City Council - Regular Meeting

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AI Disclaimer: Summaries and transcripts above were created by various AI tools. By their nature, these tools will produce mistakes and inaccuraies. Links to the official meeting recordings are provided for verification. If you find an error, please report it to somervillecivicpulse at gmail dot com.

Meeting Title: City Council - Regular Meeting
City: Cambridge, MA
Date Published: 2025-09-29

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AI Disclaimer: Summaries and transcripts above were created by various AI tools. By their nature, these tools will produce mistakes and inaccuraies. Links to the official meeting recordings are provided for verification. If you find an error, please report it to somervillecivicpulse at gmail dot com.

Time & Speaker	Transcript
SPEAKER_39	Yeah, so thank you for sending that message to me.
SPEAKER_40	So I'm going to cut it down. Yeah, we'll meet. No, no, she hasn't seen me. But thank you for saying she hasn't seen me. But I'm not going to do any numbers. I'm not going to do any numbers. I'm not going to do any numbers. So as soon as she gets here, I'll pay her for you. Thank you. Okay.
SPEAKER_42	Thank you. Okay, great. Hi. It's going up. Come on.
SPEAKER_41	Thank you.
SPEAKER_42	Thank you. Yeah.
SPEAKER_43	Yeah.
SPEAKER_42	Yeah.
SPEAKER_43	Here's some friends.
SPEAKER_38	Right.
Unknown Speaker	Right.
SPEAKER_38	No, that's why
SPEAKER_41	It does.
SPEAKER_38	I don't, you know, if you were.
SPEAKER_13	Thank you.
SPEAKER_42	It's a percentage of our revenue.
SPEAKER_38	And then of that revenue, of that percentage, we pay a portion of it directly to the city.
SPEAKER_42	And we pay a portion of it to . And then .
SPEAKER_41	Oh, yeah.
Unknown Speaker	Yeah.
SPEAKER_43	Thank you.
SPEAKER_42	Thank you.
SPEAKER_41	That's part of humanity.
SPEAKER_42	Well, and that's the reason I meant the lip.
SPEAKER_38	I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_42	I just think it's worth it.
SPEAKER_41	Thank you.
SPEAKER_44	Thank you.
Marc McGovern	Good evening everyone, a quorum being present. I call tonight's meeting of September 29th, 2025, regular meeting of the Cambridge City Council to order. Mayor Simmons will be here later. There's a school committee round table tonight until 8 PM, and she will be joining us sometime after that. Until then, I will be in the chair. The first order of business is a roll call of the members present. Madam Clerk.
SPEAKER_36	Councilor Azeem. Absent. Vice Mayor McGovern. Present. Present. Councilor Nolan. Present. Present. Councilor Siddiqui. Present. Present. Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Present. Present. Councilor Toner. Present. Present. Councilor Wilson. Councilor Wilson. Absent. Councilor Zusy. Present. Present. Mayor Simmons. Absent. And you have seven members?
SPEAKER_26	I'm sorry. Unfortunately, if you can do that again, the chamber was muted. We're unmuted now.
SPEAKER_36	Okay. Okay. Councillor Azeem. Absent. Vice Mayor McGovern. Still present. Still present. Councillor Nolan. Present. Present. Councillor Siddiqui.
Sumbul Siddiqui	Present.
SPEAKER_36	Present. Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Present. Present. Councillor Toner. Present. Present. Councillor Wilson. Present. Present. Councilor Zusy? Present. Present. Mayor Simmons? Absent. You have seven members recorded as present and two recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Thank you, Madam Clerk. If willing and able, please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence.
Sumbul Siddiqui	Pledge of Allegiance. Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States.
SPEAKER_22	The liberty and justice for all.
Marc McGovern	Pursuant to Chapter 2 of the Acts of 2025, adopted by the Massachusetts General Court and approved by the governor, the city is authorized to use remote participation at meetings of the Cambridge City Council. In addition to having members of the council participate remotely, we have also set up Zoom teleconference for public comment. You can also view the meeting via the city's open meeting portal or on the city's cable channel 22. To speak during public comment, you must sign up at cambridgema.gov slash public comment. You can also email written comments for the record to the city clerk at cityclerkatcambridgema.gov. We welcome your participation and you can sign up for public comment until 6 p.m. 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. So we have more than 20 people signed up for public comment. a total of 38. So public comment may be made in accordance with the Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 30A, Section 20G, and City Council Rules 23D and 37. Once you have finished speaking, the next speaker will be called. Individuals are not permitted to allocate the remainder of their time to other speakers. Please state your name and address for the record and the item you are speaking on. Given that there are 38 speakers who have signed up, each speaker will have two minutes to speak. We will get started with that right now. Ms. Steffen, would you call?
SPEAKER_26	Our first speaker is Aya Al-Zubi, followed by Dan Totten, then Jesse Bear. Aya, two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_12	Good evening, Aya here, I use the SheHer series and I live in Cambridgeport. I'm here to support PO2 and ask you to support taking the steps forward to build social housing in Cambridge. The city has made strides on the affordable housing overlay and the affordable housing trust, yet the scale of our housing crisis demands bold and new approaches to housing production. Social housing gives us that powerful tool to respond because it produces deeply affordable homes that remain affordable. What sets social housing apart is that it remains under public control and not for for-profit development. So instead of being driven by maximizing profit, the goal is to provide permanent, stable housing that meets the needs of our residents. it also supports mixed income developments which help create more integrated and inclusive neighborhoods and we need more community building in our city so unlike other models social housing will also allow for more tenant and community input on top of supporting integration it's also just a smart investment our city has a triple a bond rating so let's leverage it for our community And we can show what it looks like when a city commits to housing as a public good. We definitely need this. I yield.
SPEAKER_26	Thank you. Our next speaker is Dan Totten, followed by Jesse Baer, then Margaret Ann Brady. Dan, two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_58	Hi. My name is Dan Totten. I live at 54 Bishop Allen Drive. And I was really glad to see this policy order on the agenda tonight. There's been a lot of work that's been done on this from the Cambridge Housing Justice Coalition. A number of us have been meeting once a week for about a year to put together this proposal. Personally, I was tasked with meeting with the Vice Mayor, and so I want to specifically thank him for his support. But I know we've been meeting with others as well. I want to emphasize that this proposal is a tool that we could put in our toolbox that has something for everybody. If you're somebody who really wants to see more market rate units, well, guess what? These buildings are going to create market rate units. If you're somebody who wants to see more deeply affordable units, guess what? there's a way to make it so that these buildings contain deeply affordable units. If you're somebody who is worried about competition around LIHTC, guess what? We have a pro forma that doesn't include LIHTC, which means that this idea would not be competing with the nonprofit developers and affordable housing overlay necessarily. It also means that we would be able to scale up our production of affordable housing faster because LIHTC creates a natural limit, a natural ceiling in the number of projects that can be constructed. But if we have a mechanism that doesn't involve LIHTC, we can go up faster. Also, for those of you who are concerned about fiscal responsibility, this offers a way to recycle the money so that when the project is paid for, the rents from the market units can be recycled back into the city to do another project. Or in specific cases, we could consider a community benefit. For example, on the Bishop Allen drive lots, we could have that money go back into funding the cultural center. So it's a really great way that we can deliver community benefits or more money for more affordable housing. There's a lot of research, a lot of education needs to happen, but this is step one and I'm very excited. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER_26	Thank you. Our next speaker is Jesse Baer followed by Margaret Ann Brady, then Henry H. Wardus. Jesse? Jesse, if you can unmute yourself, you have two minutes.
SPEAKER_49	Hi, my name is Jesse Baer. I'm speaking in favor of Policy Order 131. I live by Fresh Pond with my wife in the apartment my parents bought when we were about their age. And now, despite our having two middle class salaries, I know we couldn't afford to live here if my parents didn't still own the place. Unaffordability drains uniqueness from a city. I've seen it happen since I grew up. I don't believe private market solutions alone can fix it. The city can't ride tech growth forever. Even if the current administration doesn't succeed in crushing academia and biotech, the AI bubble is already showing signs of sputtering. Without that growth, all we have is the soul of the city, a soul I frankly thought was lost. This proposal gives me hope we can save it.
SPEAKER_26	Thank you. Our next speaker is Margaret Anne Brady, followed by Henry H. Fortis, then Anne Freisenfeld. Margaret, two minutes. Margaret, if you can turn the microphone up.
SPEAKER_25	Sorry, okay. Now, I'm Margaret Ann Brady, longtime Cambridge resident, also part of the Cambridge Housing Justice Coalition, and a homeowner in Porter Square. And I'm very excited to speak in favor of this policy order. I'm tremendously grateful for the support that's already been shown by the council by the introduction of it. and the work that has been done to create a solid pro forma. The time is clearly ripe for the development of social housing, for piloting it. There's a lot of alignment that's already happening here in Massachusetts with the pilot funding that's been made available, and our city manager spoke in favor of it in 2023 when the state housing bond was being debated. Boston's pilot is underway. and we have the will to do it. And we want to make sure that we do it now so that we can be positioned to access state funds and any funding as soon as they may be made available. There's no question that we can't zone our way into affordability and we can't depend upon for-profit developers to solve our housing problem. But social housing is more than just a new tool in the affordable housing toolbox. Because it is mixed income and tenant controlled, it will strengthen the fabric of our Cambridge community. Its affordability doesn't expire, and every dollar the public invests into social housing stays in the stream of affordable housing development, not into profits for developers. I urge the council to pass this policy order and for Cambridge to wholeheartedly pursue decommodified housing such as Cambridge Social Housing Pilot and the Cambridge Community Land Trust. Our next speaker is
Marc McGovern	So we try to not have applause or booing or anything like that in the chamber. It's just a decorum thing. If someone's here who maybe has an opposing view and they're the only one, we want them to feel comfortable stating that. So if you could just please comply with that. Thank you.
SPEAKER_26	Our next speaker is Henry H. Fortis, followed by Ann Risenfield and Candace Driver. Henry, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_03	I will avoid saying anything that deserves applause. Henry H. Wordis, 106 Berkshire Street. In the late 1930s, Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal confronted a housing crisis. that gave the opportunity to launch a national social housing program based on the widely successful housing programs then flourishing in Europe. However, the real estate industry pushed back and the new dealers caved, opting instead to support income-based public housing. The real estate developers preferred income based housing because they viewed social housing as a less expensive competition to market rate housing. Also, income based programs can be fought as taxpayer subsidies for the poor and undeserving. Today, Cambridge can do what Congress did not do in 1937. You can launch a social housing program. Of course, today is only the first step, but keep the goal in mind. A successful program in Cambridge will provide needy housing for households at all income levels, multifamily buildings operating in response to the needs and wishes of tenants and community, and the potential to halt the continued gentrification of Cambridge. This council can make history. Therefore, I hope that at the end of your consideration of social housing, the clerk can turn to the mayor and say, we have nine votes in the affirmative. Thank you.
SPEAKER_26	Thank you. Our next speaker is Candice Driver, followed by Epa Rixey, then Carolyn Majid. Ann, please go ahead.
Marc McGovern	We have Ann Reisenfeld, and then Candice Driver.
SPEAKER_38	Hi, my name is Anne Riesenfeld, and I'm the Executive Director of the New School of Music in Cambridge. Thank you for the opportunity to speak this evening about the future of the historic Lowell Schoolhouse. Since 1980, the New School of Music and the Cambridge Art Association have shared this building, together representing 125 years of service to Cambridge. I ask that the city continue its support of community arts by allowing us to remain in our home at 25 Lowell Street. If forced to leave, Cambridge would lose two of its longest standing and most active arts organizations. The New School of Music, founded in 1976, believes affordable music education should be available to all. regardless of age, ability, or experience. We offer need-based scholarships in support of this mission, and next year we will celebrate our 50th anniversary. I previously served as executive director from 1999 to 2004, and returned last year because I deeply value the transformative work of community music education. Today, NSM serves over 400 students annually, most of them Cambridge residents. We also recently launched a free daytime program for seniors with memory loss, which is expanding this year. Our residents come from every single neighborhood in the city. Per our terms with the city, NSM maintains the building. We are committed to improving accessibility and have begun fundraising to make the schoolhouse ADA compliant so that more older adults and people with disabilities can participate in the arts. Arts and culture strengthen our city, both socially and economically. I ask that you recognize the contributions our organizations bring and allow us to remain stewards of the beloved Lowell Schoolhouse. Thank you.
SPEAKER_26	Thank you. Our next speaker is Candice Stryber, followed by Eppa Rixey, then Carolyn Magid. Candice, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_34	Hello, my name is Candace Driver, and I'm the Executive Director of the Cambridge Art Association, located at 25 Lowell Street, where we've been part of this community for more than 80 years. On behalf of the CAA, I want to thank you for the opportunity to talk about policy order number three. Since 1944, the CAA has been building community through the visual arts. Alongside our neighbors, the New School of Music, we serve hundreds of artists and thousands of Cambridge residents each year. CAA's mission is to support artists from all backgrounds, especially those from historically underestimated communities, by providing affordable memberships, accessible programs and exhibits that are free and open to all. We support artists at every stage of their careers. We have artists that started showing with us and have gone on to exhibit at major institutions, including the Institute of Contemporary Art, and have noted CA's role in their artistic career. That's something the city should be proud of. In today's political and economic climate, resources for nonprofits, especially arts organizations, are shrinking. Displacing the CAA and the New School of Music from 25 Lowell Street would severely jeopardize the good work we've built over eight decades. 25 Lowell Street is more than a building. It's a community hub that has nurtured generations of artists, musicians, students, and families. Together, our organizations provide low-cost, high-impact cultural opportunities that reflect Cambridge's values, creativity, diversity, accessibility, and civic pride. We hope the city will see 25 Lowell as a place worth investing in, with the repairs and accessibility improvements that will allow both organizations to continue serving Cambridge for decades to come. Thank you for your time and for your continued support of the arts in our city.
SPEAKER_26	Thank you, Madam Clerk.
Marc McGovern	Before we, two quick things before we go to the next speaker, Madam Clerk.
SPEAKER_36	Councilor Azeem. Present. Present.
Marc McGovern	Okay, and there's a practice, a tradition that when an elected official from another body is present to speak, we typically take them out of order. So I'm going to honor that tradition and ask for State Representative Mike Connolly to speak now.
SPEAKER_00	Vice Mayor and members of the council, thank you for taking me out of turn. Mike Conley, I have the honor of representing parts of Cambridge and Somerville and the state legislature. And I'm here this evening to speak in support of policy order number two, which would ask the city manager to take steps to advance the concept of social housing. I want to say thank you to the leaders of the Cambridge Housing Justice Coalition. I know Henry spoke a minute ago, who have worked with you all to develop this policy order. And I just wanted to share some perspective from my efforts at introducing this concept on Beacon Hill. What is social housing? Simply put, social housing is publicly financed, publicly owned, mixed income housing. So the key innovative feature of social housing really involves leveraging the financing capacity of governments, and it also involves retaining an ownership interest in this housing. And that allows us to think of this new housing as not just a liability, but actually an asset that can help generate even more housing as we move forward. Last term I introduced the first bill to establish a social housing program in Massachusetts and then I was able to work with House leaders and with the Haley Driskell administration to win an authorization for a social housing pilot program in the Affordable Homes Act. So right now the driscoll haley driscoll administration has brought together a working group that's really trying to explore how do we take these concepts and then situate them within the rich tapestry of affordable housing programs and experts that we have in our state uh... and i really appreciate the policy order because i think that That really helps Cambridge take those steps, too. We have so many different resources, whether it's the Cambridge Housing Authority or the Housing Trust. And this concept of social housing is really gaining momentum around the country. The city of Chicago just authorized bonding capacity in excess of $100 million specifically to pursue this model. So just wanted to offer my support. And the final thing I'll say is I'm so proud of Cambridge when I go to Beacon Hill. I think of us as the housing policy and even the housing production champion around the Commonwealth. We have done all the things. This social housing order gives us an opportunity to continue being on the forefront. So I respectfully ask you to move forward. Thank you so much.
Marc McGovern	Thank you.
SPEAKER_26	Our next speaker is Eppa Rixey, followed by Carolyn Majid, then Henry Wardus. Eppa, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_50	Hello, my name is Eppa Rixey. I live at 126 Harvey Street, and I'm going to be commenting on committee reports item number one about CSOs. I'm on the leadership team of the AOIF study group, the Board of Green Cambridge, and the steering committee of Save the AOIF Brook. These community groups have come together as a part of a recently formed coalition to align on community goals that include greater control over CSOs, a healthy alewife brook that is boatable and fishable in alignment with legal requirements, and broader community health goals. The current long-term process of planning with the MWRA in Cambridge and Somerville has looked at a wide range of alternatives, but generally it has avoided serious consideration of some of the more ambitious levels of control that would result in legal compliance rather than more variances on water quality. Furthermore, this process has at times limited or blocked community engagement and discounted the value of community members and their emphasis on community health, ecosystem health, access to green space, and protection from harmful pollutants. These comments also align with recent commitments made by the Haley Driscoll administration on the importance of restoring biodiversity across the state and the necessity of eliminating CSOs as a part of that goal. That preamble sets up why I'm in support of this policy order. A Cambridge CSO commission could help to ensure that community voices are heard and creative ambition solutions are given fair consideration. There are policy ideas worth considering that go beyond the long-term planning process. For example, implementing stormwater fees for impervious areas as Somerville has recently done. There are also opportunities to explore the Elwhife Station reconstruction, something that has gotten limited traction in the long-term control planning process and something that this legislative body has explicitly recommended. The goal should not be the minimum level of compliance, but rather a process that builds towards a healthy community and a healthy ecosystem along the Elwhife Brook and the Charles. And I believe that this sort of a planning effort as proposed would engage such a community to deliver on that commitment.
SPEAKER_26	Our next speaker is Carolyn Magid, followed by Henry Wardis, then Suzanne Blier. Carolyn, you have two minutes, please go ahead.
SPEAKER_53	Hi, my name is Carolyn Majid. I live at 71 Reed Street and I'm commenting on policy order two. As a member of the Cambridge Housing Justice Coalition Social Housing Group, I want to thank Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler, Vice Mayor McGovern, Councilor Siddiqui, and Councilor Wilson for advancing this social housing policy order. Cambridge desperately needs more ways to provide good affordable housing for low and moderate income residents. With social housing, we have the opportunity to adopt an exciting and visionary model for mixed income housing production that will produce permanently affordable and stable housing with democratic resident and community control. I'm not going to repeat the great points already made. I do want to say that the policy order defines social housing as quote, mixed income government owned or controlled rental housing in which at least 40% of the units are affordable to households below 80% area median income, a significant portion of which are reserved for low income households below 30% area median income. I'm calling attention to this part of the definition of social housing to urge the council to work to assure that the social housing model that you adopt provides at least that extent of affordability for future residents. This policy order is an important first step towards creating an innovative model of housing in Cambridge that will meet unmet housing needs in our city. I urge you both to support it and to give your attention to assuring that it moves forward as outlined in this council term. Thanks.
SPEAKER_26	Thank you. We already heard from Henry. So we will move to speaker number 11, Suzanne Blea, followed by Trudy Goodman, then David Halperin. Suzanne, if you can unmute yourself, you have the floor, two minutes.
SPEAKER_24	Thank you. I want to begin, Suzanne Blier, Five Fuller Place. I want to applaud Henry Wardus and others on the social housing efforts. I think it's a great idea. I also want to thank the vice mayor and mayor for urging that we create a committee to reconsider the city seal in time for our 400th anniversary, bringing together various groups on this. Key elements of the seal, as you probably know, are out of date from Gore Hall to the Washington Elm. On solar panels, they're really critical for our energy future, and I strongly support the creation of a separate committee to address this. On new uses for 25 Lowell Street, I'm really convinced of the importance of this as a place for music and the arts, kind of akin to the Foundry, but in West Cambridge, but I hope that you'll continue that. And what we really don't want is to see a demolition of the structure. It's an important building and just reassessing its overall use. And finally, on EPA, RICSI and the Green Cambridge approach, I think it's really important that we think about co-joining the sewage and going to the highest possible level in support of clean water, both in the Charles and in Alewife Brook. Thank you so much. These are really great orders before council.
SPEAKER_26	Thank you. Our next speaker is Trudy Goodman, followed by David Halperin, then Anne McDonald. Trudy, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_35	Okay. My name is Trudy Goodman. I belong to the Mass Senior Action Coalition, also the Cambridge Housing Justice Coalition. um i'm speaking today and i just want to put a human face on this i know we can talk about you know how it will affect people in terms of positive things and i just want to put a human face on this social housing would really help a lot of the people i advocate for including me who are below the 50 ami who are living in housing that is deteriorating currently in this city, regardless of the fact that the housing is supposed to help people like me who have Section 8s. It's not. One of the beautiful things about social housing is that it's a community. It becomes communities. Instead of people just being housed in density, instead of people just being put in temporary situations of housing, And it's equitable. You have people who can afford more, people who can afford a middle range, people who are below the 50 AMI. And most of the people I advocate for, including myself, are way below the 50 AMI. I am probably at 20 AMI, and that's pretty standard for most people living in Section 8 housing. So I want to put that face on it. On the other end of it, being a senior, and I've said this before when I've come before this council, I work in a homeless shelter and I'm meeting senior people all the time now who are homeless. They are not your average what my people think might be homeless people. They're people who were living in housing that got flipped. The great thing about social housing is it is a community. and you will now have the time to look at various communities now to see what that housing looks like.
SPEAKER_26	Our next speaker is David Halperin, followed by Anne McDonald, then Eric Grunenbaum. David, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_06	Good evening, David Halprin, 14 Valentine Street, Unit 3. I want to express my strong support for getting the social housing conversation started. Housing continues to be the number one issue for residents of the city, and we need an all of the above approach to it. This both lets us put our bond rating that we're so proud of to work. It is very difficult to build right now because of interest rates. And if the city can offer better lending terms, then that can really help with our housing production against those adverse conditions. Additionally, this gives us another way to generate the low-market units in addition to the AHO, which will be constrained by LIHTC grants, as well as IZ units. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER_26	Thank you. Our next speaker is Anne McDonald, followed by Eric Grunenbaum, then James Zoll. Anne, if you can unmute yourself, you have the floor. You have two minutes.
SPEAKER_18	Hi, my name is Anne McDonald. I live in North Cambridge, just across from the Alewife Brook, and I'm on the steering committee of Save the Alewife Brook, which is a member of the Coalition to End Sewage Pollution with other water body advocacy groups. And I've lived through sewer separation in the Whittemore neighborhood, and I've breathed the sewage stench of the Brook for 20 plus years. I'm speaking in favor of the Health and Environment Committee's POR 136, calling on the city manager to work with the relevant city departments and the recently formed coalition to consider options, including cost and benefits to meet a 2050, 25-year storm level of control for the CSOs. We need participatory means to best determine all the various forms of benefits as well as harm done by inaction. I'm in support of combined sewer overflow commission if, if, It helps us center many of the coalition's main tenants, which Eppa had referred to, one being environmental health is community health. I'm very appreciative of the hardworking team of Cambridge City engineers and consultants working with the MWRA in Somerville on next steps to address the long-term control plan and submit a variance proposal. But I'm still unclear why Cambridge is only showing a minimal number of acres of sewer separation in Cambridge and the Illwife watershed. Concerns about money, gravity, and hydraulics may be impacting these plans. But visionary options need to be taken seriously and discussed alongside proposals for 32-foot diameter tunnels that parallel the Brook. I'm concerned that we've yet to see any detailed or phased plans for additional sewer separation or green infrastructure in Cambridge. other than a summary 50-year timeline. If we really desire to be resilient and just, Cambridge, we need to act. Thank you.
SPEAKER_26	Thank you. Our next speaker is Eric Grunenbaum, followed by James Zald and Ann Stewart. Eric, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_29	Hi, thank you. Good evening. I'm Eric Grunenbaum of 98 Montgomery Street, and I live near Alewife Brook. I'm speaking on the Health and Environment Committee Report No. 1 in the Associated Policy Order. To start, I support convening a combined sewer overflow commission. We really do need to keep close tabs on how Cambridge deals with its longstanding releases of raw sewage into the waterway. The city is a defendant in the Harbor lawsuit, and unfortunately, the sewage dumped into Alewife Brook comes mostly from toilets flushed in Cambridge. It is not pretty. And the context matters. As the nearly 100 acres of IQ HQ Health Peak and MBTA land are developed, thousands of new bathrooms will be flushing into the Brook when we have big rainstorms. Health Peak states that about three quarters of a million gallons a day of new sewage will be released from their project alone. Imagine the MBTA and the IQ HQ toilets as well. Cambridge DPW is most responsible for addressing this severe health problem, but a public meeting last week, they stated that green infrastructure is not green and it is constructed underground. This seems biased against what most people consider to be truly green infrastructure and it seems like a disconnect. It suggests the city has siloed thinking on solving CSOs and sees little value to the co-benefits of green infrastructure. Green commonly refers to living plants, trees, and wetlands, and by definition, it is not underground. It's common sense. Calling it underground stormwater constructions green does not make them so. So we're asking the city to incorporate substantial new green, new sewer separation and green infrastructure because they go hand in hand. Separated stormwater flows into green infrastructure as it does at the successful Alewife stormwater wetland. Not only does this help solve sewage releases, it addresses other problems from our fossil fuels. Green infrastructure protects us from oppressive and growing heat waves. It cleans the air of pollutants. It helps purify stormwater, and it offers relief and improved health and well-being from an increasingly urbanized environment. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_26	Our next speaker is James Zoll, followed by Ann Stewart, then Lee Ferris. James? James has not joined us. We will go to Ann Stewart. And you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_21	My name is Ann Stewart. I live at 2531 Wheeler Street. And I'm speaking on behalf of the Environment Committee's report number one to the Council on the associated policy order. There's some hard truths that we need to know about. One is that Cambridge continues to receive variances to use alewife Brooke to dispose of our toilet flushes, and we have a CSO history that's two decades and counting of variances. Previous councils have accepted concrete tank and pipe solutions and CSO variances. They've deferred building significant new green infrastructure and managing future systemic environmental and health problems. For all I know, maybe they've been reminded that the city of Cambridge still is a defendant in the federal government's lawsuit to clean up Boston Harbor. But all of us, including our Department of Public Health, need to keep a close watch on how Cambridge deals with raw sewage releases into Alewife Brooks flowing waters. Your decisions tonight about the fate of the Charles and Mystic River watersheds are only yours to make. Voting to establish a CSO committee is an admirable undertaking, but not unless timely reporting requirements are clearly laid out before you vote. YOU AND YOUR NEW COMMITTEE MUST ADVOCATE AND LEAD, AND FOR THE COUNCILS TO COME, YOUR LEGACY SHOULD BE TO BUILD A FIRM FOUNDATION AND NOT ONE BUILT ON THE SHIFTING SANDS OF VARIANCES AND DELAY. THANK YOU.
SPEAKER_26	THANK YOU. OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS LEE FERRIS, FOLLOWED BY KATHERINE DESI, THEN LOUISE VENDEN. LEE, YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES. PLEASE GO AHEAD.
SPEAKER_13	Good evening. I'm Lee Ferris, a resident of the Port living on Norfolk Street and president of the Cambridge Residence Alliance, which is a member of the Cambridge Housing Justice Coalition that put together this report. policy order on social housing. We're very excited that the policy order is being introduced tonight, and we want to thank all the counselors involved, including all the counselors that we have been meeting with over a long period to get to where we are now. Also want to thank Mike Connolly for his help in moving the social housing discussion forward in Cambridge. So we think that social housing will be a great way, a great new way for Cambridge to build more affordable housing. And I want to reemphasize that we think that social housing means mixed income government owned or controlled rental housing in which at least 40% of the units are affordable and a significant portion are reserved for very low income households. It involves low interest capital from government funding, such as from bonds, and it reinvests the resulting funds in the next affordable housing project. In our vision of social housing, tenant control means that residents have democratic control of the housing they live in, which is not true of most of the affordable housing in Cambridge. And community control means that the board overseeing the developer of the social housing is composed of the community served by the housing. Both those things will be very different from how we're doing stuff now, and I think will result in better affordable housing that people will be happy to live in. I look forward to the council referring the policy order forward to the housing committee. Thank you very much.
SPEAKER_26	Our next speaker is Catherine Dessy, followed by Louise Venden, then Denise Gilson. Catherine, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_23	Hi, everyone. Thanks for hearing us all out tonight. My name is Catherine. I am actually an Attleboro, Massachusetts resident. But I'm on the board of directors for the Cambridge Art Association. And I won't reemphasize all the points that Candice Driver made as the executive director. She's been with us for longer than she's been executive director and is doing an amazing job. I just want to sort of emphasize the necessity for Cambridge Art Association in Cambridge and both just kind of the wider regional area. You know, I'm in work, I'm in Boston for work a couple times a week, but part of the reason I continue to come back is for Cambridge Arts. You know, I think the gallery at 25 Lowell Street, the Catherine Schultz Gallery, is an anchor for Cambridge Arts. It allows us to hold gatherings where artists can talk to each other, meet each other, share their work. It allows us to do regular exhibitions, which for someone like me who... I would say I'm an early career artist is critical. You know, it can be really difficult to find places to show work and the Catherine Schultz Gallery and all the shows that Cambridge Arts put on are an incredible opportunity for artists of all ages and stages of career to be able to do so. And as an LGBT identifying artist myself, you know, we're really trying to serve the underserved communities and really focus on allowing everybody's voice to be heard. So, you know, kind of regardless of what happens moving forward with 25 Lowell, I would really love for the Cambridge Art Association to be able to stay in that space. Thanks very much.
SPEAKER_26	Our next speaker is speaker number 20, Louise Vendon, followed by Denise Gilson, then Kavish Gandhi. Louise. Louise. Louise has not joined us. We will go to Denise Gilson, followed by Kavish Gandhi, then Andrew Hirsinia.
SPEAKER_19	Good evening, my name is Denise Gilson. I'm the executive director for the Harvard Square Business Association, and I'm speaking on CMA 2025, number 233, regarding the abandoned tunnel in Harvard Square. In 1912, the Boston Elevated Railway opened the original Harvard Square station. Rail cars were stored and maintained in nearby Bennett Street, a car house, and the Elliott Rail Yard, and a bus tunnel connected these facilities to the station. By the 70s and 80s, both the rail yard and the car house were decommissioned and demolished, which ultimately made way for the construction of Harvard Kennedy School and the Charles Hotel, leaving the bus tunnel completely disused. Today, the tunnel remains empty, partially occupied by the MBTA, which... OWNS THE 13,000 SQUARE FOOT SITE AND USES A SMALL PORTION OF THAT SPACE FOR STORAGE OF EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES. GIVEN THE SIZE AND DESIRABLE LOCATION, THE UNUSED MBTA TUNNEL IS BRIMMING WITH POTENTIAL TO UNLOCK SIGNIFICANT VALUE FOR THE COMMUNITY, LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS AND THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE. This council has overwhelmingly and consistently supported the city to have an RFP to look at the potential of this tunnel. We urge the city manager to fund the RFP to get this job done, understand what's possible there and to help Harvard Square continue to be robust and vital and interesting and fun and above all to bring more people into Harvard Square to support our local infrastructure. Thank you.
SPEAKER_26	Thank you. Our next speaker is Kavish Gandhi followed by Andrew Hirsina. I may be pronouncing that wrong. Then Stephen professed. Kavish, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_59	Hi, everyone. My name is Kivish Gandhi. I'm a member of the Cambridge Housing Justice Coalition. I'm speaking in support of policy order number two. I echo many of the thoughts already expressed, so I'm going to be brief. Most of all, I just really want to express that we're entering a really exciting context with social housing, and this is an opportunity for Cambridge to enter as a leader in it. There's a burgeoning set of cities in the United States that are beginning to adopt social housing models. You heard about Chicago. There's also the state of Rhode Island. There's Atlanta. There's Seattle. There's Montgomery County, who is sort of the first with its troubles on the ground. And as the saying goes, a thousand flowers are blooming. and it's really a moment to truly reimagine public sector involvement in the production of affordable housing there are many important details of what social housing will look like but i want to take a moment to stress as representative conley did the importance of public control and financing of social housing under public financing we are able to develop housing without the constraints of a 15 to 20 rate of return under the public control and financing we are able to reinvest any profits from social housing back into the new development of social housing Under public financing, we are able to leverage the government's bond issuing capacity to rapidly scale development, especially important in the current interest rate context. Under public control, the ever-increasing cost of land works for us, not against us, allowing us to leverage it as an asset to continue further development of social housing. Under public control, we are able to truly develop and ensure a democratic model of governance for social housing accountable to its residents. And finally, under public control, we return to develop housing as it should be, a public good, not a private commodity. Please take this initial step to making social housing a reality. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER_26	Our next speaker is Andrew Frisina, followed by Stephen Proffes, then Edward Henley. Andrew, you have the floor, two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_05	Thank you, I am Andy for Santa I've lived at 22 Union Street in Cambridge for more than 30 years and I want to speak in support of a policy order regarding came combined sewer overflows. I am also water quality program manager at the mystic river watershed association representing one of. Boston's great rivers into which Alewife Brook flows. We at the Mystic River Watershed Association do not underestimate the complex engineering challenges posed by the task of removing these last archaic combined sewer overflows. But we shouldn't think of untreated sewage going into public waterways as just an engineering issue alone. Alewife Brook is the scene of the largest completely untreated sewage releases into any river or stream in greater Boston. Many are partially treated or marginally treated. And that is absolutely as gross as it sounds. It isn't worthy of a city with the resources and density of Cambridge to have a public space with that kind of pollution. It's a public health issue. Not only to people who come in direct contact with the water, there is evidence that just living in proximity to CSOs increases the rate of illness. It's a parks issue. Alewife Brooks CSO discharge flows directly through one of our most beautiful and most used public spaces, and it's an environmental justice issue as CSOs are throughout the state of Massachusetts given its location. Half measures at Alewife Brook shouldn't be acceptable. The Mystic River Watershed Association therefore urges you to demand the highest levels of control, 25-year controls, or complete sewer separation on Alewife Brook consistent with the ability of ratepayers to bear the costs. Thank you very much.
SPEAKER_26	Our next speaker is Steven Profest, followed by Edward Henley, then Glenna Wyman. Steven, you have two minutes.
SPEAKER_56	Good evening, everyone. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Steven Profet. I'm a longtime resident of Cambridge. I live at 194 Lexington Avenue. And I'm also a relatively new board member for the New School of Music. So I'd like to kind of reinforce what Anne had said about what the impact we have had on the Cambridge community for the last five decades. The new school, as for some of you who are not here, is located at 25 Lowell Street here in Cambridge, and it's a vibrant music school serving Cambridge residents, toddlers, preschoolers, children, families, adults for almost 50 years now. The school employs over two dozen accomplished musicians, instructors. who offer private lessons, group classes, ensembles, music recitals year round. The long time Cambridge resident and founder of the new school had this idea that some 50 years ago to open a school of music in the heart of Cambridge to support robust music training for Cambridge families throughout their lives. Through the school, the Van Dyck Scholarship Fund has provided countless local residents with to enroll in music programs by offering need-based scholarships. The schools lowers the financial barriers for many residents who might not otherwise be able to take private music instruction. For instance, our early childhood music and movement classes are the building blocks that help foster music exposure to the next generation of music lovers. This early exposure fosters music literacy, music appreciation, and lifelong enrichment. I might add the new school also helps nurture local talent and offers yet another musical venue at 25 Lowell Street, throughout the year for our students, young and old, to strut their music stuff. These public events are another way the school and its students continue to integrate into the cultural life of Greater Cambridge.
SPEAKER_26	Thank you, Mr. Prophet. Your time has expired. Please email the remainder. Our next speaker is Edward Henley, followed by Glenna Wyman, then Michelle Malvesti. Edward, you have two minutes.
SPEAKER_04	Thank you. My name is Ed Henley. I reside at 237 Franklin Street, housing for the disabled and for seniors. I speak representing Cambridge Somerville Mass Senior Action Council on policy order number two. I encourage you to pass this proposal to study the possibilities that social housing could provide for living in the Cambridge community. It not only offers an interesting financial vehicle to build needed housing, but it also offers a strategy for encouraging the social norms that help us all to exist together. There is nothing like meeting and befriending a neighbor from a different socioeconomic world to help all becoming a community. Community encourages everyone to want to belong, to become an active participant with common issues affecting each other. It can be a place in which one can find housing that one needs at various stages of life's journey, a journey that might include education, entry-level jobs in the world of work, maybe a job ladder in which to grow and travel along, to possibly raise a family and eventually to retire as a senior. It would be interesting if aspects of social housing could be applied, not just to government and not for profit housing, but for profit developers as well, maybe incentivized in one fashion or another. Thank you, Mayor Simmons, Vice Mayor McGovern, and city councilors for moving our great community in a direction that works for all of us. And thank you for helping to maintain the great sense of community that we have here in Cambridge.
SPEAKER_26	Thank you, our next speaker is Glenna Wyman, followed by Michelle Malvesti, then Charlene Williams. For those waiting, we are at speaker number 26, Glenna Wyman. Glenna, please go ahead.
SPEAKER_33	Sorry, dropped all my papers. I'm going to ratify the beautiful words of my fellow Mass Senior Action Council and Alliance of Cambridge Tenants member. My name is Glenna. I'm a resident of East Cambridge on 8th Street. I'm here with Mass Senior Action Council. Many seniors are on fixed income and face challenges finding and remaining in housing affordable to us cambridge needs more deeply affordable housing for those with very low income and social housing can provide that as well as producing permanently affordable housing allowing for tenant and community control and social housing doesn't have the same risks about worrying about federal funding during changes in political scenes. We'd like to see consideration of seniors during this planning process, including setting aside a certain number of units for senior seniors housing is a senior issue support Cambridge's seniors by passing policy order number two Cambridge is a city that says it wants to address the housing crisis in an equitable manner this is a chance to do so I also I hope you could hear me when I was looking down wanted to weigh in if it's coming off the table in support of the issue of allowing King Open School parking during off hours to be used for residents and businesses in the area of East Cambridge and Inman Square. I think it's terrific. It would actually help sway some of the battles between those who our pedestrians, our bikers, and those who are drivers. We're going to have cars with us. Let's find compromises. Thank you.
SPEAKER_26	Thank you. Our next speaker is Michelle Malvesti, followed by Charlene Williams, then Alfredo Khan. Michelle, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_10	Thank you. Good evening, everyone. My name is Michelle Malvesti, and I am a native of Cambridge. a city that I love, a city that I was brought up in, a city that taught me about community, a place where I thought my opinion, my decisions were honored, valued. I live in inclusionary, and the... Policy order number two, I think, is really a good idea. We need to be creative. We need to come up with ways to provide people with shelter. It's a human need. It's a necessity. And to live in inclusion every today with the Section 8 mobile voucher, means the threat of becoming homeless, having that over your head because of federal cuts. If we could have policy number two, that would mean more community, more unity. People would be able to age in place with honor and dignity and feel a part of ownership. The threat of having a roof over our heads is real. I would also like to say that having a permanent home shouldn't be just a dream. Many people don't realize they are one test away from their whole trajectory of their life changing, going to the doctors once. And that could happen to anybody. Please keep in mind, should inclusionary come up, do not Do not change that from 20% affordable till 10. If you should do so, shame on you.
SPEAKER_26	Thank you, Michelle, your time has expired.
SPEAKER_10	Thank you.
SPEAKER_26	Please email the remainder. Our next speaker is Charlene Williams, followed by Alfredo Khan, then Jessica Scully. Charlene. Charlene has not joined us. We will go to Alfredo Khan, followed by Jessica Scully, then Valerie Bonds.
SPEAKER_60	good evening council my name is alfredo cone and i'm here tonight speaking on behalf of the charles river watershed association based in boston and we're supporting committee reports number one directing the city manager to work with city departments and the public on a report outlining the feasibility of meeting a 2050 25-year storm level of cso control CRWA has been a voice of the river for over 60 years now, using science and community advocacy to protect public health and restore the Charles. We appreciate the Health and Environment Committee putting this policy forward and hope the full city council will support and pass it. As you may know right now, Cambridge is partnering with the MWRA and the city of Somerville to draft an updated long-term CSO control plan. This plan will dictate what actions and targets are pursued over the next 10 to 20 years. On behalf of CRWA and 1,000 engaged community members, we have signed our petition called Cut the Crap. We believe this must be an ambitious plan that doesn't roll forward the status quo, but effectively eliminates CSO discharges. We commend the city council on this resolution that articulates this goal by requiring an analysis of not just costs, but also the potential benefits from these investments in terms of improved river health, city streets, and open space. As always, we stand ready to help the city of Cambridge. Thank you.
SPEAKER_26	Thank you. Our next speaker is Jessica Scully, followed by Valerie Bonds, then Jacob Brown. Jessica, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_17	Good evening, Mayor Simmons and members of the council. I'm Jessica Scully for Humboldt Street, and I serve as the chair of the board of the Harvard Square Business Association, and I'm the owner of Commonwealth Wine School. I'm speaking in regard to CMA 233, and I want to express my strong support of funding the exploration of a feasibility study to repurpose the long abandoned MBTA tunnel beneath Harvard Square into a cultural and event space. This proposal is about vision, possibility, and stewardship. The tunnel represents an underused historic asset right in the heart of Harvard Square. A feasibility study is not a commitment to construction. It's a commitment to understanding what's possible. With thoughtful engineering and code analysis, we can assess whether the space might become a vibrant cultural or commercial anchor that enhances the character and vitality of Harvard Square. While cost concerns are understandable, investing in exploration is both responsible and forward thinking. Cambridge has a long history of creative reuse and civic innovation. So let's continue that legacy by taking this next informed step. Thank you so much for your consideration and for your ongoing support of Harvard Square.
SPEAKER_26	Thank you. Our next speaker is Valerie Ann Bonds, followed by Jacob Brown, then James Williamson. Valerie, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_22	Thank you. Good evening. My name is Valerie Barnes, and I am the president of the Cambridge Somerville Chapter of Mass Senior Action. I live on Memorial Drive in Cambridge Port. I'm here today to talk about social housing, which is often misunderstood. It's more than just a roof over someone's head. It's a key to unlocking human potential and creating stronger, healthier communities. Social housing provides safe, decent, and affordable homes for those who cannot afford private market rates. It's an investment in people and society as a whole. First, let's look at the economic benefits. Providing affordable housing frees up a significant portion of a family's budget, which would otherwise be spent on exorbitant rent. This means they can spend more on essentials like healthy food, healthcare, and education. For local economies, this increased consumer spending boosts business and creates jobs. A stable local workforce is more productive, and social housing developments themselves create employment in construction and property management. A stable workforce also means reduced employee turnover, which is a major win for businesses. Additionally, studies show that investing in social housing is more cost-effective than managing the long-term public costs of homelessness, such as emergency room visits and shelter expenses. Beyond the financial impact, social housing has a profound effect on wellbeing. In closing, social housing is an essential component of a thriving society. It is a powerful tool for reducing homelessness, fostering economic stability, and creating healthier, more cohesive communities. By providing a stable foundation, we empower individuals to reach their full potential and contribute to the wellbeing of everyone around them. Thank you.
SPEAKER_26	Thank you. Our next speaker is Jacob Brown, followed by James Williamson, then Kristen Anderson. Jacob, if you can unmute yourself, you have two minutes.
SPEAKER_51	Okay, perfect. Can everyone hear me?
SPEAKER_26	Yes, we can. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_51	Okay, amazing. Yeah, hi, my name is Jacob. I live on Magazine Street here in Cambridge. One of the most meaningful things that Cambridge has given me in my time here is just this strong sense of community in regards to the neighborhood and city. It's a beautiful place here, and it's self-evident why people want to stay for as long as they can. However, the constant theme that I've found talking to my neighbors, that is just so difficult to continue living here. It's so challenging to maintain that sense of community when its building blocks are forced out because they can't afford to continue living here. Cambridge has taken many important steps to address this housing crisis, and the shortfall of available and affordable units is thankfully a target and priority for governance. However, the pace of construction needs to increase rapidly to be able to truly fight this crisis and stem the stream of losses to our community. Massachusetts needs 200,000 homes for low and moderate income households. In 2023, the most recent year with available data, Cambridge added a net change of just 106 units. To pull our weight in the regional crisis, it's crucial to expand the tools available to get people housed and keep us from being forced out of the city. We need to be doing more right now, to put it shortly. Social housing is a sustainable community-oriented way of combating the crisis. Firstly, it works by retaining public ownership and is able to reinvest income to continue building social units. By establishing an investment fund, the social housing model ensures that dividends can go directly to housing more Cambridge residents and not just making landlords richer. Furthermore, this means that the units are built to be permanently affordable rather than dependent on tax credits. Beyond this, the social housing model ensures that the most economically vulnerable residents of Cambridge will be active participants in the stability of their living situation. The model builds units for those at the most economic risk and allows tenant community control, meaning that rather than being subject to the whims of landlords, residents can take an active voice in the growth of their buildings and communities. The mix-in model further strengthens ties between residents and makes Cambridge a stronger city. I'm so proud of our status as a sanctuary city, and Cambridge can truly embody that by fighting to protect the people who live here now. Thanks so much.
SPEAKER_26	Thank you. Our next speaker is James Williamson, followed by Kristen Anderson, then Lily Halstead. James, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_14	Can you hear me?
SPEAKER_26	We can. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_14	Thank you. James Williamson, North Cambridge. lived in Cambridge for over 50 years. I want to talk about some of the Harvard Square items on tonight's agenda. The proposal to have the public, it's not a bad idea. It seems like a good idea to look at this tunnel. But who should be paying for it? I'm a little concerned that this seems like a money grab by people who ought to have a fair amount of money. I don't think we as the public should be financing something that I would presume is going to end up being for private opportunities unless we know how much money the Harvard Business Association already have and what is the public role going to be at the end of a feasibility study. And the same goes for the moving, whatever the public, we don't even know how much the public money is that is proposed to be taken away from the Office of Tourism and distributed not to civic organizations, as it should be, but to a range of business organizations. There's no information about how much money these business organizations already have. Do they really need public money to do a study? Or do they really need money that could be better spent helping people get out of homelessness so that tourism is more appealing? The last item is the Fox Club, which I don't fully understand. It's a huge, very long document, has to do with the preservation easement. I don't know if people know, but T.S. Eliot was a member of the Fox Club and he wrote a poem called The Wasteland. And the sidewalks around the Fox Club are a horrific wasteland. A week and a half ago, I fell on bad bricks adjacent to the Fox Club, ended up in the emergency room and have a fractured shoulder. Maybe that could be included in this presentation. James, thank you. That's your time. You can send your comments.
SPEAKER_26	Our next speaker is Kristen Anderson, followed by Lily Halstead, then Jana Odette. Kristen, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_52	Thank you. My name is Kristen Anderson. I'm a member of Save the Old Wife Brook and the Coalition to End Sewage Pollution. I'm a resident at 12 Upland Road West in Arlington, Massachusetts. And I thank Patty Nolan and the Health and Environment Committee for bringing this legislation to the council. I'm speaking in favor of the creation of a CSO commission because the regulatory timeline for improvements at Elwife is long. That timeline is decades long. Project planners have been working nearly four years on the current plan, and so far that plan doesn't look promising. I hope that I'm wrong. But this legislation before you would allow the city to work with supporters of CSO elimination. uh... to see improvements even after the long-term uh... sewage control planning process is complete so please vote yes on this uh... legislation and lastly i ask the counselors to consider meeting with save their life broke and at the legislative delegation before the end of the year to strategize and work together to ensure a meaningful updated long-term sewage control plan. The long-term CSO control plan is an opportunity to access MWRA's funding. With over a million households in the MWRA's sewer system, real solutions can be funded. This is an opportunity to not only create a solution to the problem of sewage in Elwife Brook, but also in the Charles River. And I would love to go swimming in the Charles River during future heat waves. I have spoken in the past about how this has affected me personally, how I got sick from the sewage. I'm going to skip that tonight. Thank you.
SPEAKER_26	Your next speaker is Lily Halstead, followed by Jenna Odette, then Heather Hoffman. Lily, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_16	Hi, folks. Can you hear me?
SPEAKER_26	We can. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_16	Hi, thank you. Hi, my name is Lily Halstead, 32 Granville Road, number two. First of all, wholehearted yes to social housing. But tonight I'm here as a CPSD parent speaking to item 25-56, addressing rodent control in the city. For transparency, I'm also a candidate for Cambridge School Committee. Black Spring Interim Superintendent David Murphy asked the school committee to close the Kennedy Longfellow School at 158 Spring Street, citing the need to redistribute its overwhelmingly high need student population and eventually renovate the building after years of neglect by the city and district. One reason for the closure was a persistent and unsanitary rat infestation due to that neglect. The school committee voted unanimously to close the school at the end of the school year. This was a devastating decision for many. Research shows that school closures have long-term negative impacts. I'm asking you tonight to do everything in your power to address rodent issues in our schools in partnership with district leadership so no other schools are closed due to city neglect. I'm also calling on the city council to listen to the many in the community demanding a halt to the current superintendent search, which has lacked transparency and proper vetting. The connection to rats is this. School committee members say we must rush a hire from the current finalists, one of whom is the interim superintendent, because it would be worse to continue with an interim.
Marc McGovern	Lily, I'm sorry to interrupt, but this is not on the agenda tonight, I was just informed. It's on awaiting reports, which the public is not allowed to speak on at public comment, according to the clerk.
SPEAKER_16	Well, that's not at all apparent to the members of the public. So if you don't mind just letting me finish, I'd really appreciate it. There are no rules to communicate that to me as a member of the public that I can't speak on this issue that's on the agenda.
Marc McGovern	It is in the city council rules. If there's a member of the council that would like to move suspension, they can, but I have to be fair to everyone. Vice Chair.
Ayesha Wilson	Vice Mayor.
Marc McGovern	Councilor Wilson.
Ayesha Wilson	With 38 seconds left on the clock, we might as well just let this member of the public continue.
Marc McGovern	On a motion to suspend the rules by Councilor Wilson to allow the speaker to finish her comments, roll call.
SPEAKER_36	Councilor Azeem. Present. Yes or no, Councilor? Oh, I'm sorry, present. Vice Mayor McGovern. Yes. Yes. Councillor Nolan. Present. Present. Councillor Siddiqui.
Sumbul Siddiqui	Yes.
SPEAKER_36	Yes. Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Absent. Councillor Toner? Yes. Yes. Councillor Wilson?
Ayesha Wilson	Yes.
SPEAKER_36	Yes. Councillor Zusy? Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons? Absent. And you have five members recorded in the affirmative, two recorded as absent, and two recorded as present.
Marc McGovern	We are in suspension. Ms. Have said you can finish your comments.
SPEAKER_16	Thank you so much. Really appreciate it. Okay, so to finish the connection to rats and the superintendent search, school committee members say we have to rush this higher because it would be worse to continue with an interim because the interim doesn't have full powers to run the district. But this current interim had the authority to propose and oversee the closing of a school rather than advocating for investment in the building and the students there. So, rodents are still a problem in our schools. They reflect a deeper pattern of neglect in maintaining public facilities, and it's time that the city council partners with school committee to secure strong leadership and break the sidle of disinvestment, especially in our schools serving our most vulnerable students. Let's start this search over and get it right. Thank you.
SPEAKER_26	Our next speaker is Jana Odette, followed by Heather Hoffman, then Justin Safe. Jana, you have two minutes. Please go ahead. Jana, if you can unmute yourself. I tried to unmute myself. Can you hear me now? We can. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_09	Yay, my name is Jana Odette. I live at 176 Large Road in Cambridge and I've lived in Cambridge for over 30 years. I'm calling both to give kudos to all of those who have introduced a social housing policy order. I think that is fantastic. I will say that, especially with all the calls that I have heard for transparency, the city becoming landlords is not without its own set of issues. One might even say problems, but I still think it's the best of all possible worlds. I think it's fantastic. So congratulations and thank you all for doing that. I also want to say in terms of the 25 Lowell Street, the Cambridge Arts Association building, that there is a woman who used to live on my street who now lives in Belmont. She's an architect. And she said once that, and she does a lot of work for universities, and she once said that repurposing a building is always better for the environment than rebuilding a building. both in terms of demolition and in terms of the construction and so on and so forth. So I would say that, you know, especially when I think it was Ms. Scully who was talking about using an undeveloped historical asset, when you're looking at a school that is as beautiful as 25 Lowe's and talking about what it has done for the community, and when you talk about the idea of maybe repurposing it or not, but I would just like to say that certainly from a point of view of the environment, if nothing else, that if only you would think of repurposing it rather than demolishing it, I think that is something that's important. And I also feel that it obviously has done a huge amount of work for the Cambridge people as far as an arts organization. Thank you very much and thank you for all your efforts.
SPEAKER_26	Our final three speakers are Heather Hoffman, followed by Justin Safe, then LaQueen Battle. Heather, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_31	Hello, Heather Hoffman, 213 Hurley Street. I want to thank all of the people who spoke so knowledgeably about CSOs, and I agree with them. The fact that we have open sewers running through Cambridge still leaves me utterly gobsmacked. I hope that we can put that in the past way sooner than than they want to and that we do it in a green fashion. With respect to social housing. I have been interested in this for many years. I remember the committee meeting a couple of terms ago about this and I'm I am really hopeful that we will find a way to do something like this. Tenants should have some say in how their lives go, especially people who don't have a whole lot of say in a whole lot of aspects of their lives. It really makes things better for everybody. With respect to The litigation, I'm so thrilled that the city of Cambridge is part of so many federal lawsuits, and I wish that they would be better about their local lawsuits and even acknowledge that they exist. And I wish that they were doing a better job representing the city. With respect to the local option fines, I would be thrilled if the city of Cambridge found some of these things worthy of enforcing at all. And if being able to get a fine is what it takes for the city to decide that enforcing its own laws is a good thing to do today, more power to them. Thank you.
SPEAKER_26	Thank you. Our next speaker is Justin Safe, followed by LaQueen Battle. Justin, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_02	Good evening, Justin Safe, 259 Hurley Street. I strongly support the city creating a revolving fund for social housing. A revolving fund to take advantage of the city's strong bond rating and lower the cost of capital to build homes for Cambridge families makes a ton of sense. Lowering the cost to build each home means we can fund more affordable homes that residents of our city desperately need. Cambridge needs to take an all-the-above approach to housing to create affordability. To the extent we could add another tool to our toolbox to lower the cost of housing for families at different income levels, we should do it. A revolving fund will not solve all of our housing challenges alone, but given the scope of our housing shortage, we need to pursue it. The policy order works well with our multifamily zoning reform to allow up to six-story buildings citywide, as well as the North Mass Ave and Cambridge Street rezonings that are proposed. But for these zoning reforms, social housing would face the same problems as all other attempts to build more homes in Cambridge. It would face stiff opposition and the prospect of inevitable lengthy and expensive lawsuits that drive up the costs and prevent people from obtaining the housing they need. The 1,000 homes in the pipeline, thanks to the 100% affordable housing overlay and inclusionary housing would all likely be considered social housing under the Vienna-Austria understanding. So I do think we should maintain some flexibility and avoid an overly prescriptive or defined approach at the outset, given the constantly changing conditions we face and trying to Build more housing for Cambridge families who need it. Finally, on the solar protection order, I've spoken with some builders, and they've made it clear that the stepbacks presented by CDD are both structurally and economically infeasible. They would prevent the social housing on today's agenda from being built, for instance. They blocked housing under the Somerville AHO until just a start, successfully had them removed. I hope we can explore a workable solution, but unfortunately, the stepbacks presented are not. Thank you.
SPEAKER_26	Thank you. Our final speaker is LaQueen Battle. LaQueen, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_27	Hey, this is LaQueen Battle. Can you hear me?
SPEAKER_26	We can. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_27	Great. Again, my name's LaQueen Battle. I'm a resident of Otis Street, Putnam Square Apartments with Cambridge CHA. And it's very, very nice to be here tonight. Again, I just want to say right quick, I do support what Valerie Bonds has just said about supportive housing, social housing. She did say that it does support increased education for those residents that do get the services. It promotes businesses as well as a stable workforce environment in the community. And right now, I cannot believe that social housing low-income housing, subsidized housing is being put before the table right now here. And in fact, all the benefits that it does to the community and with the benefits that it does to the residents as well as homeowners, I still cannot believe that it's being put before the table right now. It does so many resources to the community. It helps get people out of homelessness, helps get people out of domestic violence situations. It helps families get invited to even know the benefits of what home ownership is, especially in a city like Cambridge, how the expensive the tax income properties are. It brings tax incentive to the city bylaws. It promotes so much social welfare. And within the city, especially like Cambridge, and I cannot believe that it's being brought before the table right now. So I continue to support and advance social welfare as well as continue to support what Representative Mike Connolly has said, continue to increase social services that the people within these services, the residents that do receive as many benefits as I can. And again, I can't believe it's being put before the table right now. Thank you so much for your time and have a great day.
SPEAKER_26	Mr. Vice Mayor, that was our final speaker. That concludes the list.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. On a motion by Councillor Zusy to close public comment, roll call. Councillor Azeem.
SPEAKER_36	Yes. Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern. Yes. Yes. Councillor Nolan. Absent. Councillor Siddiqui? Yes. Yes. Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler? Yes. Yes. Councillor Toner? Yes. Yes. Councillor Wilson? Yes. Yes. Councillor Zusy? Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons? Absent. Councillor Nolan? Yes. Yes. And you have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. We now move on to a submission of the record. There is one minutes of the city council regular meeting on June 23rd, 2025 on a motion by Councillor Nolan to accept the minutes and place on file roll call. Councillor Azeem.
SPEAKER_36	Yes. Yes, Vice Mayor McGovern? Yes. Yes, Councilor Nolan? Yes. Yes, Councilor Siddiqui? Yes. Yes, Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler? Yes. Yes, Councilor Toner? Yes. Yes, Councilor Wilson? Yes. Yes, Councilor Zusy? Yes. Yes, Mayor Simmons? Absent. Eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. There are no reconsiderations. We now move to the city manager's agenda. Pleasure of the council. Councilor Nolan?
Patricia Nolan	Number five. And if the city manager wants to do the federal update, should we pull that or no? Yeah.
Marc McGovern	I didn't catch that. One or five. One.
Patricia Nolan	Yes, number.
Marc McGovern	Pleasure to, Councilor Zuzini.
Catherine Zusy	Number two, please.
Marc McGovern	Councilor Wilson, did you have your hand up?
Ayesha Wilson	No, so just to be clear, we do have one pulled, right?
Marc McGovern	We have one, two, and five at the moment. Anything further? Not seeing any. On the balance, roll call.
SPEAKER_36	Councilor Azeem.
Burhan Azeem	Yes.
SPEAKER_36	Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern. Yes. Yes. Councilor Nolan. Yes. Yes. Councilor Siddiqui. Yes. Yes. Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Yes. Yes. Councilor Toner. Yes. Yes. Councilor Wilson. Yes. Yes. Councilor Zusy.
Yi-An Huang	Yes.
SPEAKER_36	Yes. Mayor Simmons. Absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. We move to city manager agenda item number one, a communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, city manager, relative to a federal update, including an update on relevant court cases. This was pulled by Councilor Nolan, but I assume you want to go straight to... Okay, Mr. Manager, our lights are freaking out. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Apparently we're in a disco all of a sudden. I don't feel like I've seen this before. I know. Our lights are flashing in here, but... Go ahead, Mr. Manager. You may be paying the electrical bills on the...
Yi-An Huang	Through you, Vice Mayor, we'll look into it. But thank you all. We wanted to provide an update on a couple of major issues tonight. First is the likely federal government shutdown and the potential effect on the city and our community. The second is an initial update on immigration ICE actions following the conversation at the last city council meeting. And in particular, the enforcement that we are seeing that's ramped up across the country and in our region. And we have also included an updated tracker for lawsuits that are challenging federal actions that the city of Cambridge is either involved in or has a special interest in, which is printed in the books. On the government shutdown, the last time that the federal government shut down was between December 22nd, 2018 and January 25th, 2019 for 35 days. and while from a municipal perspective we did not see significant impacts to our operations nationally there were substantial disruptions to everything from national parks to air traffic control there's still significant uncertainty the white house hosted a meeting with congressional leaders that concluded a little bit before 5 pm today that was inconclusive early reporting does not indicate any breakthroughs to fund the government which would mean a federal shutdown starting on wednesday morning at 12 a.m Two major differences from the last shutdown include first, the lack of clear agency plans, which are typically released in advance on what services would be disrupted. And second, the stated intention from the federal administration to pursue not just temporary furloughs, but permanent terminations of quote, non-essential staff. As of 2024, there were about a thousand federal employees working in the city of Cambridge, though given previous rounds of terminations, our estimate is that this is likely already a lot lower than that. Essential functions would continue with federal employees required to work without pay and back pay being provided once the shutdown is over. However, the lack of public planning and the level of discretion provided to the federal administration makes it hard to predict how this may play out. As an example, national parks were closed during the 2013 government shutdown, but remained open during the 2018 to 2019 shutdown. The post office, which often is asked about, is self-funded and postal deliveries would continue. Major programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid will continue to run with open enrollment periods occurring on the normal schedule. However, administrative aspects could be disrupted, such as the inability to make benefit changes or issuing replacement cards. The federal SNAP program would not be immediately affected, but a long shutdown could affect benefits depending on how the government handles contingency funding. And I know there's conversations at the state level as well about how funding is shifted around. veteran services like medical care and pensions would not be affected, but some areas like career counseling might be stopped. To summarize, there's a lot that is unknown at this point, and while many normal functions should continue, there are likely to be challenges, especially if a shutdown becomes prolonged. We'll be tracking all of these developments. I think, obviously, the federal government hasn't shut down yet, but if a shutdown does occur, we'll provide space for an update at next week's council meeting and try to get a better sense of how this might affect us. In terms of ICE and immigration updates, we're still in the midst of an uptick of ICE enforcement and detention in our region, especially on, I think, all of our minds, is the recent detention of an individual in Somerville, still without a lot of clarity on how probable cause was established. And we are seeing other cases across the country, including an American citizen in California who was the father of two, an Army veteran who had served in Iraq, and ended up spending three days and three nights in detention before being released. As we noted three weeks ago, we have a lot of concern over the federal actions we are seeing, and in particular, the recent Supreme Court decision on the shadow docket which legitimizes racial profiling and arbitrary detention. Contrary to Justice Kavanaugh's opinion, we are seeing that it is not true that all individuals who are lawfully present are free to go after a brief encounter. We've been meeting internally with the Commission on Immigrant Rights and Citizenship, the Multi-Service Center and the Office of the Housing Liaison to strengthen how we can support our immigrant community during this difficult time and appreciate the council's involvement, the policy order that passed at the last council meeting. We reached out together with the mayor's office to the State Office for Refugees and Immigrants and had a discussion last week about various state initiatives and resources that we can connect to. And we're developing more formal plans that we will bring to the council next week. And we're looking forward to more detailed discussions. I think overall, I've been having a lot of conversations with some of you, with people in the community about the challenges we're facing from the federal administration. the attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion, the undermining of free speech, the political weaponization of the Justice Department, the targeting of Harvard and higher education, the overturning of best practices and public health, and so much more. I think the list just keeps going on. And there's a long conversation that we all have to have together as Americans and the values that we're fighting for. I think as I look at the role that we play in city government, it's to fight for those values as best as we can with the tools that we have available to us. But I also know that our focus has to remain on the role that only we can play. to provide basic services to support our most vulnerable and tackle a lot of the local issues that are right in front of us, whether that's building affordable housing, maintaining and improving our parks and open space, increasing the safety and efficiency of our streets and our transportation infrastructure. Many of those things at the local level are things that only we can do. And yet we still have to also look at what's happening federally and figure out what we can say, what we can do to stand up for our values. I just wanna say I appreciate this body as we navigate these difficult times and try to do all these things together and also communicate about that to folks in our community who are concerned and who are seeing everything in the news that we're also seeing. So appreciate everything you're all doing and happy to answer any questions about these topics or others that have come up. Thank you, pleasure of the council.
Marc McGovern	Any questions, comments? Councilor Nolan.
Patricia Nolan	Just super quick, I really appreciate it, and I know that Councilor Wilson also was concerned about particularly the federal shutdown. We don't know the impact, but is there any financial impact on grants or any of that kind of flowing of funds?
Marc McGovern	Mr. Manager.
Yi-An Huang	Through you, Vice Mayor. At this point, we are not seeing any immediate impacts. We don't have any grants that are explicitly expiring as of the end of the fiscal year on September 30th. That being said, I think a lot of the impact will be determined based on how long the shutdown lasts, and we'll be tracking some of those federal grants. We don't have anything near term that we're super concerned about. I would say the largest impact in terms of our operations would be different initiatives that depend on support from a federal agency. And so whether we're collaborating on something related to transportation or something related to the EPA, we're obviously going to see a pause in that work during a shutdown. Councilor Nolan.
Patricia Nolan	Thank you. I sadly yield knowing that it's nothing we can control, but I really appreciate the update and the update on all the legal cases. Thank you. I yield.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. Pleasure to counsel. Seeing none, on a motion by Councillor Nolan to place the report on file, roll call.
SPEAKER_36	Councillor Azeem. Yes. Yes, Vice Mayor McGovern. Yes. Yes, Councilor Nolan. Yes. Yes, Councilor Siddiqui. Yes. Yes, Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Yes. Yes. Yes, Councilor Toner. Yes. Yes, Councilor Wilson. Yes. Yes, Councilor Zusy. Yes. Yes, Mayor Simmons is absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Now move to city manager agenda item number two, a communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, city manager relative to a preservation restriction at 44 JFK Street. This was pulled by Councilor Zusy. Councilor Zusy, you have the floor.
Catherine Zusy	Thank you so much, Chair McGovern. I hope my colleagues will vote in support of this preservation restriction. This is a very stately building designed by Guy Lowell in 1906, the designer of the Museum of Fine Arts and the New Hampshire Historical Society where I worked many years ago. It's got rich historic character inside and out. I love all the little fox motifs. And also there have been many notable members of the Fox Club over the years, Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, T.S. Eliot, Sinclair Weeks, and the King of Nepal. So I wonder if Charles Sullivan from the Historic Commission wants to speak to it. Do you want to add anything else? Thank you. Through you, Chair.
SPEAKER_30	Mr. Sullivan? Uh. Vice Mary, yes, I can just report. I can't add anything to Councilor Zusy's endorsement, but the Historical Commission has supported this request.
Marc McGovern	Councilor Zusy, anything further?
Catherine Zusy	Nothing more, thank you.
Marc McGovern	Any further comments from the Council? Councilor Nolan?
Patricia Nolan	Thanks for the support, and I agree. We all know this building in Harvard Square. It's quite striking and really nice to see that the preservation that was a unanimous vote by the Historical Commission, so I do intend to support it.
Marc McGovern	Anything further from the council? Just a quick question. So just to clarify, this will, they still will be able to do renovations inside the building?
SPEAKER_30	Yes, they will.
Marc McGovern	Because we've all been in the building and it's not ADA compliant. There's a lot of work that needs to be done in that building.
SPEAKER_30	Mr. Vice Mayor, they have completed an elevator and stair tower that is intended to make the building ADA accessible. I'm not sure if that's in service yet, but the work was approved by the commission a couple of years ago.
Marc McGovern	Okay, thank you. Seeing nothing further. Okay, on accepting the reports, on approval, I'm sorry, and placing the report on file, roll call.
SPEAKER_36	Councillor Zinn. Yes. Yes, Vice Mayor McGovern. Yes. Yes, Councillor Nolan. Yes. Yes, Councillor Siddiqui.
Sumbul Siddiqui	Yes.
SPEAKER_36	Yes, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Yes. Yes, Councillor Toner. Yes. Yes, Councillor Wilson. Yes. Yes, Councillor Zusy. Yes. Yes, Mayor Simmons, absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Thank you, we now move on to city manager agenda item number five. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, city manager, relative to a waiting report item number 25-05 regarding a report on the use of Mass General Law chapter 40U to determine which local statutes can be enforced by the local option procedure in order to better collect fines in violation of Cambridge ordinances. This was pulled by Councillor Nolan. Councillor Nolan, you have the floor.
Patricia Nolan	ALL RIGHT, WE HAVE A WHOLE TEAM HERE BECAUSE OF THIS. SO I WANT TO START OUT JUST SAYING THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS COMPREHENSIVE REPORT. IT'S EXACTLY, I THINK, WHAT I AND THE COUNCIL HAD HOPED FOR IN RESPONSE TO THE POLICY ORDER. AND JUST TO REMIND US ALL, WE FILED THIS POLICY ORDER BECAUSE PART OF WHAT WE HEARD FROM THE CITY WAS IT'S BEEN DIFFICULT SOMETIMES TO ACTUALLY COLLECT THE FINES AND TO ENFORCE OUR LAWS, AND THAT HAS A RIPPLE EFFECT ACROSS THE CITY, WHICH IS IF WE HAVE THESE ORDINANCES AND THERE AREN'T CONSEQUENCES, THEN THERE'S A WHOLE DETRIMENTAL IMPACT, I THINK, ON TRUST IN THE CITY AND ON ARE WE EVEN DOING ANYTHING. AS THE REPORT OUTLINES, THERE'S A NUMBER OF CATEGORIES OF PARTICULARLY PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY VIOLATIONS IN WHICH WE WOULD HAVE THE ABILITY TO UTILIZE CHAPTER 40U. SOME OF THE INTENDED USES ARE FOR SHORT-TERM RENTALS, DUMPSTER, RODEN VIOLATIONS, SNOW AND ICE REMOVAL, LITTER AND REFUSE, TENANTS RIGHTS NOTIFICATION, AMONG OTHERS. ALL OF THESE FUNCTIONS ARE ESSENTIAL TO A SAFE AND HEALTHY CITY AND BETTER ENFORCEMENT OF OUR EXISTING REGULATIONS IS IMPORTANT. And on council, we often hear of issues of finding absentee landlords, problematic properties, because fine collection can be very onerous, if not impossible for city staff. So I hope by considering this alternative fine collection, we can better address public health and safety. I do recognize that the last paragraph says this would be a benefit to the city to adopt. And it would be a challenge because it does involve some extensive work over a year. So I would hope that I want to hear what would be the next steps in adopting this and how is it that we can both do it and get to the benefit of it, but also do it in a way perhaps over time or in a way that does not overburden staff because I think we want to balance that. But I really hope we do move this forward so that we can collect the fines. I was curious as to whether we even know how many fines we are actually collecting right now and if we're actually enforcing the fines, but my main concern is that anecdotally we've heard it's been difficult and so we may not be collecting a lot of the fines and that by passing and having a chapter four process, which I know other cities are also looking at, again, it can be challenging to implement, but without it we will not be able to continue to, we will not be able to enforce our own ordinances. I'm happy through you to hear from the city staff of what would an appropriate next steps be if we were to move forward and any comments on the memo.
Marc McGovern	There's a number of you up there who wants it.
SPEAKER_15	Thank you through the chair I'll start and then others can jump in so I'll just introduce I have Sean McKendree from my office assistant solicitor Sean McKendree We have Commissioner of DPW John Nardone Deputy Commissioner Jennifer Matthews and then Deputy Commissioner of Inspectional Services Department Jacob Lazaro and And everyone here has worked on this response along with also input from finance. So the finance team also has interests here in this. I think one possible next step would be to discuss this further at committee if any counselors wanna hear more detail than perhaps we have time for tonight about the pros and cons and the different internal steps that the city would need to take to be ready to implement this. The There would need to be coordination amongst the departments and some staffing and then some changes for the council with the ordinances to update our municipal code if this is adopted and to establish a schedule of fees. I'll turn it over now to whoever else wants to speak to this, but I think there are some steps that need to be taken. I'm not sure exactly how long it would take to get all the ducks in a row to be able to move forward, but I'll see if anyone else has more to add.
SPEAKER_45	Through you, Mr. Vice Mayor, I think that City Solicitor Bayer summarized it well. As we've talked about it a little bit on the operational side, some of those ordinance changes that we know would need to happen to put the requirements of 40U into effect for us would be ordinance changes around these standards for snow and ice removal. You know, not a huge lift, but certainly something that needs to be put into ordinance rather than just guidance at the department level. There are also some pieces of 40U that require, you know, procedures around payment. One of the things that we've discussed is being able to better identify properties that are repeat offenders for violations and then setting up, I think as it lays out pretty well in the memo, what are the thresholds that we would you know you'd want to adopt through an ordinance and make sure very clear that a property owner needs to hit a certain threshold a dollar amount or a number of violations or some combination of both before you're actually going through the enhanced enforcement mechanisms because again as we've as we have implement as we have enforced fines or works to enforce fines we do focus most on engagement with a property owner education really remedying the underlying offense as opposed to wanting to issue and enforce fines so I think you want to make sure that there's that transparency in any sort of enforcement ordinance and companion information that goes with that but that's a little bit of what we've talked about and that would take some time to do well and some better coordination between I think DPW and ISD in particular but any other enforcing departments and we've started some of that work but With adopting 40U, a lot of that would need to be set out more in ordinance, more formally.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. Councillor Nolan, you still have the floor.
Patricia Nolan	Just, I mean, the reason just to confirm that it would make sense or might make sense to go forward as we work through this is it would better enable us to collect fines that we are not able to collect now. Okay, just wanted to make that, I yield. And I'm not sure what committee it could be referred to, but we can discuss that or ask the city solicitor, which makes sense.
Marc McGovern	Yeah, we'll figure that out.
Catherine Zusy	Through you, Chair McGovern. So my question is, how bad a problem is this for us? Do we have a lot of people that are repeatedly not using sound sanitary practices that we, why do we need this? That's my question through you, Chair McGovern. Is this a problem that we want to create revenue? Is this a problem because people aren't following the rules? Is this a real problem that we need to solve?
SPEAKER_48	Mr. Mayor?
SPEAKER_15	Thank you. Through you, Mr. Vice Mayor. And I'll start, and perhaps then Jacob or Jennifer can talk about some of the specifics within their departments. But generally... The city has its municipal code that sets out a variety of regulations that pertain to the community, such as snow and ice removal. And then the city also enforces the state sanitary code, which are state regulations, but that are enforced on the local level that have to do with habitability in residential dwellings. And so... THE WAY THAT THESE DIFFERENT CODES ARE ENFORCED FOR THE MOST PART IS INSPECTIONS HAPPEN BY INSPECTORS AND THEN TICKETS ARE ISSUED TO VIOLATORS. SO THE TICKETS AREN'T INTENDED TO RAISE REVENUE. IT'S INTENDED TO GET COMPLIANCE. And the mechanism for issuing those tickets and then collecting the fines from those tickets or dealing with appeals if someone is challenging, whether they were rightfully given the ticket in the first place, is cumbersome. It's in a statute called Chapter 40, Section 21D. I don't know when it was written or if it's ever been updated, but it is a bit of a cumbersome process. And as technology has advanced and There could be ways other than just someone out with a ticket book, issuing a ticket, and then someone coming into the clerk's office to pay their ticket in cash. That's what we're stuck with as the process, and there could be more efficient ways of issuing those tickets in order to gain compliance. And so chapter four to you, IT WAS ENACTED MORE RECENTLY AND CAN BE USED FOR VIOLATIONS OF SHORT-TERM RENTAL ORDINANCES, HOUSING AND SANITARY CODES, SO THE STATE SANITARY CODE OR ANY ADDITIONAL ORDINANCES THAT WE HAVE THAT REGULATE HOUSING AND SNOW AND ICE REMOVAL. AND IT IS A MORE MODERN ENFORCEMENT SCHEME AND IT It allows for an internal appeal to a hearing officer within the city, so there is an option short of having to go to court. It also allows the city to have additional penalties if tickets remain unpaid, so the city's only remedy isn't to take someone to court for failing to pay their ticket. SO IT WOULD ALLOW FOR JUST MORE EFFICIENT AND HOPEFULLY THEREFORE MORE EFFECTIVE ENFORCEMENT OF CODE VIOLATIONS. AND THEN IF YOU WANTED TO HEAR ABOUT THE, YOU KNOW, THE RANGE AND MAGNITUDE OF VIOLATIONS THAT THE CITY DEALS WITH, BOTH JENNIFER AND JACOB COULD SPEAK TO THAT.
Catherine Zusy	I would, I would. And so it sounds like maybe there are several repeat offenders. So this is really, this would be to address the repeat offenders. And I also hope you'll speak to, you write, we also recommend that the threshold amount of accrued penalties to trigger attachment be higher than $1,500. So I'd love to hear about that. And I'm also already thinking maybe you're right. This should be part of a committee meeting. Yeah, but I'd love to hear back from you.
SPEAKER_01	Mrs. Zark? Through the Vice Mayor, for the purpose of this discussion in terms of what ISD enforces, what we're talking about really are dumpster license violations, sanitary related offenses, and short-term rentals. For the most part, the majority of our enforcement happens through face-to-face interaction and initial warning letter. A ticket or a fine is our last ditch effort when nothing else has worked. And if you look at the data over the past year or so, just over a year is what we were able to grab there, we do have some unpaid fines but we've identified some improvements in our reporting that we could do because some of those cases in fact were resolved and the system that we're using to track these fines is, we've got it into our newer permitting system and there are some easy fixes we could make in adjustments to have a more accurate report to the outcome of those but essentially what you'll find is that we we have um some unpaid fines and they're mostly centered around dumpsters and other violations that are sanitary related that have since been resolved because most of those dumpsters are temporary um and and six months after an offense, if the fine wasn't paid, the violation doesn't exist anymore. And our goal is to, is enforcement, is to make sure that people are taking care of the initial violation. Excuse me, Councilor Zusy.
Catherine Zusy	Thank you for that. Again, through you, Chair McGovern. So again, so what committee would we move this to if we wanted to have further discussion of this?
Marc McGovern	So, Solicitor Berry, you said that this will require some ordinance changes, right? So it might be faster just to go. the ordinance committee which again we don't we don't necessarily have to refer that tonight we can talk about when that would be appropriate and when you'd be ready you know to present and on the ordinance chair or we'll schedule a meeting unless you think it needs to go to another committee before we get to the point to you mr. vice mayor
SPEAKER_15	TO BE ADOPTED AND FULLY IMPLEMENTED, THERE WILL NEED TO BE SOME ORDINANCE CHANGES, BUT IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO GET SOME FEEDBACK FROM THE COUNCIL AND MAKE SURE THE COUNCIL WANTS TO MOVE FORWARD WITH ADOPTING THIS BEFORE WE HAVE CONCRETE ORDINANCE LANGUAGE. FOR EXAMPLE, ON THE SCHEDULE OF FINES, TO GET SOME FEEDBACK AROUND DIFFERENT PROPOSALS OF WHAT THE FINES MIGHT LOOK LIKE BEFORE WE HAVE SO IT COULD GO TO ANOTHER COMMITTEE FOR AN INITIAL DISCUSSION AND THEN WE COULD COME BACK TO THE COUNCIL WITH ORDINANCE LANGUAGE AND THEN ORDINANCE COMMITTEE OR IT COULD GO TO ORDINANCE COMMITTEE EVEN BEFORE THERE'S ACTUAL ORDINANCE LANGUAGE IF YOU WANT TO ADDRESS IT AT A COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE.
Marc McGovern	yeah i mean my suggestion would be either ordinance or finance because both are committees of the whole which would allow every counselor to participate in questions and voting on whether to accept this and move it forward or not but that would be my suggestion concert owner Yeah, I think a committee of the whole would probably be better. So, Councilor Nolan, maybe you're the chair of finance. Will you take this on first?
Patricia Nolan	I'm happy to do it with you in finance or have you do it in ordinance. It's totally fine.
Marc McGovern	Okay, well, somebody give me some direction on this. Finance, all right, I heard of finance. All right, so we're gonna, we'll refer it to finance first. So the question comes on placing the manager, placing the report on file and referring to the finance committee. Fair enough, roll call.
SPEAKER_36	Councilor Azeem.
Burhan Azeem	Yes.
SPEAKER_36	Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern? Yes. Yes. Councillor Nolan? Yes. Yes. Councillor Siddiqui?
Burhan Azeem	Yes.
SPEAKER_36	Yes. Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler? Yes. Yes. Councillor Toner? Yes. Yes. Councillor Wilson? Yes. Yes. Councillor Zusy? Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons is absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. That concludes the City Manager's agenda. Councillor Nolan, did you have...
Patricia Nolan	yes uh thank you vice mayor chair mcgovern through or to you um i'd like to move suspension there are two committee reports uh committee report number one and number three both of which have policy orders in them and they also relate to we might want staff to address them so i wanted to move suspension to bring committee report number one and number three forward when we discuss policy.
Marc McGovern	On a motion by Councilor Nolan to move suspension of the rules to bring forward committee reports number one and number three. On suspension.
SPEAKER_36	Roll call. Councilor Azeem. Yes. Yes, Vice Mayor McGovern. Yes. Yes, Councilor Nolan. Yes. Yes, Councilor Siddiqui. Yes. Yes, Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Yes. Yes, Councilor Toner. Yes. Yes, Councilor Wilson. Yes. Yes, Councilor Zusy. Yes. Yes, Mayor Simmons is absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. So committee reports number one and number three are before us. I assume we'll take these individually just to make it more simple. Committee report number one, that the city managers requested to work with relevant city departments and the recently formed coalition to consider options including consideration of costs and benefits to meet a 2050-25 year storm level of control update regulations for private development of stormwater, use of green infrastructure, and improved meaningful public outreach regarding ongoing sewer and stormwater investment, including the creation of a combined sewer overflow commission. This was from a report, a meeting of September 9th, 2025. So, Councilor Nolan?
Patricia Nolan	Thank you. Yes, and for the edification of folks, myself and Councillor Azeem are listed simply because all five members of the Health and Environment Committee meeting did vote for it, but we can't have five people on it. So we decided to put the chair and then in alphabetical order, the first councillor on the committee, but all five councillors from that meeting did pass it. BACKGROUND ON IT, AS NOTED BY THE VICE MAYOR, IT WAS SEPTEMBER 9th, WE HAD A HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING TO DISCUSS CSO'S PLANNING WITH CITY STAFF. THERE WERE SEVERAL PRESENTATIONS BY THE WATERSHED ASSOCIATIONS, ALL OF WHOM PRESENTED HERE TODAY. AND I WANT TO THANK ALL THE GROUPS FOR COLLABORATING AS PART OF THE MEETING AND ALSO TO THANK DPW AND THE CITY STAFF FOR ALL THE WORK THEY PUT INTO THE MEETING. IT WAS QUITE AN EXTENSIVE PRESENTATION. And the result of the meeting was this policy order that asked the city staff to present a matrix of action options, which they're already doing in the context of the lawsuit and the updating of the CSO that was filed. I did go to a webinar last week sponsored by, I believe, the state to have the interim, the public meeting on updating the CSO. There was a presentation by our city staff, which was excellent, and also by Somerville and also by the MWRA. And there's also a lot of public comment that really, I think, reinforced what we're trying to do here, which is really get a report back on the request, which is a clear cost-benefit analysis of the 2050, 25-year storm CSO, option for further stormwater mitigation, a commitment to improve meaningful public input, including the creation of a public body for the city staff to meet with. There is a recently formed coalition of groups that we heard from at the meeting, and I think they have a lot of expertise, a lot of experience, and so the idea would be to have the staff put together this working group and meet specifically with the advocates before the plan is finalized in December and then maybe on an ongoing basis. So that's what this policy order does. I know that DCM Watkins is aware of this and says you know she and the city staff are ready to move forward on this as we assuming that the council passes it it's really critically important this go forward we've heard a lot about the the need for addressing this in not just the ale life but also the Charles River area I think we all have a dream that someday we'll be able to swim in all these rivers that were a little far from that but to at least move forward with real urgency and that I think is is is just something in the background for all of this policy order and I wasn't sure if the staff wanted to say anything or if we're just ready to move forward.
Marc McGovern	Staff, any comments?
Kathy Watkins	Um, through you, Chair McGovern, Vice Mayor McGovern, I think Councillor Nolan framed it well. I think, you know, the CSO program as well as sewer, all of our sewer and drainage program is a very complex, expensive operation. And so, you know, sort of having more ongoing, you know, if it's a working group or committee or what the exact form looks like, I think would be a really healthy conversation. I think, you know, right now we're in this moment about the CSO plan. The draft is due at the end of the year. However, this is an ongoing program. So I think if it's similar to like, you know, the recycling advisory committee where we have ongoing conversations with a group of residents that's really committed to the program and, you know, helping us frame outreach and helping us frame education and thinking through those kinds of alternatives. And so, I think, you know, we'd like the chance to sort of, you know, take a look at it and see what makes sense, but really welcome having that conversation.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. You yield, Councillor Nolan. Pleasure of the council. Anything for the city?
Paul Toner	Councillor Toner. I just want to take a second to thank Deputy City Manager Watkins for all of her work over the years on this issue. I know everybody comes with the best intentions, but the emails we've gotten over the past year or two that make it sound like the city's done nothing, I just was not happy about, and I would constantly respond to people saying the city of Cambridge is doing everything it possibly can. I'd like to just recognize that publicly as we vote on this, thank you. Thank you.
Marc McGovern	Yeah, I mean this is a very complicated thing to solve. Some of it are things that we can control and that we can do and some of it are outside of our hands and we need other communities to do and so it is very complicated. So I also appreciate the work the city has done. There's the push to want to do more and go faster because of the severity of the issue, which I also support. So I will be voting in favor. So if there's nothing further, the question comes on accepting the report and placing on file and adopting the underlying order. Roll call. Councillor Azeem.
SPEAKER_36	Yes. Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern. Yes. Yes. Councillor Nolan. Yes. Councillor Siddiqui. Yes. Yes. Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Yes. Yes. Councillor Toner. Yes. Yes. Councillor Wilson. Yes. Yes. Councillor Zusy. Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons is absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. We now move to committee report number three, that the city manager is requested to work with the community development department to draft zoning language based on the proposed recommendations, review the feasibility of the proposed recommendations with developers, and consider the possibility of having AHO construction be exempt from the proposed zoning. Councilor Nolan.
Patricia Nolan	Thank you, Vice Mayor, Chair McGovern. Yes, as you said, this is a policy order that also came out of a Health and Environment Committee meeting of September 16th, which I appreciate the staff making sure that the minutes in the underlying policy order, which was passed by the full committee, is on our agenda tonight because there's some urgency around this, that people want to address this, and there's some momentum. The recommendations we discussed in committee were developed through an analysis of solar radiation impacts of taller buildings on lower building heights, and the STEP Act seek to create a 20-foot separation standard at the height of the solar panels. It's a novel approach, and I'm really glad that the staff did an extensive amount, and they really balanced lot of information and frankly a lot of a couple different goals that the city had and came up with the recommendation which is a compromised approach that is something that many people in the city feel like we should be doing more we should be protecting all solar we should do even more and or we should not allow it at all to even be built, and then others feel like, well, even the 3% to 6% of housing on the upper floors that may be lost is a compromise. So I fully support the compromise, and I hope this gets passed because the staff is waiting for the council to say, yes, move forward on this. So I'm happy to yield and have that be.
Marc McGovern	Councilor Zusy.
Catherine Zusy	Yeah, thank you, Chair McGovern. I'd like to propose an amendment by substitution to the policy order. I attended the meeting, I thought it was a great meeting too, and I was really appreciative of community developments coming up with a creative response to the challenge of our shading mostly residential solar installations but it's come to my attention since that meeting that it's likely that the average height of systems is more likely to be 25 to 30 feet high rather than 40 feet high and 45 feet high was the assumption or the the estimate used for the model and Professor Harris's study that was presented at the Health and Environment meeting. So what I propose is that we ask for more data because what we want is we want to make sure that the almost a thousand, well I guess at the end of 24, there were almost a thousand solar installations in Cambridge, and they are a critical part of our path to carbon neutrality by 2050. So we really want to make sure that what we do and the ordinance language that we request reflects current conditions. So if most solar installations are at about 25 feet, or 30 feet rather than 45 feet, then this isn't actually going to protect them at all, and it actually will render many of the existing systems ineffective. So what I am proposing here is to ask the city manager to work with his amazing staff to provide some more data before we have CDD start writing zoning language, because I think we're data deficient. What we need is, we need to understand what the average height of residential rooftop solar arrays in the city are, supplied as a bell curve and as much raw data as can be obtained. The height of the system shall be the halfway point between the top of the upper row of panels to the bottom of the lower row of panels. And then we want to know the average age of existing residential rooftop solar arrays, again, supplied as a bell curve, because these systems don't last forever. So if we're talking about developing law or an ordinance to To mediate or mitigate the impact of tall buildings on the solar arrays, we should understand how old the existing residential rooftop solar arrays are. Finally, we should understand what the output in megawatts is of existing solar arrays in the city. broken down into the different categories of residential, commercial and municipal. And we want that because we wanna understand the overall mix and where we are in this. I think there are 16 or more municipal buildings that now have solar arrays and it's great that I know we spent a million dollars of ARPA funds to add more solar arrays to affordable housing complexes, which is absolutely fantastic. But I think before we write more zoning, we should really understand, again, maybe we'll find out that all of our Most of our solar arrays are at 40 feet or 45 feet. If we found that was the truth, then if that was the case, that would be great. Then planning as we were discussing at the meeting would make sense. But it may be that we'll find that most of the arrays are at 25 or 30 feet high, which is where mine are. I'm on a two-story building with an attic. So the array is at about 25 feet. So the impact of a six-story building on my array will be very different than that of a six-story building on a 45-foot building. So what I'm asking for is to pause, to give CDD a month to come up with some more specific data about where our residential solar arrays actually are. And I guess that's the most important information that I want. Before we start asking CDD to draft ordinance language, zoning language, that may not actually protect our arrays. Because what we want is to encourage You know, the city encouraged, apparently since 2009, most of these solar arrays were installed, and we want to protect these, and then we actually want to incentivize residents to add more because it's essential if we wanna reach carbon neutrality. So we've gotta be, we need to understand what the current situation is before we, and I'm just talking about, I wanna move forward on this. We wanna have solar protections, but I think we should have a little bit more data before we embrace the proposal that CDD presented in mid-September.
Marc McGovern	Before I go to Consular Azeem, who has his hand up, is this, I've only seen part of the substitute motion, the ordered section on my screen. I can't, oh, I can't do that. Are you, in the whereases, are you also, because you did this by substitution, not by amending, adding another ordered or something. So are you, did you change the whereases as well?
Catherine Zusy	Sarah Silver, The only thing I changed that, so the committee voted favorably, and I will tell you, I couldn't vote because I did attend the meeting, but i'm not on the committee, but I would remove now, therefore, be it. Sarah Silver, And then, instead of saying go ahead and draft zoning language that reflects adding step backs to. six-story buildings that are shading 45 foot high solar installations that we do a little bit do a month of homework and find out what what the median height is of rooftop solar arrays Before we ask CDD to do the work, which might be erroneous because it's based on a false number, why don't we have them first come up with a median number for the height of current residential solar arrays? So the ordered has changed, that's what has changed. So the first whereas is the same, the second whereas I removed the now therefore be it, and then I replaced the ordered to ask for more information to inform a better, so we'd have better data to inform what it is that we ask CDD to fix.
Marc McGovern	So I have Councilor Azeem followed by Councilor Siddiqui. My guest, Melissa, you're sitting back there. You probably want to make your way up to the table. Councilor Azeem.
Burhan Azeem	No, thank you um I was happy with the original um but given there's a request for new data from counselors Lucy I think we could ask for data on the other way as well right like. That we have a green rooftop ordinance new buildings will have solar that way that'll add a whole amount of solar you can imagine buildings are in shade now going taller and adding solar that way. So I'd love the opportunity to just talk to Councilor Zusy more about it and see if there is a way that we can get to requesting data on both sides of the equation. So I would like to exercise my charter right.
Marc McGovern	So Madam Solicitor. Come on back. Is just, again, these committee reports and things that are voted on in committee, is it new business, is it not new, is it old business that fall into sort of a gray area? So can he exercise his charter right?
SPEAKER_15	Yes, to you, Mr. Vice Mayor. Since this is the first time, this is before the full council, he can exercise his charter right.
Marc McGovern	All right, well, Councillor Azeem has exercised his charter right. That ends all discussion. We now move back. We are no longer in suspension. We now move back. To policy orders, pleasure of the council. Mr. Chair? Yes. Call number two. Pleasure of the council. Going once, going twice. Councillor Azuzzi. I heard you, but just speak into the mic for the record.
Catherine Zusy	One and three.
Marc McGovern	Anything else? Four, five, or six? No? On adopting Orders 4, 5, and 6, roll call.
SPEAKER_36	Councillor Azeem.
Unknown Speaker	Yes.
SPEAKER_36	Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern? Yes. Yes. Councillor Nolan? Yes. Councillor Siddiqui? Yes. Yes. Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler? Yes. Yes. Councillor Toner? Yes. Yes. Councillor Wilson? Yes. Yes. Councillor Zusy? Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons? Absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. We go back to policy order number one, that the city manager is requested to work with the city council to establish a seal review committee with the charge of recommending an updated city seal and motto in time for adoption prior to the 400th anniversary of the city of Cambridge in 2030. This was filed by myself and Mayor Simmons. I'm the lead sponsor, so I would normally speak first, but I will yield to you, Councillor Zusy.
Catherine Zusy	Thank you, Chair McGovern. So I think this is an interesting idea. I think we should see if we can come up with a better seal. I don't mind if our current seal stays because it's aspirational and grounded in our past. It celebrates Cambridge as a center for learning and its role in the American Revolution. But I also think that it could celebrate our role in creating the future. That's something that we do too, as well as our being a welcoming place for everybody and nurturing people as well as ideas. So one of the things that I wondered was whether we needed another or what we needed was an open competition. Because it seems as though if we had an open competition with artists, graphic designers, and branding experts, it would be really interesting to see what they would submit. And the students at CRLS that are studying design do amazing work. It would be interesting to see what they would come up with. And then maybe we would come up with some finalists and then ultimately decide on whether we thought one of the new designs was better than the old design. So I'm just not sure. Maybe this would go to committee, but I actually feel like a competition might yield more than a bunch of people talking about This is a very visual task, so I think a competition might be a better way to approach it than creating yet another committee, and I welcome your thoughts about that. I yield.
Marc McGovern	Yeah, thank you. So just as the lead, maybe that's what comes out of the committee discussion, and to put some parameters around what it is that we're looking for, I think of the... I'm certainly open to creativity, but I'm thinking of the conversation that's going on at the state level around the Massachusetts seal, and that was an open process, and it got some suggestions not quite as serious as maybe some of the others. I'm not sure that Dunkin' Donuts and a Patriot helmet is gonna necessarily be on the flag. So maybe having a committee to set some parameters and that may come out of it, but obviously we have a little bit of time. The current seal, Grove Hall doesn't exist anymore. you know that some people have raised questions and i wish mr sullivan was still here um some people have raised questions about whether or not george washington was actually standing under uh you know that tree when he took control of the of the army um there's so there may be some things that we're going to want to change to you know to update it and be a little bit more inclusive than we're a lot great lots of respect for harvard but we're we're a lot uh the city is a lot different now than it was many years ago when that seal was created and it I'm not sure making it all about Harvard is truly representative of where we are today. So those would be things that the committee would sort of discuss and roll out a process. So I hope we can just move this forward tonight and get that conversation started. Any comments from the council? No? On a motion by Councillor Wilson to adopt policy order number one, roll call.
SPEAKER_36	Councillor Azeem. Yes. Yes, Vice Mayor McGovern? Yes. Yes, Councillor Nolan? Yes. Yes, Councillor Siddiqui? Yes. Yes, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler? Yes. Yes, Councillor Toner? Yes. Yes, Councillor Wilson? Yes. Yes, Councillor Zusy? Yes. Yes, Mayor Simmons is absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. We now move on to policy order number two, that the housing committee will be convened to discuss the concrete details of social housing, that the city manager be and hereby is requested to confer with the community development department finance department, law department, and any other relevant departments to explore all steps towards advancing social housing in Cambridge. This was filed by Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, myself, Councillor Siddiqui, and Councillor Wilson. Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler, you pulled this and you're the lead sponsor, so you have the floor.
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	Thanks, Mr. Chair. I'm really excited to be introducing this. I want to thank the co-sponsors, Vice Mayor McGovern, Councillor Siddiqui, and Councillor Wilson. I know Councillor Nolan and Councillor Azeem have also had conversations with city staff and the Cambridge Housing Authority around social housing in the past. Happy to add anyone else who would be interested in being a co-sponsor. I also want to give a shout out to Rep. Mike Connolly, who's done work on the state level around pilot funding for social housing, and to the CHJC folks who advocated for this. I've done work around social housing efforts at the state level in Rhode Island. I've been talking with Rep Connelly about the Social Housing Pilot Fund, testified on it when it was introduced to the state legislature last year, and glad to have the chance to put this forward in Cambridge. I think what is exciting about social housing is that it's part of this paradigm shift around thinking of housing as a human right, thinking of housing... primarily as a place to live rather than as a commodity to be speculated on like a stock option. At the same time, social housing is also just about returning to the roots of public housing and the New Deal, which was mixed income public housing that allowed people from a variety of different backgrounds and income levels to live in the same building and share the same amenities and build the shared sense of community that comes out of that. The other thing that's exciting about social housing is that because it's publicly owned, the revenue from the higher income units does not have to go to paying back investors the way it would in a privately owned building. It can go towards cross-subsidizing lower income units. It can go to maintaining community spaces and go towards building more affordable housing, which we desperately need in Cambridge. We would not be the only community pursuing this. Social housing is common in parts of Europe and closer to home. Montgomery County in Maryland has been building social housing for decades. There's also a lot of cities and states in the U.S. who have been thinking about this recently, just in the past couple years, as housing costs continue to become a burden for more and more people. We have a real chance to build a community of practice around this. The co-sponsors and I on this policy order met with city staff next week. and got some great feedback there. The next step on this would be a housing committee meeting where we would bring in experts on social housing and have some folks in mind for that. And I think city staff will start thinking about a response to this policy order if we pass it tonight, use the information from that housing committee meeting in responding to it as well. I hope we can move forward with this tonight. I think this policy order builds on Cambridge's leadership with the affordable housing overlay, with the Community Preservation Act, with the affordable housing linkage fee, and so much other work the city has done and I hope we can be a leader here with social housing as well. I yield back.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. I'll go to co-sponsors. Councilor Wilson, Councilor Siddiqui, anything on this? Councilor Siddiqui?
Sumbul Siddiqui	Yeah, thank you, and thank you for Councillor Sobrino-Wheeler for bringing this forward. I'll just say that I think we're looking forward to have further discussion. There's a lot of experts we can hear from in the community, nationally, that would be willing to speak to our council. on these issues like social housing. Given what's happening, federal government, given some of the things that we don't have control over, there are things we do have control over. And so I think thinking about all the tools in our toolkit as we do, I think it's important and kind of what this looks like, how this looks like, what this actually means. and talking about it in the community I think is really important. So I look forward to doing that in the housing committee. Thank you.
Ayesha Wilson	Thank you, Vice Mayor, and through you to my co-sponsors on this, just thank you for bringing this forward, Councillor. Thank you again to the Housing Justice Coalition and to everyone who spoke in public comment. As has already been mentioned, this is definitely a top-tier, kind of out-of-the-box thinking in terms of a new innovative concept to bring more housing into our communities. and one that has been happening in other parts of the world, as Councilor Sabrina Willem mentioned, Europe, but even here in America. So I think it's important for us to make sure that we are adding as many tools to our toolbox around housing, but also, and most importantly, to be proactive and to be as innovative as possible at this time. I often say in terms of my own upbringing and my own lived experience living in public housing that I didn't necessarily know that I was living in poverty because everyone around me was. I didn't realize it until maybe high school and I had more friends who lived West Cambridge and maybe other areas of North Cambridge. where they had bigger houses and all this other stuff that I didn't realize that I was living in that. And so it would just be nicer for individuals across our community to have the wealth and depth of experience with living amongst many other income levels and under kind of the same roof, if you would. I think that that just adds to the beauty of diversity, adds to the beauty of experience, and truly adds to the quality of life for individuals. So looking forward to this being passed and for us to have more information on how we can best move forward and bring social housing to the city of Cambridge. Because again, it would be innovative, it would be top tier, top of the line, and something that Cambridge absolutely can do.
Marc McGovern	Thank you, and I'll just comment before I go to the others. I, too, want to thank the Cambridge Housing Justice Coalition for working on this and really pushing this issue. I want to thank Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler, who's been talking about this for a very long time, both in his profession, other than being on the City Council. You clearly have A lot of experience with this, and thanks to the co-sponsors. I, too, was going to say tools in the toolbox, but since you two both eggs in our basket, I don't know, whatever things we can come up with. But the point being that there is no easy answer to solving the housing crisis that we have, right? And we are doing lots and lots of things to address that. As Representative Connolly said, Cambridge is really pushing the envelope and leading the way in the state with the amount of money we put to the Affordable Housing Trust, with the AHO, with the multifamily housing, 20% inclusionary. Do you need water? No, are you okay? Okay, the 20% inclusionary, the linkage fee. I mean, we are really trying a lot of different things to address this crisis and this would be yet another way to do that. Lots of interesting ideas and positive things that could come out of this. So I'm very happy to be a co-sponsor and hopefully we move this forward tonight. I will say one thing Ms. Peters, I don't know if you want to come up for a second and comment, but when we met with the city a week or so ago, the one thing that they said was given all the other you know, things that CDD is working on right now, that having the housing committee meetings, doing the analysis, doing the study, talking to people and getting us something back by December is probably a stretch. So that's what, you know, it says back to the city council before January 26th, you've got holidays in there. I don't wanna set people up to thinking that we're gonna get something back by the end of December if we're not, and then people are gonna get upset with CDD for not meeting the deadline. Am I corrected in remembering the meeting that we had and that feels it's January 2026 is probably too soon.
SPEAKER_08	Thank you, through you, Vice Mayor. I think certainly we could start the conversation, but as we discussed, there's a lot that goes into defining social housing and the strategies that that entails. And so I don't think we'll have an answer by the end of this year, early next year, but certainly would love to start the conversation in committee.
Marc McGovern	Okay, so maybe, and I'm sorry, Naomi, I didn't send an amendment ahead of time, I'm just thinking of this now, but maybe the order is that the housing committee schedule a hearing prior to the end of the calendar year. That's probably more accurate. And then from that, whether that's one or two meetings, whatever it is, then we send it to CDD to get a report back. But again, getting a report back from you is probably not gonna happen by the end of December. And I just don't wanna set anybody up for false expectations. So maybe I would recommend that we change the order that says that the housing committee meets prior to the end of the calendar year. I'm sorry, the last order, I apologize. The last order. So instead of saying that the city manager being hereby is requested to report back to the city council before January 2026. It says that the housing committee will meet prior to the end of the calendar year. Oh, wait, I'm sorry. Schedule. Yeah, yeah. We'll schedule a hearing prior to the end of the calendar year. That seems, you're the lead, is that okay with you?
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	That is fine with me, yeah, we can discuss at that housing meeting a timeline for reporting from city staff and figure out what is reasonable there.
Marc McGovern	Okay, and again, I think there's a lot of support around this. I don't want the supporters to feel that we're kicking the can. I think people want to get on this right away. It's just not a, it's a complicated conversation that needs the time that it needs. Councilor Zusy?
Catherine Zusy	I also support this policy order. I think it would be great if we had social housing in Cambridge. I think the breakthroughs in our housing crisis are going to come from figuring out how to incentivize owners to make improvements to existing housing stock and adding ADUs, establishing Cambridge Land Trust, We need to help the Cambridge Land Trust, which has been promised six houses, to get legs. We need to help them to become stronger and come up with a business plan so that people can donate properties to them And then we need to come up with ways to lower the cost of producing affordable housing. And I think the idea of having a revolving housing production fund is a great idea. And I'm proudly from Montgomery County, Maryland, which, as you all know, has had this $100 million revolving fund. housing production fund for a while that I have had nothing to do with, but I'm very proud to be from there. As an aside, I just wanted to say that much social housing in Europe was created just after World War II, when there was cheap distressed property. And that's why Roosevelt wanted to create social housing at the end of the Depression, was because there was cheap distressed property. And our eight limited equity co-ops were all created around 1995 after the end of rent control, when again, property was cheap. And I understand that many of our housing nonprofits also acquired quite a bit of property then too. So I think our real challenge will be in acquiring the land. ideally from donation. That's why I feel like really working with the folks that are invested in the Cambridge Land Trust is a good idea because I still believe in our old hippies that bought properties for $40,000, $60,000 and have great social consciences. I think they're going to be part of our solution because they could be providing the properties in the buildings that might be the foundation for social housing in Cambridge. And then we've just got to find an inexpensive way to finance all the improvements in the development. So I look forward to hearing more about this, and I'm excited that there is such tremendous support for this policy order. Thank you.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. Anything, Councillor Nolan?
Patricia Nolan	Thank you, Vice Mayor. Thanks to everybody who worked on it. I know the city staff is, to the counselors who worked on this, the Housing Justice Coalition, the senior housing. I'm excited to see it on the agenda that we'll be able to work on social housing. I would like to be added. As noted, I've had discussions on this issue with folks for years and thrilled it's on the agenda. To remind us all, part of the reason is a huge advantage of social housing is that what's central to its potential is the element of mixed income, which is something we do have a couple of the mixed income properties in Cambridge, but not all of them are, and it's really something that helps. We know very specifically with economic mobility, it is far, far better for people to live in mixed income. And I've been a consistent supporter of mixed income housing, noting the need for middle income in our city. That's the group that we've lost the most of. So hopefully social housing by doing this, it will be able to be an element of our city that we'll be able to get back to because I think we used to have far more of it. And also an element of social housing is that people are able to stay in the housing regardless of how their income changes over time, which is not always the case. in some of our affordable housing. And the forum on social housing, which is the Kennedy School, the Graduate School of Design, I think last spring, was packed and the room was full of folks who were interested in this, so this is an optimal time for Cambridge to be part of that conversation. Margaret Moran from CHA was actually on one of the panels that I heard. And it's it's the reasons are clear. This is a really solid proposal that has the potential to adjust the needs of housing so excited to support this with the amendment that The vice mayor proposed in terms of timing look forward to the conversation housing even though I'm not on the committee And again, we'd love to be added. Thank you.
Marc McGovern	I yield Okay anything further concert rules I
Ayesha Wilson	Thank you. I just wanted to add, you know, I totally agree and appreciate with timing and the work that our city staff are doing around the clock on so many issues. I also want to just speak a little bit to the urgency around, I think the timeline and the date was more so in terms of budgetary reasons. So if any of this has to do with budget, we want to make sure that that is definitely top of mind and talked about so that that can be included in this fiscal year budget. So just wanted to, I think, elevate. So yes, having a committee meeting is perfectly fine and wanting to make sure that we're moving and being intentional so that we can work towards the budget. IF WE CAN WITH THE UPDATES THAT CDD WILL PROVIDE TO US IN JANUARY OR SOMETIME EARLY IN THE NEW YEAR. THANK YOU.
Marc McGovern	THANK YOU. COUNCILOR WILSON, WE COULD HAVE THIS WRITTEN OUT NOW. because we haven't voted the amendment yet. So we could say that the housing committee ordered that the housing committee hold a public meeting to discuss social housing prior to the end of calendar year 2025 and that CDD report back with recommendations by the end of March, 2026. Does that seem reasonable? And then that way it can assure people that the process is gonna get started this year, but we're also gonna get a report. I see nodding heads. So that will be my amendment that the housing committee ordered that the housing committee hold a public meeting to discuss social housing prior to the end of calendar year 2025, comma, with a report back from community development by the end of March, 2026. Can't hear you.
Patricia Nolan	It's not exactly what you said, but it does capture what you, I'm not sure if you can read it from that angle. The CDD report back with recommendations by March of 2020.
Marc McGovern	Yeah, that's, yes, that's it, that's fine. And we're gonna add, and we'll also just do this all at once, add Councilor Nolan and Councilor Azeem as co-sponsors. Okay, we're good? Good, good, good? All right. Cool. Councilor Azeem.
Burhan Azeem	Thank you, Mr. Vice Mayor. I was going to say that I'm happy to be at it as well. I did want to add a little bit of context. I think that there's been a lot of exciting work done around social housing. In Montgomery, Maryland, a large part of the work has been led by the Center for Public Enterprise and Paul Williams. A bunch of my staffers have gone on to work with him. He spoke on our first meeting about um multi-family housing i think there's been a lot of exciting developments and i will say that there's a lot more complicated trade-offs than uh come at the first imagination when rep connelly's initial uh bill passed the state house i had a meeting with cha some city staff and paul williams to um see how the economics will work out and and they're difficult in that the reason that 100% affordable housing is a lot of what we build in the city is because we get LIHTC and state and federal fundings to match. And so the cost per unit might be high, but for the city to get a unit of housing built, it's like 200,000, 250,000. In a lot of other places where they're just doing the social housing model, it's $750,000 because they're financing the entire construction of the unit. And so you get a lot less housing. You get other sorts of benefits, but you get other housing. And even in Montgomery, Maryland, it's about equivalent to 20% inclusionary. So they're not getting 40%, 50%, 60% inclusionary housing where they're getting a return and a revolving loan fund where they're not having to put in an additional investment. without other conditions. And CHA themselves, who I hope, you know, one will bring into the conversation, I just want to acknowledge that there's other things, right? Like let's say 20% is marginally where things could be profitable in the private market. The city has lower interest rates. Maybe we can make 30% work. Sure. But CHA also, or any public housing also has, you know, prevailing wage laws. We have higher climate standards in the private marking, which add costs. Just to say that, you know, I think that there's a lot of exciting opportunity. I'm a really big fan of the social housing model. I think that there's a lot of benefits here, but also there's a lot of trade-offs and a lot of things that make it such that's not just we have a lower interest rate and so things will be more profitable for the city to do. We also have higher requirements. and um fundamentally if you know this comes at the cost of litech the housing can be harder if this is purely additive then it can be really beneficial so just wanted to say that you know it's complicated it's not like an easy low hanging fruit which we like obviously we should just be doing and there's no uh implementation details um but you know plenty of discussion for the committee so i'm excited for that thank you counselor
Marc McGovern	Okay, so anything further? No, so on the amendments, roll call. Councillor Azeem.
SPEAKER_36	Yes. Yes, Vice Mayor McGovern.
Marc McGovern	Yes.
SPEAKER_36	Yes, Councillor Nolan. Yes. Yes, Councillor Siddiqui. Yes. Yes, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Yes. Yes, Councillor Toner. Yes. Yes, Councillor Wilson. Yes. Yes, Councillor Zusy. Yes. Yes, Mayor Simmons is absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. On the order as amended, roll call. Councilor Azeem?
Burhan Azeem	Yes.
SPEAKER_36	Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern? Yes. Yes. Councilor Nolan? Yes. Yes. Councilor Siddiqui? Yes. Yes. Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler? Yes. Yes. Councilor Toner? Yes. Yes. Councilor Wilson? Yes. Yes. Councilor Zusy? Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons is absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. We now move on to policy order number three, that the city manager is requested to work with relevant departments to provide a recommendation on the site conditions of 25 Lowell Street and considerations and process for determining the future use of the property. This was filed by Councilor Nolan, Councilor Toner, myself, and Councilor Siddiqui, pulled by Councilor Zusy. I will go to the sponsor and the lead sponsor and co-sponsors first. Councilor Nolan.
Patricia Nolan	Thank you, Vice Mayor, and thanks to all the co-sponsors, and thanks to the New School of Music and Cambridge Art Association for coming here to speak about their programs. Both are important, wonderful nonprofits who have been in the building for 40 years. In full disclosure, my kids took classes at the New School of Music. I've been to a number of events there and my husband is on the board of the Cambridge Art Association. So I certainly know and I know the council and the city appreciate the contribution to the community of both organizations. This PO is not about those organizations and their contribution to the community. It really is about taking the next steps in a review of the utilization and use of city-owned properties. We are still working through the Central Square lot study, which took a look at several properties in that area, including not only parking lots, but also some buildings the city owns. We're in the process of that. And 25 Lowell Street property is another city-owned property. The city staff has started to consider and approached me as finance chair because any assessment of the conditions will eventually fall under the capital budget. And due to some recent events, there was a small fire, there was a request, a consideration of whether we should have an elevator. That means that the question of building conditions is something that is really important for us to assess as the owner of the property. And as with other city parcels, the city should consider existing and future use along with site conditions. And that's what this policy is about. The point of it is to ensure transparency and openness. Someone said, well, why isn't it even on here? Can't the city just do this? And they can, but we wanted to make sure that in full disclosure and transparency that the community knew that obviously I reached out to both the director of both nonprofits and 10 days or so ago when this came up to say, you know, this will be coming forward and to talk about it so that it was all transparent. And also there is a neighborhood association, the Mount Auburn Neighborhood Association, who also was apprised of this. And again, it's to ensure that the future use of this property is considered as part of a community process. Any decisions on use, to be clear, would take more than a year. Both nonprofits are aware of the expected timeline. And as the policy order notes, the current lease is from decades ago. That is also something that needs to be addressed. We would not ever ordinarily have a lease that was signed decades ago and never really been reviewed. So as part of good governance, it makes sense for us to look at this property. The policy order, and we can go through if DCM Watkins wants to address it, It really asks the city, given this, assess the conditions and then develop a process by which any future use will be discussed. Just also a note, the building is historic. We know that. No one is talking about taking that building down. So I personally look forward to discussing the process, to hearing about it, and also for us to understand what is the best and highest use for this parcel of land that is in West Cambridge where we don't actually as a city own much land. So that's it. I yield, Vice Mayor.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. I'll go to co-sponsors. Councillor Toner, Councillor Siddiqui. Anything? No? Councillor Toner? Councillor Siddiqui? No? I'll just say real quickly before I go to Councilor Zusy as one of the co-sponsors, given that I'm one of the co-sponsors, just to sort of reiterate sort of what Councilor Nolan said that, you know, I'm interested in finding out, to start this process, to find out more information on what we can do to preserve the building and make sure the building is in good shape. You know, if the order was to demolish the building or to move the nonprofits out of the building, I would have thought more carefully about that. I'm not advocating that the nonprofits be removed from the building. I want to see after a process what the city comes up with and we can have that discussion. People know, I think, and know our history in this council of being very supportive of nonprofits and understanding how expensive nonprofit space is. So nobody is just going to sort of willy-nilly want two valuable nonprofits to be moved. So just some assurance to the folks out there, and I hope that as we are communicating this to the public, again, I just want to encourage the folks that are sort of rallying people that we don't, let the false narrative of the council is thinking about demolishing this building or doing this get out there in the public that will cause further anxiety for people that is not necessary. So that's not what we're discussing at this point or probably ever given the historical nature of that building. So I just want to make that clear. I will go to Councilor Zusy.
Catherine Zusy	Thank You chair McGovern I agree it's always good to have a long-term plan and if I was either of the institutions if I worked for either of the institutions in the building I would want a long-term lease because especially if you that I understand for years the building has needed maintenance and you've been raising money for maintenance but you don't want to be investing in the maintenance of a building that you don't have a long-term lease to or a plan So I applaud the idea. I think planning is always a great idea, especially before substantial investment. And I also think for the sake of the music school and the Art Association, I do believe that it's really important to have art and culture organizations throughout the city. If I had my way, there'd be something like this in every part of the city because I think it's essential for creative expression. And it's fabulous. We want to have a resilient community. It's a great way to create community, bring people together. There are meeting spaces there. So I think these organizations are doing exactly what we need to be doing. to be a vibrant city and to be a resilient city. So I'll support long-term planning for coming up with a long-term plan for the facility because I think it will be to the benefit of the organizations that have been functioning within the building for the last 50 years. I think it It might make you sleep better at night, actually, after this, and know that I will be defending the idea that I think it's really important, again, to have our art and culture ecosystem throughout the city, and I wouldn't want to take it away from 25 Lowell Street. Thank you. I yield.
Marc McGovern	Pleasure to counsel. On adoption, roll call.
SPEAKER_36	Councillor Azeem. Councillor Azeem, yes. Vice Mayor McGovern. Yes. Yes, Councillor Nolan. Yes. Yes, Councillor Siddiqui. Yes. Yes, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Yes. Yes, Councillor Toner. Yes. Yes, Councillor Wilson. Yes. Yes, Councillor Zusy. Yes. Yes, Mayor Simmons is absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Thank you, that concludes policy orders. We now move to the calendar. We have one charter right item, and then I think there may be some things on the table that we might remove. So on the charter right item, charter right number one, a communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, city manager, relative to a winning report, item number 25-32, regarding a request that the city engage in discussions with leadership from the MassBay Transportation Authority, MBTA, and the Harvard Square Business Association, HSBA, regarding a proposal to explore the feasibility of repurposing the long-abandoned MBTA tunnel in Harvard Square into a commercial or cultural space. Charter rate was exercised by Consular Azeem on September 15, 2025. Consular Azeem, would you like to speak on this first?
Burhan Azeem	THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. I THINK THAT OBVIOUSLY THE TUNNEL IS SOMETHING THAT'S VERY EXCITING. AND I KNOW THAT THE HARVARD SQUARE BUSINESS SOLUTION HAS BEEN VERY EXCITED. I KNOW THAT THERE'S BEEN CONFLICTATION ABOUT THIS. AND SO I JUST WANTED A CHANCE TO LIKE CALM THINGS DOWN AND TO SEE HOW THE CONVERSATION WOULD PROGRESS IN TWO WEEKS. I DIDN'T HAVE THE CHANCE TO SPEAK TO DENISE SHELTON OF THE HARVARD SQUARE BUSINESS SOLUTION LAST TWO WEEKS JUST BECAUSE OF THE WAY THAT TIMING WORKED OUT. I DO BELIEVE THAT THE CITY MANAGER HAD SOME UPDATES AND SO JUST WANTED TO GIVE HIM AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.
Marc McGovern	THANK YOU.
Yi-An Huang	MR. MANAGER? THROUGH YOU, VICE MAYOR. I THINK I WOULD SAY WE'VE CONTINUED TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE MBTA. ULTIMATELY THIS IS THEIR TUNNEL AND THE FEASIBILITY AND THE PROCESS THAT WE WOULD NEED TO GO THROUGH BOTH TO CONDUCT AN RFP AND ALSO to pursue this opportunity would have to be in very close collaboration with the T. And so a lot of this is making sure that we get them on board. I think there is a commitment to explore this. And so I think we're pretty favorably inclined to trying to figure out what an RFP might look like and how we would assess the feasibility. but we're still in continued conversations. I think we've talked a couple of times over the last couple of weeks and we're happy to report back once we get a little bit more detail in terms of how this could be scoped. So I think the first piece of our next steps is really to get this worked out with the MBTA in terms of how we would coordinate a feasibility study. I continue to really believe that The second piece is to ensure that we have some level of budget commitment from the council or from some other entity for what at least an initial phase one feasibility study would look like. I am disinclined to be putting 50,000, 100,000, however much money into a process that is a bridge that doesn't go to what we know the next step is. And so I think that's sort of the note in our response to say that whether that feasibility phase one study would be $500,000 or a million dollars, I think if the city ultimately is going to be the funding source, we should collectively have that conversation as part of the FY27 budget process. There are obviously a lot of other competing proposals and needs within our community, and we would have to weigh this against all of those other possible things that we could fund. So I think that's the second piece. I think as we work through the conversation with the MBTA, we will hopefully get a more accurate estimate of what that number is. And then I think the third piece, and I've had this conversation with the Harvard Square Business Association, I continue to feel like this is ultimately a very exciting idea. I think even the most excited proponents really believe that at the most aggressive timeline, we're not gonna see a tunnel come online for five, probably closer to 10 years. And so given the urgency of the circumstances we're looking at, the need to support local businesses to revitalize our commercial districts, I do continue to feel like it's fine for us to explore this, but we should be thinking about ideas and initiatives that have a nearer term impact. 10 years is like two economic cycles in the future. And so I'm fine with us continuing to do this work, but would also be excited to hear and to think together about nearer term options that we could look at. Councilor Azeem.
Burhan Azeem	Thank you. I would just make a motion to place on file.
Marc McGovern	on further discussion on Councilor Azeem's motion, Councilor Nolan?
Patricia Nolan	Thank you. I want to say I completely support the city manager's memo here, and I support the idea of I'm totally psyched and excited about the idea of having this tunnel, and I also understand the complexity and will say unless the owners are willing to move forward, we don't own the land. We should not commit any funds whatsoever until we have assurances to move forward, and I also, if it turns out that it is 500 to a million just to do a full feasibility study that might happen in five or ten years That may be something we do what I will say because the through you vice mayor the city manager asked I Am really clear and on record and this council is on record for five years Maybe even more because vice mayor then councillor Malin talked about it Let's get to some pedestrianization in Harvard Square and let's really activate it that can be done in a month Well, not a month but in a few We already know how to do it. There's incredible energy around the square when that happens. It doesn't require any capital investment, and we own the land. We own that public space. So for feedback on short-term measures that can happen as soon as possible, we do not even need a $300,000 traffic study. We can do something for far, far less and have it have it be in place. I'm totally psyched about that as much as I'm psyched about the long term possible of a tunnel, but I also think if we're really trying to support small businesses and get excitement into the square in the short term, there's other things we need to really be thinking about and doing. I know on the pedestrianization, the opening up, the Harvard Square Business Association and many of the property owners are totally psyched about that as well.
Marc McGovern	Further discussion? I have a few words. Councilor Zusy.
Catherine Zusy	Through Chair McGovern, I had a question. I just wanted to make sure I understand this correctly. So I think I understood that the Harvard Square Business Association couldn't put out the RFP, that it really would need to come from the city. Is that correct? And can you explain why that would be the case? Because I think that would be good for everyone to understand.
Marc McGovern	Deputy City Manager Watkins?
Kathy Watkins	Sure. Three, Vice Mayor. I don't think it was so much that they couldn't. I think it was looking for partners to help draft the scope of the RFP. So again, as the City Manager was describing, the $72,000 is to really make sure that someone has enough understanding of what would be required to ultimately do the work to even draft the scope for feasibility study so the seventy two thousand dollars is to support doing enough homework to understand what a real rfp would look like and then you would do the rfp to sort of the feasibility study and again that would be sort of five hundred thousand to a million dollars to determine if it was feasible and then you would need to fund the full package of improvements which you know are quite significant when you think about the overall what it would take to really make that space accessible, safe, safe egress, you know, and meet code and really function, elevator access, all of those things. But even to understand what are the right questions to ask as part of an RFP, um the harvard square business association had gotten a proposal for approximately 72 000 to draft the rfp and so i think it was more of a partnership question as opposed to who could do it or who couldn't do it so the mbta does lots of work with private entities if you think about some of the improvements in kendall square around the new entrances there that mit or Boston Properties did on the north side and MIT did on the south side. You know, those were public-private partnerships with private entities and the MBTA. And like MIT did all of that design and construction work with the MBTA, and the city was not necessarily involved in that beyond sort of reviewing and approving. But in terms of the RFP and the design process, that was done by MIT as a private entity, and so this could be somewhat similar to that.
Marc McGovern	Councilor Zusy.
Catherine Zusy	Yeah, again, through you, Chair McGovern. So an entertainment company could possibly pay for the feasibility study, though, right? So they may be paying the $500,000 or the million dollars to do the feasibility study. perhaps with some understanding that they'll be given a first crack at being able to use the tunnel as an entertainment venue. Would that be the case?
Marc McGovern	Mr. Manager?
Yi-An Huang	Through you, Vice Mayor, I think the challenge with bringing private money in at this point in time is that the property is owned by the MBTA. And so in order for the MBTA to enter into a public-private partnership or to sign some sort of lease arrangement for its property to be used, it would have to actually go through a pretty extensive process And that would have to be public and accessible to a lot of different bidding parties. So if you think about an individual private entity that would want to put money in right now, they would have to do so without any certainty that they would be the winning bidder. So that's a real challenge for bringing private dollars in. And in particular, and I think the HSBA is appropriately noting that some of the risks and unknowns and uncertainties are things that need to get worked out before you can even get down the road to doing a public bid. And that's sort of the intention of starting this process, exploring the feasibility and even understanding how much investment would be required. I would note, I mean, some of the conversation with the MBTA as well is just there is also a lot of legal regulatory and policy prioritization that the MBTA needs to go through, in addition to simply the engineering feasibility. And so it may be the case that there's additional challenges from a legal perspective for the MBTA to go through that process and license this out. as well as the fact that the MBTA has to consider whether it may need the space in the future. So I think there's just this host of potential issues that need to get explored and that's why the MBTA is such an important party to understanding how an RFP would even be scoped and how we should explore the feasibility of the idea.
Catherine Zusy	So again, through you, Chair McGovern, so what you're proposing is that you continue conversations with the MBTA to get a better sense for what the future might be before committing to the money for the RFP.
Yi-An Huang	Yes, through you, Vice Mayor. I think our understanding at this point is that the MBTA is favorably inclined to taking this next step with us. And so starting this work to explore the feasibility and being able to sketch out what would have to go into an RFP, essentially what is being asked for in this consultant report, I think we're just trying to figure out with the MBTA what internal resources they would need to make available I think it is actually more complex than simply giving access to the tunnel to a consultant. And I think Kathy can speak more to this, but the extensive work we've done with the MBTA on a whole number of projects has given us a pretty clear understanding of what it means to partner with the MBTA and work in MBTA space and so our sense is this is not just a consulting firm gets a contract, goes into the tunnel and then is able to sufficiently address what a phase one feasibility study would look like. Maybe Deputy City Manager Watkins can give just a little more context for that and that might be helpful for the council and the community to understand.
Marc McGovern	Deputy City Manager.
Kathy Watkins	Sure, through you, Vice Mayor. You know, we've done a number of different projects with the T, and I would say, you know, they can be quite challenging in terms of they have a very complex infrastructure that they are trying to maintain and operate. And, you know, their prime directive is maintaining and operating a transit system, not necessarily supporting all the other things we want to do. I think the most recent example is around the kiosk and the plaza around the kiosk in Harvard Square. I would say, you know, the design and permitting process with the MBTA, you know, we met with them, I would say, every other week for about two years going into that project. And even with that, once we got into construction and had a contractor on board, the plaza work itself was delayed for over a year because of continued review and changes from the MBTA. Now, in the MBTA's defense, during that timeframe, they identified significant concerns with the structural waterproofing at the Harvard Square tunnel. And they had a number of very public incidents that happened. And so their criteria for how they were evaluating the plaza work that we were doing above ground changed during that process. And so I say that both in terms of it is a very complex organization, that when you're going through this, 10 or 15 different groups within the MBTA are reviewing each of these pieces of work. And given the timeline that that takes, there are conditions that change during that process. And so it makes it really challenging. And that was an example where the MBTA was really committed to it. The accessibility improvements associated with the plaza, which are key in terms of access to their elevator, in terms of access to their station. And so it's a significant benefit to them for the system, and yet it's also really challenging in terms of all of the different groups within the MBTA that are responsible for that work. The other example we were talking about a little bit today is, we haven't talked with folks for a while, but the MBTA is doing a replacement, will be doing a replacement elevator in Central Square. and two new elevators in central square that work also includes escalators as well as waterproofing of the central square area um you know and i think that that that project and all of those pieces is budgeted at about 55 million dollars so just in terms of the scope and the complexity of these things that can queen that can seem quite straightforward um they're very complex and so i think to the city manager's point It's like as we're being asked to start investing money, just want to make sure that it's really leading to the right place and is something that can have an outcome.
Marc McGovern	I'm going to jump in real quick. I want to bring this back. We could talk about the MBTA for another 45 hours. We clearly got the picture. It's complicated. We clearly have the picture that this is going to involve a lot of people. the question that's in front of us is do we want to allocate do we want to take the money seventy two thousand dollars of the of the three hundred thousand dollars it's already been allocated this is not new money it's money that's already been allocated take well it's been allocated already we're using it in a different way so um it's not we're not talking three hundred and seventy two thousand dollars mr manager it's taking that money out of the money that's already been allocated um and It may lead to something else that we find out makes this a significant investment that we don't want to make. But we have to get started if we want to even begin to explore this. Yes, I agree with you, Mr. Manager, that we could be, you know, we wouldn't, even if this all goes well, you know, it might take 10 years to do. But remember, these are tunnels that have been abandoned since the 80s. If we had done this a long time ago, maybe we'd all be enjoying a concert by now underground. So we got to get started if that's what we want to do. So I just would like to move us on from yes, this is going to be complicated to do we want to place this on file and ask the manager to allocate the money and let's make a decision. Councilor Wilson and Councilor Siddiqui. Let me go first.
Sumbul Siddiqui	Yeah, I was just going to say thank you through you. You know, city manager, you've said you'd be open to thinking around, what else can we do in Harvard Square? And I think the reality is we've tried to say, hey, what can we do with the movie theater? We don't have control over that. We just don't have control over certain things. There's some things we have control over, which is, look, there's an idea here that most of us, I think, do find compelling. It feels a little bit circular in the reasoning that we don't know all the answers, and we need to know all the answers before we get to this next step. The reality is sometimes you have to do some work to get some more clarity. And so I think personally, given the different challenges in Harvard Square, I don't know of any other ideas that are as in the ether right now. Of course, the Bow Street, that's really great, exciting. I hope that's going to happen. And that took how long? How many years did that take? And so I do think time is, yes, I hear the arguments. And I also understand logically what you're saying. And I do agree with the vice mayor here, I think. I think we just have to kind of come to a decision around this step, and if it's a no, it's a no, but I do think from where we are, It feels like not doing anything is also going to, it just doesn't feel like the right step to me either. So just based on the conversation. So I'll yield. We'll go to Councilor Wilson. Councilor Wilson.
Ayesha Wilson	Thank you, Vice Mayor, and through you to City Manager, I want to just agree that I think we need to start somewhere in order for us to make an informed decision. We're going to have to invest a couple of dollars in order to do it. And I believe that the dollars, just based on what the Vice Mayor just mentioned, if it's dollars that are already somewhat reserved for something to do in this respect, let's allocate the $72,000 for that just so that we can actually get a better sense and understanding for what we can possibly do. I feel like that is just very much the bottom, like the least we can do in this possible situation is to learn what is possible. and then from there be able to go into an RFP if we wanted to and get more information, but to at least know if anything is even feasible for us in this moment. I also just want to just kind of call to question, so if we could just move this along for the vote. Thank you.
Marc McGovern	I don't think anyone else has their hand up, so we'll go to the, because we'll have to take another vote to call the question. No, we don't want to do that. Just to clarify, because I did ask the clerk and the clerk conferred with the solicitor because the motion is to place the order on file. And I just wanted to make sure that that would also mean that we are passing the request to allocate the money to start the RFP. And I was told that yes, by placing this on file, the underlying original motion would be passed as well.
Ayesha Wilson	The motion to place on file.
Marc McGovern	Really? Go ahead, Councilor Nolan.
Patricia Nolan	The memo doesn't say to allocate the funds. What we heard from the city manager is continuing conversation about this. And the idea of it's only 72,000 out of money allocated, I think what we've heard really clearly is they're continuing conversations. They want to move forward if the property owners are involved and engaged. It seems... So this is to place on file. The memo says they'll continue the conversation. It doesn't say spend the money. So I'm happy to place this on file and to have the city continue the conversations. But if we're saying this is a separate motion to actually appropriate funding when we have We need to understand the timing. If we even did a feasibility study, if it's five years out, we're gonna have to redo the feasibility study because there'll be different conditions. So it just seems like we need to get more information about how serious the MBTA is and Mass.R for partners. Because until we know that, it would be completely irresponsible, in fact, to allocate funds for feasibility study that the owners of the property aren't interested in doing. If they're totally interested in doing it and we can see it move forward, that's a really different conversation. But the memo says clearly they'll continue to engage with stakeholders. And what we heard is they've actually had those conversations. It's further along than I would expect it. It just seems like we've been talking about this for a while, but I want to make sure what we're voting on because I want to go forward.
Marc McGovern	The original, sorry, but just so we're clear, the original order, the original policy order, the first order says that the city manager, you are correct, is hereby and requested to meet with the leadership of the MBTA and the Harvard Square Business Association to discuss the proposal and to consider the possibility of using 72,000 of the 300,000 budgeted for a study to pedestrianize Harvard Square to fund the RFP development for the tunnel engineering study. We are not allocating the money, Mr. Manager.
Yi-An Huang	I think just to clarify, I think we're probably overcomplicating this a little bit. There was an original policy order. This is the response. The only vote is to place the response on file. I do think we communicate not just in policy orders and responses. Certainly the opinions that have been expressed have been expressed and we understand them. I think we've sort of said the city is moving forward with the MBTA and favorably inclined to explore in an RFP, but that this is more complex. I think you did a good job summarizing vice mayor. And so I think it's probably not, we're not allocating funding at this point, but I think we certainly heard the direction the council would like us to move in. All right, so we're all clear on what we're voting on at Councilor Wilson.
Ayesha Wilson	Thank you. If I could just add that when I did the tour with folks from MassDOT and Secretary Tibbetts, what's her last name again? Yeah, thank you. and Representative Decker and John DiGiovanni and some others, that there was a lot of agreement and just like excitement about some possibilities, just not knowing exactly kind of what the next steps are, but I think just being in that space with all of those key people, key players, missing the mayor, missing the city manager and deputy city manager, but recognizing that there was just some excitement in the room. So I just wanted to name that. And so looking forward to just placing this on file, continuing for the city manager to do his work and the work of the city as best we can in conversation and communication and in collaboration with the MBTA and others so that we could move something forward as quickly as possible.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. On placing the matter on file, roll call. Councillor Azeem.
SPEAKER_36	Yes. Yes, Vice Mayor McGovern. Yes. Yes, Councillor Nolan. Yes. Yes, Councillor Siddiqui. Yes. Yes, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Yes. Yes, Councillor Toner. Yes. Yes, Councillor Wilson. Yes. Yes, Councillor Zusy. Yes. Yes, Mayor Simmons is absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded in the absent, is absent.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. We now move on to matters on the table. Does anyone wish to pull off the table? Councillor Toner. Pulling number five, please. Number five. Anything else off the table? No. Number five, that the City Council go on record expressing its profound disappointment over Apex Clean Energy's decision to forego the use of local union labor on the Bowman Wind Project, placed on the table as amended in Council June 23rd, 2025, placed back on the table in Council August 4th, 2025. Councilor Toner.
Paul Toner	Thank you, Mr. Mayor. What we have before us was the original policy order, but this is the substitute that I brought forward that was actually drafted by the city solicitor and the city manager to address some concerns they had about the language in the original policy order. This does make it very clear that we as a council support and expect the people we work with to do their best to hire union labor. And we did talk to Local 151 and their national representatives, and they said that they're okay with this language, so we could go forward with this. So I would love to, after a couple of months of talking about this, to finally pass it and move it along.
Marc McGovern	I yield. Thank you. We're trying to get it up on the screen. Pleasure of the council. Any further discussion? No? Was that Councillor Siddiqui? No? Move to adopt. Councillor Nolan.
Patricia Nolan	The same motion that we had had a few weeks ago that the city solicitor, right? That's the same language?
Marc McGovern	Yes, the red language you have is what was given to me two months ago. And I'll just say, initially I supported the initial motion, policy order that we filed, but obviously we heard back a lot from the city solicitor that that would put some things in jeopardy. I think this is a good compromise. It certainly makes it clear to the public that we support and continue to support union labor and that we're disappointed when union labor is not used, but it doesn't put us in legal jeopardy of losing the contract and the repercussions that that would cause. I think this is a good middle ground. If there's no further discussion on adopting the substitute order.
SPEAKER_36	Councilor Azeem. Yes. Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern. Yes. Yes. Councilor Nolan. Yes. Yes. Councilor Siddiqui. Yes. Yes. Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Yes. Yes. Councilor Toner. Yes. Yes. Councilor Wilson. Yes. Yes. Councilor Zusy. Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons is absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. We now move on to applications and petitions. There are two pleasure of the council. Move to adopt.
SPEAKER_36	Oh, I'm sorry.
Marc McGovern	We're going to go back. We have to adopt the order as amended by substitution.
SPEAKER_36	Counselor Azeem.
Burhan Azeem	Yes.
SPEAKER_36	Yes, Vice Mayor McGovern? Yes. Yes, Councilor Nolan? Yes. Yes, Councilor Siddiqui? Yes. Yes, Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler? Yes. Yes. Yes, Councilor Toner? Yes. Yes, Councilor Wilson? Yes. Yes, Councilor Zusy? Yes. Yes, Mayor Simmons is absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Okay, thank you. Got a little ahead of myself. Now we move on to applications and petitions. There are two. Pleasure of the Council. Move to adopt. On a motion by Councilor Toner to adopt applications one and two. Roll call. Councillor Azeem.
SPEAKER_36	Yes. Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern. Yes. Yes. Councillor Nolan. Yes. Yes. Councillor Siddiqui. Yes. Yes. Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Yes. Yes. Councillor Toner. Yes. Yes. Councillor Wilson. Yes. Yes. Councillor Zusy. Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons. Absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. We now move to communications on a motion by Councillor Wilson to put all 25 communications on file. Roll call.
SPEAKER_36	Councilor Azeem? Yes. Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern? Yes. Yes. Councilor Nolan? Yes. Yes. Councilor Siddiqui?
Burhan Azeem	Yes.
SPEAKER_36	Yes. Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler? Yes. Yes. Councilor Toner? Yes. Yes. Councilor Wilson? Yes. Yes. Councilor Zusy? Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons? Absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. I'm sorry, my computer messed up a minute here. Let me get back to where I need to be. Yep, we can go to resolutions. I actually want to pull, I want to pull number one and number two.
Patricia Nolan	Vice Mayor.
Marc McGovern	Councilor Nolan.
Patricia Nolan	Number six.
Marc McGovern	Number six.
Catherine Zusy	And number four.
Marc McGovern	All right, so on number one, oh, sorry, on the balance, making unanimous upon adoption, roll call. Councillor Azeem.
SPEAKER_36	Yes.
Marc McGovern	Yes, Vice Mayor McGovern.
SPEAKER_36	Yes. Yes, Councillor Nolan. Yes. Yes, Councillor Siddiqui. Yes. Yes, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Yes. Yes, Councillor Toner. Yes. Yes, Councillor Wilson. Yes. Yes, Councillor Zusy. Yes. Yes, Mayor Simmons is absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. Number one is a resolution on the passing of Red T. Mitchell. I am sure that Mayor Simmons would like to speak to this given her connection with Red, and I know we all know Red, so I'm actually just going to exercise my charter right on that for now so that we can talk about it next week when the mayor is here so she can have an opportunity to speak.
Ayesha Wilson	Mr. Vice Mayor. Yes. I was just wondering if there was a need, because he has services that are this week, if there was a need to pass anything for the presenting of that to family. So I'm not sure.
Marc McGovern	Yeah. I was kind of hoping she would have been here. She can do a, I mean, the other possibility is that for the services, she can do a proclamation, which doesn't have to come before the council, that she can then use, and then we can, you know, we can talk about this, because I'm sure we all would like to talk about red as well. So I'm going to exercise my charter right on that. We move on to number two. Congratulations to Kevin Traynor and Joe McCabe on their 30th anniversary of Phoenix Landing. filed by Councilor Zusy. I just would like to be added. My sons work there and I'm a frequent visitor and so it's all going to be unanimous upon adoption but Councilor Toner and Councilor Wilson also want to be added. So Councilor Zusy, I don't know if you wanted to say anything about it but they're fabulous guys and it's a great place and
Catherine Zusy	Yeah, they're awesome. My son worked there too. Joe McCabe is my neighbor, and he has employed most of the young people that grew up on our street. Anyway, it's a local business that has so much color and character and has enhanced all of our lives in Cambridge.
Marc McGovern	I think we might have a week or two to get over to the beer garden in Fresh Pond that they also run. It's closed already? I thought it was early October, so I thought maybe we could squeeze in. I should, yeah, yeah. Well, you know, you can put a coat on and have a beer. It's good. All right, so on adding myself, Consular Toner, and Consular Wilson. Roll call.
SPEAKER_36	Councilor Azeem? Yes. Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern? Yes. Yes. Councilor Nolan? Yes. Yes. Councilor Siddiqui? Yes. Yes. Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler? Yes. Yes. Councilor Toner? Yes. Yes. Councilor Wilson? Yes. Yes. Councilor Zusy? Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons? Absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded and is absent.
Marc McGovern	On the resolution as amended.
SPEAKER_36	Councilor Azeem? Yes. Yes. Vice-Mayor McGovern? Yes. Yes. Councilor Nolan? Yes. Yes. Councilor Siddiqui? Yes. Yes. Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler? Yes. Yes. Councilor Toner? Yes. Yes. Councilor Wilson?
Ayesha Wilson	Yes.
SPEAKER_36	Yes. Councilor Zusy? Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons? Absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Thank you, we move to resolution number four, celebrating 50 years of the Cambridge Port Children's Center, pulled by Councilor Zusy.
Catherine Zusy	Many of you may have been at the celebration the weekend before last. This was a grassroots operation. This was five families that wanted quality childcare for their children. So they created the Tot Lot and eventually built a building out of a car garage. And the Tot Lot is still in that car garage. Ethos of the tot lot has always been being a welcoming, diverse place that reflected the community and engaged the community. The community's always been a big part of their ethos. So I just honor their 50 years and the over 1,000 families that they have provided childcare for over the decades.
Marc McGovern	On adoption.
SPEAKER_36	Councilor Azeem.
Burhan Azeem	Yes.
SPEAKER_36	Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern. Yes. Yes. Councilor Nolan. Yes. Yes. Councilor Siddiqui. Yes. Yes. Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Yes. Yes. Councilor Toner. Yes. Yes. Councilor Wilson. Yes. Yes. Councilor Zusy. Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons. Absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. On resolution number six. Congratulations to Dr. Maria McCauley on her election as the 2026-2027 President of the American Library Association, for which she was recently honored by the Cambridge Public Library Foundation, filed by Councilor Nolan, Mayor Simmons, and Councilor Toner. Councilor Nolan.
Patricia Nolan	Thank you, Vice Mayor. Yeah, I just wanted to call this out since I know we all probably in various parts of our lives do go to the public libraries and it was a tremendous honor for our director. The spread of library events is truly astonishing at the main library and also at many of the branch libraries. Very glad, by the way, the Valente branch is gonna reopen after a time of being closed. So I just wanted to make sure that the council went on record to congratulate her on this honor. While it happened a while ago, it was also relatively recent that there was another event to celebrate that. So I thought it was an appropriate time for the council to send this over to her. So congratulations. Thank you, Maria, and thank you to the entire library staff who has really provided incredible opportunities across the board. And in a time when a lot of people are addicted to their screens, we are finding that people are flooding into our libraries because they provide so many different opportunities for connection and community.
Marc McGovern	Any of the co-sponsors? I'm not going to ask to be added, but I also just want to congratulate Maria. The mayor had another commitment, and I hosted the outgoing president in the Sullivan Chamber with Maria. Actually, it was the day that they announced that Maria was going to be taking that position. She just does an amazing job, and with the ways in which Education, science, libraries, books are under attack right now. She's going to have her hands full, but she's more than capable. So my congratulations to her as well. So on the resolution, roll call.
SPEAKER_36	Councilor Azeem. Yes. Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern? Yes. Yes. Councilor Nolan? Yes. Yes. Councilor Siddiqui? Yes. Yes. Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler? Yes. Yes. Councilor Toner? Yes. Yes. Councilor Wilson? Yes. Yes. Councilor Zusy? Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons? Absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	and thank you we now move on to committee reports we've already taken care of number one and number three which leads us with number two that the public safety committee uh the public safety committee held a public hearing on september 10 2025 to discuss uh cof 2025 number 106 including questions that were submitted by city council members regarding an incident at 243 broadway on august 2nd 2025 and the public safety response the question comes on accepting the report and placing on file uh counselor wilson you chaired that meeting did you want to say anything before we took the vote
Ayesha Wilson	No, I want to just appreciate all the comments and folks in the presentation that we had. It was definitely an informative meeting and one that I look forward to us just continuing to talk about. Thank you.
Marc McGovern	Okay. On accepting the report and placing it on file, roll call.
SPEAKER_36	Councillor Azeem. Yes. Yes, Vice Mayor McGovern. Yes. Yes, Councillor Nolan. Yes. Yes, Councillor Siddiqui. Yes. Yes, Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Yes. Yes, Councillor Toner. Yes. Yes, Councillor Wilson. Yes. Yes, Councillor Zusy. Yes. Yes, Mayor Simmons is absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. We now move on to communications and reports from other city officers. There is one. Question comes on placing on file. Roll call. Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_36	Roll call. Councillor Azeem. Yes. Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern. Yes. Yes. Councillor Nolan. Yes. Yes. Councillor Siddiqui. Yes. Yes. Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Yes. Yes. Yes. Councillor Toner? Yes. Councillor Wilson? Yes. Yes. Councillor Zusy? Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons? Absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. Any late resolutions, Madam Clerk?
SPEAKER_36	Yes, there's one.
Marc McGovern	On suspension for late resolutions, roll call.
SPEAKER_36	Councillor Azeem? Yes. Yes, Vice Mayor McGovern. Yes. Yes, Councilor Nolan. Yes. Yes, Councilor Siddiqui. Yes. Yes, Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Yes. Yes, Councilor Toner. Yes. Yes, Councilor Wilson. Yes. Yes, Councilor Zusy. Yes. Yes, Mayor Simmons is absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent. Thank you. And we have one late resolution sponsored by Councilor Toner. The City Council go on record extending its deepest sympathy for the family of Nancy Lange.
Marc McGovern	Councilor Toner, anything on adoption, making unanimous upon adoption? Roll call.
SPEAKER_36	Councilor Azeem. Yes. Yes, Vice Mayor McGovern? Yes. Yes, Councilor Nolan? Yes. Yes, Councilor Siddiqui? Yes. Yes, Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler? Yes. Yes, Councilor Toner? Yes. Yes, Councilor Wilson? Yes. Yes, Councilor Zusy? Yes. Yes, Mayor Simmons? Absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. Any late policy orders? No. No late policy orders. Any announcements? I go right to you, Councilor Wilson.
Ayesha Wilson	I appreciate you, Mr. Vice Mayor. Yes, I do have at least one announcement. The Celebrating Disability Prize, which was a resolution that we also shared that we adopted this evening, is a festive event that the whole community aims to increase visibility, dignity, and inclusion of people with disabilities while raising awareness and reducing the stigma. The event will take place this Saturday, October 4th, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Joan Lorenz Park outside of the Cambridge Public Library for 49 Broadway. So looking forward to the various activities that they have, silent disco, arts and crafts, open-air photo booth, play street equipment, sensory-friendly area with tactile activities and more. There's also complimentary wheelchair shuttle service that will be provided. Looking forward to seeing folks there.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. Councilor Zusy.
Catherine Zusy	The bow tie ride is this Sunday at 10 a.m. Meet with your bike at the Cambridge Public Library. See you there.
Marc McGovern	Any other announcements? None? On a motion by Councilor Wilson to adjourn. Roll call. Councilor Azeem.
SPEAKER_36	Yes. Yes, Vice Mayor McGovern? Yes. Yes, Councilor Nolan? Yes. Yes, Councilor Siddiqui? Yes. Yes, Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler? Yes. Yes, Councilor Toner? Yes. Yes, Councilor Wilson? Yes. Yes, Councilor Zusy? Yes. Yes, Mayor Simmons? Absent. You have eight members recorded in the affirmative, and one recorded as absent.
Marc McGovern	Thank you, everyone. We are adjourned.