FOLKS. UM, BUT, BUT AS OF RIGHT, UH, REALLY I THINK IS IS IS THE ONLY WAY THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THINGS NOW. SO THANK YOU. I WANTED TO SAY THAT THIS IS EVEN FOR THE CASE FOR WHAT J UH, JASON IS BUILDING, WHICH IS A HUNDRED PERCENT AFFORDABLE BUILDING. SO ABOUT AS MUCH COMMUNITY SYMPATHY AND SUPPORT AS YOU CAN GET. EVEN THOSE PROJECTS ARE HARD WHEN THEY'RE NOT BY RIGHT. WHICH IS WHY THE A HO WAS SUCH A BIG DIFFERENCE. UM, I'LL JUST ADD, DO YOU MIND IF I JUST SAY, I MEAN, WE, WE WERE GONNA WALK AWAY FROM 2072 IF THE A HO DIDN'T WE, WE, YOU KNOW, WE COULD DO OTHER THINGS. , WE PERMITTED A PROJECT AND BUILT A PROJECT IN BRIDGEWATER. WE'RE ALMOST DONE WITH 54 APARTMENTS IN TEMPLETON RIGHT NOW. ALSO 90% AFFORDABLE. LIKE, WE COULD DO A LOT OF OTHER THINGS IN A LOT OF OTHER PLACES, . UM, AND IF IT WASN'T FOR THE A HOO, WE WOULD NOT BE DOING 2072. I CAN UNEQUIVOCALLY TELL YOU THAT RIGHT NOW. SO, WONDERFUL. UM, I JUST WANTED TO BRIEFLY END OFF WITH, UM, TIM, UM, I THOUGHT YOUR AMENDMENTS ARE LIKE WONDERFUL THINGS THAT WE SHOULD CONSIDER. I THINK THAT WE CAN TALK ABOUT DESIGN STANDARDS IN A FUTURE MEETING. UM, I THINK IT'S JUST, UH, UNFORTUNATE. 'CAUSE I THINK YOU LANDED SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE WHERE I THINK THE CONVERSATION A LITTLE BIT IS ABOUT LIKE, WAS THIS THE WRONG OR RIGHT THING TO DO? OR LIKE, SHOULD WE GO BACKWARDS OR THE OTHER WAY VERSUS LIKE, TECHNICAL TWEAKS THAT I REALLY DO APPRECIATE AS WELL. UM, AND THEN I KNOW FINALLY, UM, I SAID A TWO QUESTIONS. THE SECOND ONE WAS LIKE, I'VE BEEN JUST CURIOUS, I THINK THAT, UM, UH, MAGDA'S HAD HER HAND RAISED FOR A FEW MINUTES, AND I'M NOT SURE IF YOU CAN SEE THAT FROM YEAH, I WOULD, I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU TO FINISH SO I CAN CALL ON MAGDA AND FOR, UH, COLIN AYA. ALL RIGHT. I WILL YIELD THEN. THANK YOU. OKAY. UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND I JUST WANTED TO ALSO MAKE A CLARIFICATION, WHICH IS, I THINK ONE OF THE REASONS THE SIX STORY PROJECTS MAY NOT HAVE ADVANCED IS 'CAUSE I THINK DEVELOPERS ARE WAITING TO SEE WHETHER THE COUNCIL WILL LOWER THE INCLUSIONARY RATE. UM, SO, UH, SO WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT THAT WHEN IN JUNE, WHEN WILL WE HEAR BACK FROM THE CONSULTANT? UH, MELISSA, WILL THAT BE JUNE, JULY SOMETIME? THIS, THIS SUMMER. THIS SUMMER? OKAY. UM, MAGDA, WE'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. YES, ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, I JUST WANTED TO ADD A COUPLE COMMENTS TO MY EARLIER, UH, SORT OF INTERVENTION JUST TO KIND OF REINFORCE, UH, MANY OF THE COMMENTS THAT MY FELLOW PANELISTS HAVE BEEN, UH, PRESENTING. SO FIRST I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT MY EMPHASIS ON SUPPLY AND AFFORDABILITY REALLY WAS BASED ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT THESE WERE THE METRICS THAT WE WERE DISCUSSING TODAY. AND SO THAT WE NEEDED TO SORT OF REINFORCE HOW, UM, MEASURABLE THEY ARE AND HOW IMPORTANT THEY CAN BE. UM, AND IN NO WAY WAS I SUGGESTING THAT DISCUSSING OTHER ESSENTIAL TWEAKS, YOU KNOW, THAT CAN STRENGTHEN, UM, THE REFORM OUR WAY OF WATERING DOWN, UM, [01:45:01] THE FRAMEWORK. UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO UNDERSCORE THAT I THINK I, I LANDED IN THE MIDDLE OF, UM, UM, UM, DISCUSSIONS AROUND TWEAKS ARE ESSENTIAL AND VERY IMPORTANT. MY SECOND COMMENT WAS ABOUT, UH, THE COMPARISON WITH LARGER CITIES. I ABSOLUTELY UNDERSTAND, I ABSOLUTELY AGREE. UM, THEY ARE NOT NECESSARILY AS COMPARABLE TO CAMBRIDGE, AND I WANTED TO SORT OF SPECIFY WHAT I SEE BY THIS COMPARISON. I THINK THEY ARE IMPORTANT STILL TO CONSIDER BECAUSE THEY ARE UNDERGOING SIMILAR ZONING REFORMS. THEY ARE SIMILARLY HOT HOUSING MARKETS. UH, AND SO THE RESULTS, UM, ARE ALSO WHEN YOU LOOK AT BIG HOT HOUSING MARKETS, UM, THEY JUST UNDERSCORE HOW DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT THE YIELD CAN BE, YOU KNOW, BASED ON THE STRENGTH AND IMPORTANCE OF IMPLEMENTATION VERSUS SORT OF PEOPLE, UM, AND, UH, INSTITUTIONS, UM, UH, AND STAKEHOLDERS SORT OF PUSHING BACK AGAINST IT. THAT WAS MORE JUST, UH, MAKING THAT DATA SORT OF DRAMATIC AND EVIDENT. UH, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, YOU'RE RIGHT, THAT IMPACTS OF SUCH REFORMS IN, YOU KNOW, CITIES OF SIMILAR SIZE SHOULD ALSO BE ADDED TO THE MIX. AND IN THAT SENSE, WE HAVE GOOD NEWS, UH, BECAUSE THEY ARE, UM, UH, SHOWING THAT THERE'S A LOT OF IMPACT, UM, AND, AND, AND GOOD POSITIVE YIELD TO MULTIFAMILY ZONING REFORM. AND I CAN CITE EXAMPLES. UM, UM, AND APOLOGIES, SORRY FOR THE BACKGROUND. AS I SAID EARLIER, I AM A PARENT, SO I'M ALSO DOING DOUBLE DUTY AS I, UH, PRESENT THIS PRESENTATION. UM, MY LAST COMMENT WAS ALSO ABOUT DESIGN STANDARDS. UM, THESE ARE ESSENTIAL, UM, I WANNA ECHO MY SENIOR COLLEAGUES, UM, UM, WHO HAVE BEEN PRESENTING MUCH BETTER THAN ME, UH, THESE ELEMENTS TODAY. I DIDN'T SORT OF ADD THAT I, I STILL PRESENTED A RECOMMENDATION AT THE END OF MY, UH, SUGGESTED LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS TO SAY THAT THEY SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT. UM, BEFORE I WAS A PROUD CAMBRIDGE RESIDENT, I WAS ALSO A PLANNER. I WAS ACTUALLY IN EUROPE WORKING FOR, UH, THE CITY OF PARIS UNDER MAYOR, AN D**O WHO IS EXTREMELY WELL KNOWN FOR HER, UM, UM, I WANNA SAY PORTFOLIO OF REALLY SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIES FOR DEVELOPING AFFORDABLE HOUSING THAT IN A CONTEXT THAT WAS EXTREMELY CONSTRAINED BY HISTORIC PRESERVATION MEASURES, BY THE SORT OF PUSHING AGAINST POSSIBILITIES OF, OR, OR, OR SORT OF, UM, UM, UM, RESPONSES THAT WOULD JUST BE BIG BLOCKS OR THINGS THAT HAVE ZERO CONSIDERATION FOR DESIGN. BUT INSTEAD, UH, UM, WE REALLY, UH, TRIED TO PUT DESIGN STANDARDS AT THE CENTER OF EVERY INFILL DENSIFICATION, EVERY PROJECT POSSIBLE, UM, AS WELL AS IN A SORT OF LAND USE REFORM THAT COVERED THE ENTIRE CITY. SO I THINK THERE IS ROOM THERE FOR THE TWEAKS THAT WERE MENTIONED, UH, BY TIM, UH, BY GARY. UM, ALL THE CONSIDERATIONS ARE ESSENTIAL TO MAKING THIS FRAMEWORK STILL ROBUST AND, YOU KNOW, NOT WORKED DOWN, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, UH, INCLUDING THESE ELEMENTS. I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY. THANK YOU. YEAH, THANK YOU SO MUCH. MAGDA. UM, AYA, UH, OH, I'M SORRY. UH, COUNSELOR ZUBIE, THANK YOU. THROUGH YOU CHAIR. IT'S BEEN AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION. I KNOW ONE OF THE THINGS I'M TAKING AWAY FROM THIS AT THE VERY END OF THE DAY IS ONE, THE INCLUSIONARY ZONING PIECE IS DEFINITELY GONNA BE REALLY RELEVANT TO THE CONVERSATION AS WE'RE SEEING SOME DEVELOPMENT IS MOVING, IS IS BEING DISCUSSED WITHOUT INCLUSIONARY ZONING. AND I UNDERSTAND THAT DEVELOPERS RIGHT NOW ARE NAVIGATING COMPLEX FINANCIAL CALCULATIONS FOR EVERY PROJECT. AND THE REALITY IS, TO SOME EXTENT, WE WOULDN'T BE SEEING DEVELOPERS BUILDING AT ALL IN THESE AREAS DEPENDING ON WHAT REQUIREMENTS WE'RE PUTTING. AND YET WE'RE STILL SEEING DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS PUT ON THE GROUND. IT'S JUST A MATTER OF WHAT WE'RE SAYING IS GONNA BE REQUIRED WITHIN OUR CITY AND, AND WHAT'S NOT. AND THAT BEING THE FOUR SIX STORY DIFFERENCE. BUT THE QUESTION I'M KIND OF SITTING WITH NOW IS I'M CURIOUS TO HEAR FROM PEOPLE'S PERSPECTIVE ON BEYOND THESE LIKE IMMEDIATE ACUTE CONCERNS AROUND THE ENVIRONMENT OR PARKING. WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS ZONING CHANGE REVEALS ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY'S LONG-TERM VISION FOR DEVELOPMENT? I MEAN, I, UM, THAT'S RIGHT. THE, THIS, THE CITY STAFF HAS COMMISSIONED A, A A LOOK AT THE INCLUSIONARY ZONING REQUIREMENTS IN TODAY'S CLIMATE, RIGHT? IS THAT WHAT YOU WERE REFERRING TO, MELISSA? OKAY. I I THINK ONE ANSWER TO THE ISSUES THAT HAVE COME UP IS THAT, UH, YOU HAVE A LIVING LABORATORY FOR DIFFERENT HEIGHT BUILDINGS LIVING FAIRLY WELL NEXT TO EACH OTHER AT THE CORNER OF INMAN AND HARVARD STREETS. IF YOU STAND AT THE CORNER OF INMAN AND HARVARD STREET, VERY CLOSE TO THE CITY HALL ANNEX, THERE'S A, UM, A TWO FAMILY CONVERTED FEDERAL ERA HOUSE ON ONE INTERSECTION. THERE'S A FOUR STORY BRICK, 1920S APARTMENT BUILDING RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET. THERE'S A FUNKY 1980S TOWNHOUSE DEVELOPMENT WITH WOOD CLADDING THAT RUNS AT 90 DEGREES TO THE STREET IS A 1960S SLAB BUILDING JUST TWO PARCELS IN. AND THOSE ALL HAPPILY COEXIST WITH EACH OTHER. SO ONE THING THAT MIGHT BE INTERESTING FOR THE STAFF TO DO, OR YOUR CONSULTANTS WOULD BE TO MEASURE THE SETBACKS AND THE MAXIMUM FACADE LENGTHS OF THOSE EXAMPLES [01:50:01] BECAUSE, UM, THE SLAB BUILDING ISN'T FIVE FEET AWAY FROM THE PROPERTY LINE. IT'S PROBABLY 25 FEET AWAY. THE FOUR STORY CLASSIC CAMBRIDGE BRICK APARTMENT BUILDING DOES HAVE A FIVE FOOT SETBACK, BUT THE MAXIMUM FACADE LENGTHS OF THOSE BUILDINGS, UM, IS PROBABLY AT THE MOST 45 OR 50 FEET. ALL THE DIMENSIONS THAT MIGHT BE THE RECIPE FOR THE DIMENSIONAL STANDARDS ARE RIGHT HERE AVAILABLE TO YOU AS A LI LABORATORY OF THE PREZONING AREA ERA, PRE 19, MID 19, LATE 1970S WHEN ALL OF THIS STUFF WAS LIVING CHEEK TO JOWL IN A RELATIVELY HAPPY COEXISTENCE. SO I, I DO THINK THAT FOUR STORY, SIX STORY BUILDINGS CAN COEXIST, BUT MAYBE THE SETBACK REQUIREMENTS SHOULD BE DIFFERENT FROM THOSE BIG BUILDINGS. MAYBE THERE'S A MAXIMUM FACADE LENGTH FOR THE SIDE LOT LINE SO THAT IT'S NOT THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE PROPERTY. AND I, UH, I DON'T THINK THAT THOSE TWEAKS AND LIMITING A CURB CUT TO JUST, UM, A ONE WAY 12 FOOT WIDE DRIVEWAY, UM, IS GONNA CONFOUND THE MARKET. THE MARKET WILL VERY CLEVERLY FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAXIMIZE THE NEW RULES. AND I DON'T THINK I, I THINK I, I TRULY THINK THAT YOU'LL GET MORE DEVELOPMENT, UM, BECAUSE, UH, DEVELOPERS WON'T BE AFRAID THAT THE VERY NEXT LOT IS GONNA BE A CONTINUOUS SIX FOOT WALL THAT'S FIVE FEET AWAY. SO I THINK THAT, UM, UH, I, I, I THINK IF YOU TRULY WANT TO MAXIMIZE REDEVELOPMENT, YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THE DIMENSIONAL STANDARDS DON'T LIMIT THE POSSIBILITY OF THE PROPERTY NEXT DOOR ALSO BEING REDEVELOPED. I MEAN, THAT, THAT'S A VERY, UH, PRO HOUSING WAY TO MAKE A CASE FOR, UM, MAYBE STIRRING IN SOME MORE DESIGN STANDARDS, UM, MAYBE, WHICH DIDN'T AT ALL COUNSELOR ANSWER YOUR QUESTION. BUT, UH, IF, IF YOU WERE GONNA ASK ME WHAT I THINK THE BIGGEST ISSUE IS, I WOULD SAY THAT THANK YOU. THAT'S HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND. I, I THINK JUST GENERALLY TOO MIGHT BE HELPFUL FOR US TO ALSO CONSIDER HOW WE'RE START, WE'RE DEFINING SOME OF THESE THINGS LIKE AFFORDABILITY AND HOW WE NAVIGATE THEM. I KNOW IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS BROUGHT UP AT A, AT THE PREVIOUS HEARING, UM, BUT I'LL YIELD FOR NOW. THANK YOU. UH, THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH. UM, SO, UM, MAYOR SIDIKI, UM, COUNCILOR SIMMONS, COUNCILOR SABRINA WHEELER. DO YOU HAVE ANY, UH, QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? COUNSELOR SIMMONS AND COUNSELOR SABRINA WHEELER, NO LONGER ON THE ZOOM. UH, YOU DO HAVE JASON KB AND MAYOR SIDIKI WITH THEIR HAND RAISED. OKAY. SO, UH, UH, MAYOR SIDIKI, AND ACTUALLY BEFORE YOU START, I THINK WE NEED TO EXTEND THIS MEETING BY MAYBE 10 MINUTES. WOULD EVERYBODY BE OPEN TO STAYING HERE TILL FIVE 10? OKAY. SO I MAKE A MOTION THAT WE EXTEND THE MEETING TILL FIVE 10. COUNCILOR ZUBI? YES. YES. VICE MAYOR. YES. YES. COUNCILOR FLAHERTY? YES. YES. COUNCILOR NOLAN? YES. YES. COUNCILOR ZUI? YES. UH, FOR THE HOUSING COMMITTEE. COUNCILOR ZUBIE? YES. YES. VICE MAYOR ZE? YES. YES. COUNCILOR SIMMONS IS ABSENT. COUNCILLOR SAPRINA WHEELER IS ABSENT. COUNCILLOR ZUI. YES. IT'S THREE MEMBERS VOTING. YES. EXCELLENT. MAYOR, UM, SIDIKI. HI. THANK YOU. UH, YEAH, I'VE BEEN LISTENING THE WHOLE TIME. I REALLY, UM, WANNA THANK THE, THE SPEAKERS WHO CAME AND SHARED THEIR, UM, PERSPECTIVE. UH, I'LL JUST SAY, UM, YOU KNOW, FROM MY END, I THINK SOME OF WHAT'S BEEN COMPTED ON, ON AROUND THE TWEAKS AND, UM, DESIGN STANDARDS AND ZONING AND, AND GUIDELINES AND ZONING AND SO FORTH, I'M OPEN TO, AND SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK TO MELISSA'S ORIGINAL QUESTION OF WHAT DOES THE COUNCIL WANT TO SEE, I MEAN, I THINK FROM MY END, I'M CURIOUS AROUND, UM, THE CDD TEAM TAKING IN SOME OF WHAT'S, UM, BEEN DISCUSSED AS POSSIBLE, YOU KNOW, INQUIRIES THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE DISCUSS FURTHER. UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK I'M, I'M SUPPORTIVE OF THAT, UM, AS WE THINK ABOUT HOW THIS, UH, UNFOLDS. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE SEE THE RESULTS AND SO FORTH. SO I JUST WANTED TO PUT THAT ON, UH, AND SAY THAT, BUT APPRECIATE THE, THE DISCUSSION. THANK YOU. UH, THANK, THANK YOU. AND, UH, JASON, DID YOU WANNA ADD SOMETHING? SURE. I JUST WANTED TO MENTION DESIGN STANDARDS. I, I'M PERSONALLY A HUGE PROPONENT OF DESIGN STANDARDS. UM, I THINK A LOT OF THE NEGATIVE FEEDBACK THAT DEVELOPERS [01:55:01] GET IS BECAUSE THE NUMBER OF COLLEAGUES IN MY FIELD BUILD THINGS THAT ARE PRETTY HORRIBLE, LOOKING, HONESTLY, WITH MATERIALS THAT YOU WOULDN'T WANT NEXT DOOR TO YOUR HOUSE. I ALWAYS, I ALWAYS THOUGHT, I ALWAYS ASK, WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A FOUR STORY HORRIBLE LOOKING BUILDING NEXT DOOR TO YOU THAT IS BUILT WITH LOW QUALITY MATERIALS, A REALLY ELEGANT SIX STORY BUILDING NEXT DOOR TO YOU WITH HIGH QUALITY MATERIALS? AND I THINK MOST PEOPLE, AND NOT EVERYBODY, OF COURSE, BUT I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE WOULD SAY, I WANT THAT ELEGANT BUILDING NEXT DOOR. SO I THINK, UM, I THINK IF, IF PART OF THIS PROCESS IS A, UH, PROMOTING DESIGN STANDARDS, I WOULD BE A HUGE PROPONENT OF THAT. UM, I WOULD SAY KEEPING THEM FLEXIBLE TO SOME DEGREE. WE'VE PERMITTED PROJECTS UNDER 40 R, WHICH ALSO HAS DESIGN GUIDELINES, WHICH ARE MANDATORY, I THINK KEEPING THEM OUT OF THE ZONING, BUT HAVING THE ZONING REFER TO THEM BECAUSE EVERY SITE AND EVERY PROJECT IS UNIQUE. UM, BUT THAT IN ORDER TO DEVIATE FROM THE DESIGN STANDARDS, THE APPLICABLE BOARD WOULD HAVE TO APPROVE IT, RIGHT? UM, UH, THE OTHER THING I WOULD SAY IS THAT CAMBRIDGE PROBABLY HAS THE MOST SOPHISTICATED DESIGN AND PLANNING STAFF I THINK I'VE EVER SEEN IN 20, GOD, I DON'T KNOW, 24 YEARS OF WORKING IN THIS FIELD. UM, AND THEY BRING A LOT OF, LIKE, I WOULD SAY, NONPARTISAN INSIGHT INTO HOW CAN YOU CREATE THE HIGHEST QUALITY BUILDING POSSIBLE? THAT LOOKS GREAT. UM, AND SO USING BOTH YOUR BOARDS AS WELL AS YOUR PLANNING AND DESIGN STAFF TO ENFORCE THE GUIDELINES IN A, IN A WAY THAT SUPPORTS EACH SITE INDIVIDUALLY, I WOULD SAY WOULD BE A NET POSITIVE HERE. UM, AND I WISH NEWTON HAD ACTUALLY HAD SINGLE FAMILY ZONING, UH, DESIGN GUIDELINES BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MANY HORRIBLE, IN MY OPINION, SO MANY HORRIBLE LOOKING SINGLE FAMILY HOMES. UM, AND IT'S REALLY CHANGED THE CITY IN AN ADVERSE WAY. SO, AND I THINK NOW IN RETROSPECT, THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT THERE IS TRYING TO LOOK AT, AT DESIGN STANDARDS TO CORRECT WITH A, A LOT OF THE ILLS, UM, THAT HAVE BEEN BUILT ACROSS OUR CITY. SO, UH, THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH, JASON. I WANTED TO ASK, UM, TIM, AND WELL ALL THREE OF YOU HERE, UM, MORE ABOUT THE PARKING IDEA. SO IF WE DIDN'T WANNA HAVE EXTREME MULLETS OR MULLETS WITH PARKING, IF WE DIDN'T WANT PARKING, AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW THAT WORKS OUT, HOW CAN PEOPLE DO PARKING WHEN THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE A 10 FOOT SETBACK? ISN'T THAT SUPPOSED TO BE GREEN OPEN SPACE? I REALIZE THEY CAN USE THE ROOF AND BALCONIES, BUT I, UM, ANYWAY, I, I'M WONDERING WHAT WOULD BE BETTER, WHAT COULD WE DO, UM, AND WHAT CAN WE DO? WELL, I DON'T, I, I DON'T KNOW. UM, UNDER THE CURRENT ZONING, HOW THAT EXAMPLE I HAD, UM, WAS ABLE TO RUN THAT WHOLE PARKING APRON ACROSS THE SIDEWALK AS A BIG WIDE CURB CUT. AND SO, UM, IN THE ZONING THAT WE WRITE, UM, YOU CAN ONLY HAVE A DRIVEWAY IN THE FRONTAGE ZONE, YOU KNOW, FROM THE FACE OF THE BUILDING OUT TO THE, TO THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE STREET. AND, UM, UH, UH, UNLESS YOU EXCEED IN MOST OF THE ZONING, WE WRITE 30 UNITS, THAT DRIVEWAY CAN ONLY BE, UM, UH, 10 FEET WIDE AS A KIND OF ONE WAY TO GET IN AND OUT, WHICH IS, IF YOU LOOK AT THE PATTERN OF EXISTING BUILDINGS, THAT'S HOW WIDE THE DRIVEWAYS ARE. AND THEN TYPICALLY EVEN BEYOND THE FRONTAGE ZONE, THERE'S ANOTHER ZONE OF PLANTING BEFORE YOU'RE ALLOWED TO HAVE, UH, PARKING AT ALL. AND SO THAT WOULD BE A MUCH BETTER EXAMPLE IF THERE WAS A NARROW DRIVEWAY TO, TO, TO, FOR CARS TO MOVE ACROSS THE FRONTAGE ZONE AND ANOTHER FIVE FOOT STRIP. AND THEN THE PARKING AT LEAST WAS, UH, BACKING OFF. BUT, UH, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WORKED ON IN NEWTON WAS TO DISALLOW, UM, THOSE BIG WIDE KIND OF PARKING APRONS THAT, THAT WE SAW IN THAT ONE EXAMPLE I SHOWED. SO I, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING, IF IT'S NOT EXPLICIT ON THE CODE, COULD BE SOMETHING THAT COULD BE TRIAGED RIGHT AWAY BECAUSE TO, AGAIN, TO, TO THAT, THAT'S GONNA BE A VERY POPULAR SOLUTION FOR THESE CONDO PROJECTS BECAUSE YOU WANT THE ENTIRE FIVE FOOT FROM THE REAR SETBACK, FIVE FROM THE SIDE SETBACK, BULK FOR THE HOUSING, UH, YOU WANNA LIMIT, THEN THE DEVELOPER WANTS TO LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF DRIVEWAY, AND SO THEY'RE GONNA TEND TO PUSH AS THE PARKING AS CLOSE TO THE FRONT AS POSSIBLE, JUST REVERSE ENGINEERING KIND OF VALUE LOGIC. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? SADLY, IT MAKES SENSE. , UH, GARY, DO YOU HAVE ANY ALTERNATIVE IDEAS AS WELL? UM, I, I'M, I'M NOT OPPOSED TO THE, UM, NO PARKING REQUIREMENT FOR SOMETHING OF ONE OR TWO UNITS IN SCALE. IT MAKES SENSE TO ME, YOU KNOW, THAT VERY FEW PEOPLE UNDER 35 OWN A CAR RIGHT NOW. AND I THINK THAT'S A TREND THAT, UH, AND ONE OF THE REASONS TO LIVE IN CAMBRIDGE IS TO BE CLOSE TO TRANSPORTATION. I WALK EVERYWHERE. [02:00:02] UM, MY WIFE AND I WALK, I DON'T USE MY CAR ALL DURING THE WEEK, AND I, THAT'S A WAY OF LIVING. UM, AND SO I, I, I BELIEVE IN, UM, THE NON LACK OF PARKING REQUIREMENT, WHEN IT GETS TO ABOUT FOUR UNITS, I'D SAY IT BECOMES PROBLEMATIC. AND NOW YOU'RE TAKING SPACE ON THE STREET FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE LIVED THERE FOR A LONG TIME. UM, AS FAR AS THE SETBACK GOES, A 10 FOOT WIDE SETBACK JUST ISN'T GONNA GET YOU ANY PARKING, RIGHT? SO THAT'S A SIMPLE CONUNDRUM THAT MATH DOESN'T WORK. UM, SO I THINK THERE'S PROBABLY A FORMULA, AND I WOULD ADVOCATE THAT THE DRIVEWAY SHOULD NEVER BE MORE THAN 10 FEET WIDE. UM, AND A, A DOUBLE OR A TRIPLE CURB CUT IS A REAL INTRUSION ON A NEIGHBORHOOD. UH, THANK YOU. AND DO YOU HAVE ANY, UM, FEEDBACK, ANY OF YOU ABOUT, UM, SETBACKS? WHAT, WHAT APPROPRIATE SETBACKS MIGHT BE? I MEAN, I, UM, I, I THINK IN A WAY DRAWING THROUGH SOME OPTIONS MAKES SENSE. BUT FOR EXAMPLE, LET, LET'S LEAVE THE FIVE FOOT SETBACK IN PLACE FOR NOW. UM, IT SEEMS THAT A LOT OF THE IMPACTS OF THE NEW PROJECTS THAT I LOOKED AT FROM THE, THE PHOTOS THAT YOUR TEAM HAS BEEN COLLECTING, UM, IS REALLY ABOUT THE SIDE WALL IN RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING PROPERTIES. AND SO IS THERE A RULE THAT, UM, THE, THE, THE SIDE OF A BUILDING CAN ONLY MEET UP TO, IF YOU TAKE THE WHOLE SIDE SETBACK, WHAT IF ONLY 50% OF, UH, STRUCTURES THAT ARE BUILT CAN MEET, CAN BE AT THAT FIVE FEET? UM, AND THE REST HAVE TO BE PUSHED BACK IN AN ADDITIONAL 10 FEET AND SO SUDDENLY YOU DON'T HAVE A WALL, YOU HAVE INS AND OUTS THAT, THAT BETTER, UM, THAT BETTER MAP THE WAY THE PRE-WAR APARTMENT BUILDINGS TEND TO FACE THE SETBACKS, THE, THOSE GAPS IN THE WALL OF THE SETBACK ARE BECAUSE OF THE LIGHT COURTS THAT WERE REQUIRED BEFORE AIR CONDITIONING AND, AND, YOU KNOW, CHEAP ELECTRICITY. SO YOU COULD, I THINK, DESIGN A FRONTAGE BUILD TO MAXIMUM ALLOWANCE THAT MIGHT SAY SOMETHING LIKE ONLY 50% OF THE SIDE LOT LINE CAN BE BUILT TO, UM, AND NO FACADE CAN BE LONGER THAN 40 FEET. I JUST MADE SOMETHING UP. AND SO YOU THEN, BUT THE MARKET CAN THEN DECIDE HOW THEY'RE GOING TO MOVE THAT FACADE IN AND OUT. AND THAT'S A MUCH BETTER FACE TO HAVE THAN ONE WALL. THAT'S ALONG THE, I MEAN, I JUST MADE THAT UP, BUT WHAT YOU TEND TO DO IS YOU DRAW THROUGH EXAMPLES ON TYPICAL LOTS AND SEE WHAT THE, WHAT THE IMPLICATIONS ARE FOR DEVELOPMENT AREA AND, UM, THE KIND OF CHARACTERISTICS THAT RESULT. BUT I, I THINK THE BEST DESIGN STANDARDS ARE THOUGHT THROUGH AS A, WHAT IF THEY'RE TESTED. UM, PEOPLE GENERALLY SAY THAT FEELS ABOUT RIGHT WITHOUT TAKING TOO MUCH OF THE DEVELOPMENT AREA AWAY, AND YOU TRY IT FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS AND IF PEOPLE DON'T LIKE IT, YOU CHANGE THE ZONING. THAT'S NOT, I'M NOT TRYING TO, TO MAKE MY CONSULTING PRACTICE MORE SUCCESSFUL, BUT I I THINK WE HANG ON TO ZONING FOR TOO LONG INSTEAD OF TRYING IT FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS, THEN TWEAKING IT ONCE WE SEE WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES ARE, ESPECIALLY FOR AS A RIGHT. ZONING. SO I HAVE A PERSPECTIVE ON SETBACKS MORE AS A RESIDENT. EXCUSE ME. IT'S ON, IT'S ON. OKAY. THIS IS MORE AS A RESIDENT OF THE BALDWIN NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE THERE'S JUST BEEN A, A HISTORY OF FLOODING. THERE WAS A HUGE FLOOD CONTROL SYSTEM PUT IN ABOUT 25 YEARS AGO, BUT IT DOESN'T ALWAYS WORK. UH, SO SETBACKS AFFECT PERMEABLE SURFACES AND FLOODING. I AM CON VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE PROJECTS ON WENDELL STREET. I UNDERSTAND THE GOALS OF A HO, BUT TO FILL UP THOSE LOTS AND HAVE NO PERMEABLE SURFACES IS ONLY GONNA MAKE THE PROBLEM MUCH WORSE. SO I THINK THAT THE, UH, CURRENT MULTIFAMILY ZONING DOES NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES. AND ALSO THE, THE HUGE ISSUE OF, UH, SOLAR PANEL, UH, BLOCKAGE. THE CITY ENCOURAGED HOMEOWNERS TO PUT UP SOLAR PANELS AND WITH, WITH INADEQUATE SETBACKS AND, AND, UH, THE, THE SQUARE ROOFS, FOR EXAMPLE, AT, I TALKED TO THE OWNER OF, UH, 99 DASH 1 0 1 CUSHING STREET, AND HER SOUTH FACING SOLAR PANELS WOULD BE COMPLETELY BLOCKED BY THE NEW DEVELOPMENT AT 95 CUSHING. BUT IT SEEMS LIKE [02:05:01] THERE HASN'T BEEN PROGRESS IN THE CITY COUNCIL WITH ADDRESSING THAT ISSUE. THAT'S MY PERSPECTIVE. MAY I ADD? YEAH. YES. AND THEN WE NEED TO FINISH UP. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, JUST TO STAY ON THE, ON THE SIDE YARD SETBACK, UH, AND THINKING VERY PRACTICALLY, UM, I HAVE, AS I MENTIONED, 7.5 FEET ON THE NORTH SIDE. I ALSO HAVE A HEAT PUMP, THE BASE OF WHICH IS THREE FEET SQUARE. AND I HAVE TWO WINDOW WELLS, WHICH ARE ESCAPE ROUTE FROM MY BASEMENT. UM, THAT MEANS I HAVE TWO FEET LEFT. OKAY. SORRY. I HAVE, I HAVE A 12 INCH PATH AND I HAVE, SORRY, THAT'S 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. I HAVE THREE FEET OF PLANTING ZONE. MY HUNCH IS THAT IF DEVELOPERS, I REALLY ENDORSE WHAT TIM SAID ABOUT MODULATING THAT AND, AND INCREASING IT FUNDAMENTALLY, BUT I BELIEVE YOU'RE GONNA GET PAVED ALLEYWAYS. UM, AND THAT MEANS WE'RE GONNA HAVE FAR GREATLY REDUCED PERMEABILITY. UM, YOU KNOW HOW BIG THE BIN IS FOR RECYCLING, RIGHT? WHERE DOES IT GO IN A FIVE FOOT SETBACK? IT'S TAKING UP A LITTLE MORE THAN HALF OF THE SETBACK TO STORE. AND IF IT'S FOUR UNITS, THERE'S FOUR OF 'EM. SO JUST THINKING PRACTICALLY THAT SETBACK IS NOT WORKING. THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE TODAY. THE TIME OF OUR MEETING HAS EXPIRED. UM, I, I THINK, DO WE NEED TO DO A ROLL CALL? OKAY. OKAY. OKAY. THE TIME OF THE MEETING HAS EXPIRED. WE THANK YOU ALL FOR PARTICIPATING IN IT. THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR WISDOM. THANK YOU FOR GUIDING US CITY STAFF, UM, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE, TO CONTINUE THIS CONVERSATION. UM, THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.