City Council - Regular Meeting

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Meeting Title: City Council - Regular Meeting
City: Cambridge, MA
Date Published: 2025-06-30

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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_60	This is what people tell me about Iran.
Unknown Speaker	I don't know, maybe it's not.
Unknown Speaker	Is it?
SPEAKER_75	Thank you.
Catherine Zusy	Thank you.
SPEAKER_53	Thank you.
SPEAKER_75	All right.
Unknown Speaker	Thank you.
SPEAKER_75	Thank you.
SPEAKER_48	Thank you.
SPEAKER_46	All right, maybe that's okay.
SPEAKER_75	Yeah, good job.
SPEAKER_60	Okay, you ready?
SPEAKER_23	Thank you.
SPEAKER_75	Yes.
Denise Simmons	A quorum of the City Council being present, I'll call tonight, June 30th, 2025, regular meeting of the Cambridge City Council to order. The first order of business is a roll call of the members present.
SPEAKER_71	Deputy Clerk Crane, would you please call the roll? Councilor Azeem. Present. Vice Mayor McGovern. Present. Present. Counselor Nolan. Present. Present. Counselor Siddiqui. Present. Present. Counselor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Present. Present. Counselor Toner. Present. Present. Counselor Wilson. Present. Present. Counselor Zusy. Present. Present. Mayor Simmons. Present. Present. You have nine members recorded as present. Thank you.
Denise Simmons	Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Rise if you can. And then we will also pause for a moment of silence, remembering Leon Lashley Sr. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Pursuant to chapter two 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 open meeting portal or on the city cable channel, channel 22. To speak during public comment, you must sign up at www.cambridgema.gov backslash public comment. You can also email written comments for the record to the city clerk. at cityclerk at cambridgema.gov. We welcome your participation and you can sign up until six o'clock. Please note the city of Cambridge audio and video records their meetings, making them available to the public for future viewing. In addition, third parties may also be audio and video recording these meetings. We will now move to public comment. Public comment may be made in accordance with 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. When giving public testimony, please state your name and address for the record and the item that you're speaking on. Given that we have 54 speakers who have signed up, each speaker will be given two minutes. With that, I will turn public comment.
Ayesha Wilson	Madam Mayor. Council Wilson. Thank you. If I could do a motion to suspend the rules to allow former elected officials to actually be taken out of order.
Denise Simmons	On a motion to suspend the rules, roll call please.
SPEAKER_71	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? Yes. Yes, and you have nine members recorded in the affirmative.
Denise Simmons	And on allowing former elected officials to speak out of order,
SPEAKER_71	Roll call. Councillor Azeem.
Burhan Azeem	Yes.
SPEAKER_71	Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern. Yes. Councillor Nolan. Yes. Councillor Siddiqui.
SPEAKER_67	Yes.
SPEAKER_71	Yes. Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Yes. Yes. Councillor Toner.
SPEAKER_67	Yes.
SPEAKER_71	Yes. Councillor Wilson. Yes. Yes. Councillor Zusy. Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons. Yes. Yes. And you have nine members recorded in the affirmative.
Denise Simmons	We have suspended the rules and now we are going to open public comment. I only see two members. I see former counselor to me and I see school committee member Fantini, so I will call on former member to me. You have two minutes. You know how I am. Followed by school committee member to me and if there are others, if members see that I have not seen, please let me know comes to me. The floor is yours.
SPEAKER_40	Thank you, Madam Mayor, and to the honorable members of the City Council, thank you for your consideration, taking us out of turn. I'm speaking here tonight on unfinished business. The Eastern Cambridge Community Enhancement Signing Petition is my understanding that there will be no action taken on this petition tonight. At the audience committee, the council heard from my personal history and involvement, along with my neighbors, about the impact the Eastern House has had on all of our lives. And we want those life-changing experiences to continue for many generations into the future. And we all heard you, the city council, express your strong approval of what a great community process this upzoning petition has gone through. The neighborhood went through a very lengthy process weighing the pros and cons on this issue. The community came to a consensus on the petition that is before you here today, and you heard their strong support. I, along with all my neighbors, expect that the original letter of commitment and the language that this council has moved forward twice for final ordination is the final version that will be adopted by the full city council. I appreciate your consideration.
Denise Simmons	Thank you. Thank you, councillor. School Committee Member Alfred Fred Fantini. The floor is yours.
SPEAKER_78	Thank you, Madam Mayor. I'll try to be as quick as Mr. Toomey. I'm here today to support the ordinance of the zoning change that is needed to support the biomed project at 320 Charles Street and mitigation funds that the East End House will be provided. The East End House is one of the longest non-profit centers in the United States. It should come as no surprise, then, that the facilities are outdated, past their useful life, and outgrown. This kicked off an engineering study that confirmed that the East End House structure was failing and in terrible condition. BioMed already having a long-term positive relationship with the East End House and believing that support should go to the neighborhood impacted by development approached the East End House for support and guidance. Working diligently through working groups, community meetings, the East Cambridge planning team, a final development plan was proposed that could be supported by the community. All votes necessary to date for the ordinance were met by unanimous votes. Expectations, needless to say, are running high in East Cambridge and other neighborhoods that their beloved East End House would live to see another day. Through this process, it has also become very abundantly clear to me that a well-thought-out plan to support the needs of our nonprofit organizations of this city needs to be developed as well. We all know that nonprofits in our city are the lifeline for many constituents. It's the nonprofits that make our city special. The restrictions that currently prevent the city providing support for capital needs should be reviewed. There are hundreds of nonprofits in our city to be supported. Please keep the unanimous vote going for the East End House. Thank you very much.
Denise Simmons	And thank you for your testimony. Are there any other electeds that I had not acknowledged? If not, we will go to the regular call of the list, and if any of the other members should join us at a later time, we will act accordingly. Ms. Steffen, the floor is yours.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you, Madam Mayor. We are at 63 speakers, and our first speaker will be Suzanne Blier, followed by Zion Sharon, Michelle Song, then Lawrence Adkins. Suzanne, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_65	Thank you, Suzanne Blier, Five Fuller Place. And I'm speaking to several things. One is the neighborhood conservation district and urging you to support our longstanding city approach to historic building guidelines. It's startling when I was at a meeting and they were proposing, you were proposing removing people with key knowledge kind of doge-like in replacing them with people with no experience and no knowledge in the field. So that's number one. Secondly, on the demolition, I support this, but I urge you to make the findings public, address the impacts on neighborhoods, and address units lost as well as everything else. This upzoning is promises broken because they're not bringing down housing prices. On inclusionary, don't bring down the numbers. Instead, we should be building for low, low income, as Senator Pat Jalen has argued. Berkeley has a big project for, I think it's 200 plus homes for teachers. LA has a project for artists, work and living space. We can't expect the market to provide a solution. Build for purpose, not just build, baby, build. On the city's housing report, there are a lot of problems in this 47-page document, kind of pseudoscience covering for gentrification policies that benefit developers. And key examples are problems within the massive Chabot structure, the Dover Amendment that we spoke to you about, and other things, such as counting units instead of measuring affordability. The demolition issues that you're addressing. Erasing extremely low income for housing, and that's what we really need right now. Not addressing things like reduced housing demand. Think about nationally in Harvard. We may lose as many as... A NEED FOR 1,500 UNITS, ALL TOLD. THINK ABOUT ALSO STUDIOS AREN'T FAMILY HOUSING. AND THINK ABOUT GEOGRAPHY. A LOT OF THE DEMOLITIONS ARE IN ONCE OR LOWER INCOME AREAS. AND LET'S NOT RIG THE CONSULTANT SELECTION PROCESS. INFRASTRUCTURE IMPACTS ALSO NEED TO BE ADDRESSED. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
SPEAKER_74	OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS ZION SHARON, FOLLOWED BY MICHELLE SONG, LAWRENCE ATKINS, THEN ERIN MEARHEAD-MICARTHY. ZION, TWO MINUTES.
SPEAKER_06	Hi, I'd like to address policy number five and state my support. Oh, Zion Sharon 401 Washington Street. I'd also like to ask the council to consider the resources that will be expected from the city to address upzoning. Whether it's from signage to sewage, I think that it's really important. But while I was sitting here, I realized that we should go one further. Why Cambridge? Some of you have sat on the board for basically as long as I've been alive. Lived in the city and you all love it. Everyone has different reasons, whether it's the beautiful parks, great cafes, or even just immersion into history just by walking the streets. For me personally, I love some of the nature, the amazing people, and I also love that it's a walkable city. Something that I would like this council to address is not just the cost, but also the effects that it's gonna have on our city. Are we going to be pushing out residents that have lived here and built this city? And this goes farther than just up zoning. This also includes street design that maybe isn't accommodating towards our elderly residents. Are we willing to lose trees that have outlived all of us in order to build development? And overall, building up doesn't make things more affordable, at least not by itself. Otherwise, Manhattan would be the cheapest place to live. So I'm not only asking the city to consider the effects that we'll have on the city, but talk to the neighborhoods. Ask the neighborhoods what they would like to see. We've all seen what happened with the federal government. when they came in and tried to tell cities how to operate. Cities, universities, all institutions. I'm worried that the city should not just be telling neighborhoods what to do, but listen to neighborhoods, and ask neighborhoods what they want to see, and how they can have proper growth in their neighborhoods, because they know it best. Thank you very much.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is Michelle Song, followed by Lawrence Adkins. Michelle, two minutes.
SPEAKER_12	Good evening, councillors. My name is Michelle Song and I live at 401 Washington Street right by Central Square. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. I'm here to express my strong support for Policy Order 5 and the call for an interim report on demolition and building permits, trends under the new multifamily housing zoning. As someone deeply invested in the future of Cambridge, I believe it's essential that we pair increased housing flexibility with thoughtful, community-rooted development. That means tracking the real-world effects of policy, not just the intentions. Are we producing more family-sized units or mostly one-bedrooms? Are we displacing long-standing multi-family homes to make way for luxury conversions? Are we incentivizing home ownership and stability or just accelerating turnover? Cambridge has always been defined by its diverse, intergenerational neighborhoods. I want to see us grow in a way that still makes room for families, whether they've been here for decades or are just starting out and trying to put down roots here. We must avoid misinformed overdevelopment that erodes the very fabric that makes Cambridge special. This policy is a step forward towards what Cambridge needs more of, accountability paired with reflection. Too often, there's a real sense that decisions are being made at neighborhoods instead of with them. The lived reality in the port is different from mid-Cambridge, which is different from North Cambridge. A six-month check-in is not just reasonable, it's responsible. Let's make sure the zoning reform is doing what it set out to do, expand opportunity while preserving character. Thank you.
SPEAKER_74	Our next speaker is Lawrence Adkins, followed by Aaron Muirhead McCarthy, then Peter DeMuro. Lawrence, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_14	Good evening, my name is Lawrence Atkins, Unfinished Business, ECCE. Tonight, please reconsider. Do not ordain this this evening. We have a situation where we have a legacy of two, there are more, of East Cambridge and Cambridge Community Center. Seems as though they're in a race. I don't understand why nonprofits need to be in a race. Either we're gonna service all of them, simultaneously, or we're not. Right now, there is a list of confusion. I've asked for details. I've asked for documentation. Everybody is all over the place. This should not be a situation of chasing money. It should be supporting across the table. And everybody should be talking the same. When I spoke and asked about East Cambridge and House, they said they didn't know that the first prize was going to them. There is more weary when they hear of the Cambridge Community Center is already set for second base in a decade to be awarded. Now, I don't know how directors, executives sit in these meetings, but I'm certain that I would be stepping away for a result to go back to my individual board to say, well, in three years, that's 30 years. In four years, it's four decades. This seems to be oddly arranged. And if that's the conversation amongst these individuals, because they say they didn't know that East Cambridge was in first place. Please, this is not that type of town. We're friendly with one another. We support ourselves to make sure the work that we're doing, no matter what it is, that it is equally best distributed in the most friendly and welcome fashion. Thank you.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is Aaron Mearhead McCarthy, followed by Peter DeMuro, Darren Court, and Tina Alou. Aaron?
SPEAKER_62	Good evening, Mayor Simmons and the members of the council. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. My name is Erin Muirhead-McCarty. I'm the executive director of Community Arts Center. For nearly 90 years, we've operated in the Port, historically Cambridge's most diverse neighborhood. serving as both an arts institution and a vital human services provider. We offer essential child care, youth arts programs, and serve over 23,000 meals annually to children. We're largely low-income, immigrant, and predominantly black and brown. Our staff is reflective of who we serve. We are BIPOC led and that matters because despite decades of impact, we've never received a significant investment from new development or been bequeathed property. We've been overlooked and left out of the economic development that has already occurred in our neighborhood. While we agree that East Cambridge has carried a disproportionate share of the city's commercial development burden, I don't believe that should automatically position one neighborhood to unilaterally decide the allocation of benefits from a new development, especially when those benefits are meant to serve the broader public interest. True equity must take into account not just who is most impacted geographically, but also who has historically been excluded from opportunity and investment. By that measure, neighborhoods like the Port, which continue to experience the social and economic ripple effects of underinvestment, should have a strong and guaranteed seat at the table when it comes to deciding how resources from development are allocated. Meanwhile, East End House has already been the beneficiary of a $9 million commitment from redevelopment, and now stands to receive even more under this new proposal. What's being proposed is now deeply unjust, and Biomed Realty has shown a willingness to invest in this community, so let's get it right. I understand we're not voting this evening, but I really urge you to consider taking your time on this one. Thank you.
SPEAKER_74	Our next speaker is Peter DeMuro followed by Darren Court, then Tina Alou. Peter, two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_10	Good evening. Peter DeMuro from the Dance Complex, 536 Mass Ave. I stand here proudly representing one of the hundreds of nonprofits who make an impact here in Cambridge every day. You, your children, and your aging parents, too, I know have been at the Dance Complex. I've seen them all. And they all benefit from the preventative medicine that is dance. We bring to you the world's dances, your history and your future. 5,000 visitors a month. My calculations bring us to $1.5 million into Central Square because of that. We're a unique convener of disparate peoples. All ages, all races, the gay community, disabilities community, all income levels. I applaud us all for what we're doing this is not a competition in my mind we do amazing things all the nonprofits do for the people of the city, but we do it on a shoestring budget and with budgets that don't balance. Thank you for seeing us not as asking for charity, but actually partners with you and doing the right thing i'm concerned that a lot of money is going into one place. and that the time frame of that decision was not apparent to me or to others in our world, into the nonprofit world, especially the arts world, where we are not attuned to coming to this chamber to discuss money. That will change after tonight, I guarantee you on that. We all are in need, our own immediate challenges at the complex deal with the potential for a staggering $30 million reinvestment in the building of which we are attempting a $3 million facade makeover, Botox for bricks as we call it. It's so important though that the process is the process around this question tonight that we risk the monies that were set aside for us in the amendment to this first proposal. We do this because in the long run, we know that a fair process helps us all. And so for the future, when I come to this chamber or apply for something, I know what the process is. It's not clouded in darkness and secrecy. So we ask you to delay this vote tonight and help us find a better process. Thanks.
SPEAKER_74	Our next speaker is Darren Court, followed by Tina Alou, Taylor Mortel, then Denise Watson. Darren, two minutes.
SPEAKER_08	Thank you. Good evening, counselors. My name is Darren Cordy. I'm the executive director at the Cambridge Community Center located at 5 Calendar Street. I'm here to speak about the East Cambridge Community Enhancement Overlay District Zoning Amendment. We appreciate the city manager and city solicitor's recommendation to delay the vote on this until August 4th. This recommendation aligns with what many of us have said, that this process has moved too quickly, with too little transparency, without meaningful community input. But this delay cannot just be about fixing legal language. It must also be about rebuilding trust. Nonprofits like Cambridge Community Center, Community Art Center, CEOC, and the Dance Complex, along with hundreds of residents, have raised real concerns about equity, process, and how public impact dollars are distributed in Cambridge. Cambridge Community Center has been serving families in the city for over 96 years. Our building is over 140 years old and in urgent need of investment. Yet despite limited resources, we continue to provide high quality after school programs, summer camp, behavior health services, a food pantry, and more. This moment is not about denying one organization's support. It's about creating a process that reflects the values we all share, fairness, accountability, and inclusiveness. Over 370 people have signed a petition that we sent out in just a few days asking for a more equitable approach, many of whom have left comments that I'd be happy to share with city council as well. That public response speaks volumes about how deeply this matters to our community. We thank the city leadership for recognizing the need to pause. We now ask that you use this time to invite broader participation, bring in the Community Benefits Advisory Committee, the Cambridge Nonprofit Coalition, and chart a path forward that allows all nonprofits to thrive and all voices to be heard. Thank you.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is Tina Alou, followed by Taylor Mortel. Tina, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_24	Good evening. My name is Tina Alou. I live at 113 and a half Pleasant Street and I'm testifying as the director of CEOC. I first became aware of the Biomed issue when it came to council on May 19th. I assumed that it was a final deal. The next day I was informed that the proposal had been amended and CEOC would receive $500,000 of the money allocated for Ahern Field to provide cash assistance to families and seniors who are struggling to make ends meet. I was thrilled to have the funding, but couldn't understand why the mitigation dollars didn't go into the community benefits funds as all the nonprofits agreed to back in 2015. As I learned more, I understood that there was incredible confusion. When it was said that there was an excellent community process, nothing could be further from the truth. None of the nonprofits that I've spoken with had heard anything about the project, not even the ones located in East Cambridge. Even some counselors were confused. There's also misinformation about which agencies provide services to East Cambridge residents. For example, CEOC may not be located in the neighborhood, but we serve many of their residents. In the past year, we served 944 East Cambridge residents. We have given them $87,856 in rent arrearage payments and small cash grants, 32% of what we distributed to the whole city. We're not asking that Biomed project not go through. In fact, my understanding is that Biomed has acted as a great partner to the city and has only wanted to do the right thing to give back to the community. I'm asking that you table this ordinance to allow the next month to have a better community process where nonprofits can feel like their voices are heard. COC has made the decision to not accept the $500,000 so it can be part of the full amount to be distributed. I ask the council to make the decision to act on all Cambridge nonprofits in residence, not just one. Thank you.
SPEAKER_74	Our next speaker is Taylor Mortel, followed by Denise Watson, then Jemima Spill. Taylor, you have two minutes.
SPEAKER_02	Thank you for the opportunity to speak. I'm here also giving a public comment about the BioMed community benefits deal. I am the Director of Development at the Mariah L. Baldwin Community Center at 20 Sacramento Street. I've been working in Cambridge in the nonprofit community for 10 years. Our organization only learned about this deal in the past week, and we are very involved in the Cambridge Nonprofit Coalition. Our ED has served on the Community Benefits Advisory Committee. We were a recipient of one of those original grants in partnership with East End House and Cambridge Community Center. That grant led to the creation of a new social work position at our organization, which is now permanent, which has transformed our work. So I want to say that to emphasize the impact that the Community Benefits Fund has on nonprofit organizations. And something special about the Cambridge nonprofit community is its deep commitment to collaboration. The Community Benefits Advisory Fund was meant to equitably grant opportunity to access major funds from real estate development to nonprofits all throughout the city, not just in one neighborhood. And with an investment this size, There needs to be more community process and equitable access to this critical investment. Nonprofits are in times of crisis right now. Organizations all throughout the city are facing massive budget deficits, and some have already laid off staff. So I urge you to delay this vote to consider where these funds are needed the most. Thank you.
SPEAKER_74	Our next speaker is speaker number 10, Denise Watson, followed by Jemima Spill, then Joanne Nelson. Denise, you have two minutes.
SPEAKER_66	My name is Denise Watson. I am the Senior Director of Early Childhood Ed at East End House, and I live on Oakland Street in Boston. So, dear honorable members of the Cambridge City Council, As I'm reading these letters from parents, as a parent of a toddler in the East End House program, I've experienced firsthand how much this organization means to families in Cambridge. East End House has made a real difference in our lives, providing affordable childcare access to groceries and even help with infant necessities. These supports ease the financial strain on families like mine and help us build a stronger foundation for our children. What makes East End House so special is how much it offers and who it reaches. It's the only place I know that support people of every stage of life, babies, kids, working parents, and seniors. It brings the whole community together in a way that few organizations can. I believe the community benefits that project should go directly to East End House. A new expanded facility would allow them to welcome more families, run more programs, and continue meeting the real needs of our neighborhood. To the decision makers, imagine what would happen if families and individuals lost access to East End House. Where would they go? There is no other organization in the area that offers the same range of services with such care, accessibility, and community connection. East End House is more than a program, it's a lifeline. Please support this opportunity to sustain and grow a place that means so much to so many. And I also wanted to say I have two letters from two families who have children that enrolled in my program. And so those families also use the services in which East End House provides as well.
SPEAKER_04	thank you for your testimony if you can give those letters to miss stefan for the record if you like our next speaker is jemima spill followed by joanne nelson then eileen pires jemima hello i'm speaking on east end house i serve as the senior group leader for the middle school program at east end house and i'm reading a letter on behalf of the middle schoolers We are the middle school students at East End House and many of us have been attending since we were in elementary school. We wanted to share why this place is so important to us and why we hope you'll support funding for East End House through the redevelopment at 320 Charles Street. East End House is like a second home. The staff are kind and supportive. They help us with homework, make sure we have good food, and create a space where we can be ourselves. Many of us have been part of the adopt-a-family program, which gave our families things we really needed, like clothes, gifts, or even a bike. At East End House, we've made close friends, tried new things, and built confidence. It's helped us grow, not just socially, but academically and even athletically. Some of us say this program changed our lives. Others say it gave us the courage to try other programs in Cambridge or helped us feel less alone. It's also free, which matters a lot to our families. It means more kids can come, especially those who need more support. We believe a new East End House building would help even more. More space would mean more activities, more programs, and more kids getting the support we've had. It would also show people how serious East End is about helping this community. Please support this investment in East End House and in all of us. Thank you from the middle school students at East End House.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is Joanne Nelson, followed by Eileen Pires, then Luis Cunha.
SPEAKER_48	Joanne? Good evening, everyone. My name is Joanne Nelson, and I live on Fulkerson Street in East Cambridge. You can pull the mic down. Is that better? There you go. Okay. I'm an East Cambridge resident and longtime beneficiary of the East End Health Services. i know this neighborhood well and i know the incredible value that the eastern house is poised to deliver should the 320 charles street redevelopment project be approved and the east end house receives the full 20 million dollars the benefits of this rezoning should be concentrated in east cambridge the neighborhood most directly impacted by the development The East End House was overwhelmingly identified by residents, the East Cambridge Planning Team, and neighbors on Linwood Street as a natural and essential recipient of the funding. Changing the benefits now would betray the clear year-long consensus of East Cambridge residents who shaped this plan to support East End House recreation and affordable housing in the neighborhood most impacted. The East End House is a vital city-wide institution rooted in East Cambridge, and the full $20 million is essential to securing its future. Anything less would put the entire project in this once-in-a-generation opportunity at risk. I urge you to please vote yes on this rare opportunity. Thank you. Thank you.
SPEAKER_74	Eileen Pires, followed by Luis Cunha, then Elaine DeRosa. Eileen, two minutes.
SPEAKER_19	Hi, my name is Eileen Pius. I live on 5th Street. I'm here for support of the East End House. Thank you, Councilors, for allowing me this chance to speak. The story of the East End House is deeply personal to me. After the tragic passing of my daughter, this neighborhood institution became a second home to her three-year-old child, my beautiful grandson. The staff at the East End House became like an extended family, offering not only resources but genuine warmth and care at an incredible trying time in our lives. They provided my grandson with grief counseling, academic support, and tutoring during the COVID lockdowns. As my grandson grew, the stability and social opportunities and kindness we found at the East End House made it possible for us to rebuild our lives. I'm proud to say my grandson is 17 years old and will be attending UMass Lowell in the physics engineering program. We both consider the East End House to be an extension of our family and know that it's playing this role for so many other families as well. Five generations of my family have lived in East Cambridge. In that time, I don't think there's a single organization that compares to the East End House in terms of impact or scope. changing the benefits now would betray the clear year-long consensus of east cambridge residents who shaped this plan to support east end house recreation and affordable housing in the neighborhood was most impacted east end house is a vital city-wide institution rooted in east cambridge and the full 20 million is essential to secure in the future anything less would put the entire project in this once in a generation opportunity at risk. Thank you for this opportunity to speak. Thank you.
SPEAKER_74	Our next speaker is Louise Kunha, followed by Elaine DeRosa, Daniel Seaborg, then Patrick Barrett. Louise, two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_34	Hello, I'm Louise Kuna from 169 Monsignor O'Brien Highway, and I'm speaking for the East Cambridge Community Enhanced Zoning Petition. Just over a year ago, my husband and I moved to Cambridge from Florida. We didn't know a single person in Cambridge when we arrived, but shortly after settling in, we discovered the East End House, and it changed everything for us. We immediately began attending senior activities like bingo, trivia, and game day, and quickly found ourselves welcomed into a wonderful, warm community. We participated in over 30 events at East End House and have enjoyed nearly 10 field trips. East End House plays a crucial role in the well-being of Cambridge residents. It has been doing good for this city for generations, and its impact continues to grow. So I ask you, please vote in favor of the rezoning of 320 Charles Street, so that 20 million in community benefits can be allocated to East End House. Its current building is aging quickly, and without investment in a new facility, this vital organization risks being unable to continue its work. The services it provides for children from under-resourced families, for parents, and for seniors are essential to the health and vibrancy of the Cambridge community. Changing the benefits now would betray the clear year-long consensus of East Cambridge residents who shaped this plan to support East End House, recreation, and affordable housing in the neighborhood most impacted. East End House is a vital city-wide institution rooted in East Cambridge, and the full 20 million is essential in securing its future. Anything less would put the entire project and this once in a generation opportunity at risk. Thank you.
Denise Simmons	Thank you for your testimony.
SPEAKER_74	Madam Mayor, before we go to Ms. Elaine DeRosa, you have an elected official? Rep Connolly, if you want to go ahead, you have two minutes.
SPEAKER_45	Well, thank you, Mayor Simmons, for taking me out of turn. Greetings to members of the council. My name is Mike Conley. I have the honor of representing East Cambridge, the Port, Cambridge Port, Central Square, and parts of Somerville. I didn't expect to be here this evening. You know we have emergencies happening on the federal level and the state level. But I'm here to speak in support of unfinished business number six, the Charles Street upzoning that would help secure the future of the East End House. Last week, those who have been working on this deal in public for many months reached out to me concerned that the misinformation that was being spread about it threatened to disrupt the deal and perhaps sink it altogether. And as I reached out and had conversations with people on all sides of the issue, I started to get deeply troubled about some of the criticisms and really the insults that have been hurled at the East End House itself. We know the East End House is East Cambridge's only multi-service agency, its population serving 88% Children of color, families have incomes under $20,000. That's half the families. And a lot has been accomplished with this deal. Usually when there's a proposal for a bio lab in the community, you have the neighborhood opposing it. That's not the case here. At the very same time, I want to acknowledge and uplift the concerns from the other nonprofits. They have every reason to be frustrated. We've had billions of dollars of commercial real estate development in our community, and yet the community art center, the dance complex, and others are working out of dilapidated buildings. They deserve more as well. So I stand ready to work with all of you to address the needs of East Cambridge, to address the needs of our other nonprofits. But what really brought me here was this concern that some of the dialogue is tearing our community apart. And so I wrote to you this weekend to say, let's lift each other up. Let's not tear each other apart. Representative Conley? Let's recognize what's been accomplished and let's work together. Thank you for your comments. Thank you, Mayor. You're very welcome.
SPEAKER_75	I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. We'll go back to speaker number 15, Elaine DeRosa, followed by Daniel Seabor, Patrick Barrett, then Gregory Thurison. Elaine, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_64	Thank you. Good evening. My name is Elaine DeRosa, and I live at Fort Pleasant Place. I'm speaking to agenda item number six under unfinished business. In my previous life as executive director of CEOC, I and a diverse small group of other non-profit directors met with then city manager Richie Roche. To address the inequitable distribution then of community benefits funds, at that time there was no open, equitable, or transparent procedure available to all non-profits to request and receive funding to meet the needs of their participants. We presented our concern that without such a process with specific funding criteria, decisions would continue to be made through private behind closed door deals. We presented our unified request that the city establish a process whereby all non-profits could apply for funding to meet the needs of their participants. The city manager agreed and the process since then has been very successful, equitable and open to all non-profits. The ordinance before you will destroy what has been a very effective system for nonprofits and the city to equitably address the comprehensive needs of all in Cambridge. During this ordinance process, nonprofits have been wrongly negatively portrayed because they question this inequitable process. Should you move to approve this ordinance, you will be sending a clear message that going forward from now on, it's every nonprofit for themselves. Finally, if you approve this ordinance, how long will these funds be held for a capital expense that doesn't exist and therefore be unavailable to the city's non-profits who will be experiencing drastic federal funding cuts throughout the upcoming year? I urge you not to move this ordinance forward and I thank you for this opportunity.
Denise Simmons	Thank you for your testimony.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is Daniel Seaborg. Daniel, if you can unmute yourself, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_03	Yes, just confirming you can hear me?
SPEAKER_74	Yes. We can hear you.
SPEAKER_03	Good evening, Mayor and members of the council. Speaking on behalf of North Cambridge Partners and 2400 Mass Ave regarding the city manager's report regarding barriers to housing production. It was encouraging to read CDD's official confirmation of the numerous market factors that are suppressing housing production in Cambridge. I hope the report bolsters much of what you've heard from private developers over the past year or so, and that it adds some credibility to our concerns. While I do agree with CDD that market forces are outside of the control of municipal government, I do not want to lose sight of the fact that the Cambridge City Council does control entirely what happens with its own inclusionary zoning ordinance. And that ordinance alone has a massive impact on the bottom line of any project for new housing, including my own. Lowering the 20% threshold to 10% is probably the difference between 60 new home ownership units existing at 2400 Mass Ave or not. It's that critical. And the timing matters too. As most of you know, I've been working on this project for more than three years. We have six figures of active carrying costs, including interest payments, property taxes, and insurance. With every day that passes and the cash burn increases, the project needs to perform even better financially in order to attract sufficient investment. We are nearly out of time. The CDD memo suggests that if the council wants to consider a time-limited change, staff would need to know this relatively soon if the desire is to adopt that before the end of this council term. As such, I implore the council to move as quickly as possible to begin this process now so that projects like 2400 Mass Ave can have a chance to survive before their time runs out. Finally, I'd like to push back on the notion that it may not be worth even trying to temporarily lower the 20% threshold because market conditions may still be prohibited. If we all agree that we are in a housing crisis, how could we not try to fix the problem? The thresholds were lowered and still no housing resulted. What would be lost? That's all I have. Thank you so much for listening.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is Patrick Barrett, followed by Gregory Thurison, Felix Diaz, then Margie Gallet. Patrick, two minutes.
SPEAKER_67	Testing. Mayor Simmons, council, my name is Patrick Barrett. I appreciate having a moment to speak tonight and ask quite simply that the council move to address the issue of inclusionary zoning. I represent several projects in the city all trying to make the promise of your policies a reality. All of these projects are wrestling with tariffs, ICE raids, and material costs that continue to skyrocket. We need action. The report that Chris Cotter has included in your packet validates a lot of what I and others have been saying for some time. What I find astounding is that CDD has not been able to articulate how their crown jewel of housing policy was allowed to lapse and now ask for another year or more to bring the NEXUS study up to the current legal standard. We have the data. We have fine-tuned our housing policy to reflect the most advantageous financial moment in generations and did so on the back of the lab boom. Now the boom is gone. Even during that moment, we didn't require, nor do we now require, the biggest, most capitalized groups to build to 20%. So how can we ask small developers who can't cross-collateralize their projects to participate in a system the city has asked so few to? The MBTA Communities Act sets the standard, and I ask that the council send a message to CDD that they need to act swiftly and deliberately and deliver a solution this year. Thank you.
Denise Simmons	Thank you for your testimony.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is Gregory Thurston, followed by Felix Diaz, Margie Gallet, then Dennis Carlone. Gregory?
SPEAKER_77	Hi, I'm Greg. I've been a part of East Dent House for most of my life.
SPEAKER_74	I'm very sorry, if you can speak directly into the mic.
Denise Simmons	Speak directly into your mic. Sorry.
SPEAKER_77	There you go. So I've been a part of East Dent House for most of my life, first as a youth, and then later on now as a staff, as an assistant group leader. Growing up, my home life was filled with struggles. My family was bereft with addiction, abuse, you name it, it was there. While school did give me structure, East End House was a much more profound and real thing. It gave me a home, it gave me a family, something that I didn't have elsewhere. Shortly after my time at East End House as a student, my mother, she passed away, and I wouldn't have made it through that if it wasn't for the friends and family and the people that I met at East End House, I wouldn't be here today. So if you just want living proof of the effects and the profound impact that East End Houses have, I'm here in front of you. All these people, now two different days that I know of have come and came to spoke and tell you all the profound impact that it's had. so let me go back to the thing getting back on task a new facility would mean everything to East End house um not just for the actual program but also just for the community as an as in its entirety it would give us a permanent purpose driven home and the ability to help more kids in more ways again you know seeing my experiences, just the more kids that we can help, the better we all are. And we already do so much with what we have, but with the right space, the potential impact is far greater. I think exponentially so. And that's why I strongly support the redevelopment at 320 Charles Street. It's about more than a building. It's about creating a lasting impact and choosing the development of our youth as a foundation and a pillar for our community. So an investment in East End House is an investment in our youth, and a great place to start is by giving East End House the home it deserves. Thank you.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is Felix Diaz, followed by Margie Gallet, Dennis Carlone, then Rachel Plummer. Felix, you have two minutes.
SPEAKER_05	Hi, my name is Felix, and I first came to East End House as a first grader, and today I'm proud to be here as a staff member for four years now. I've experienced firsthand how this organization supports youth, and today I get to pay that forward. I still remember a moment when I got upset during a sports activity and just stormed out the gym. And a staff member, he came to me not just to calm me down, but to also shift my thinking. And he told me that at some point, I was just going to have to work with and deal with people that I didn't necessarily get along with. And that stuck with me and shaped how I think about teamwork today. And it's also something that I get to pass on to my students. East End House gave me a safe, supportive place growing up. now i help provide that for today's kids we make the most of what we have but we're limited by our current space and a new facility would make a huge difference especially for our middle school program and bring our community even closer together in my time here i have been able to work with our community programs and help with our food pantry i've been able to help with our school age program and continue to work with middle school program and Each day I do that, I see the impact that we have on students and families. And I can only understand that if we were to have a new facility, we would be able to make a much bigger impact for our community. This is why I support the redevelopment at 320 Charles Street. This project will give East End House the space it needs to grow and continue to make a lasting impact on our youth and families. It's an investment, not just in a building, but in the future of our community. Thank you.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is speaker number 20, Margie Gallet, followed by Dennis Carlone, Rachel Plummer, then Marseille Romero. Margie, you have two minutes.
SPEAKER_70	If I hadn't had East End House, life would have been much harder. When I was out of work, they made sure my children could still attend their program at little to no cost and even provided groceries when we needed them. That kind of care and commitment is rare. East End House is more than just a program, it's a true community. All three of my children have participated in their afterschool programs and I have seen firsthand how the staff created a safe, nurturing and enriching space. I fully support Biomed proposed redevelopment at 320 Charles Street and believe the community benefits should go to East End House. With the new facility, they can bring all their programs under one roof and support even more families like mine. East End House keeps East Cambridge alive. Please invest in its future. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Dennis Carlone.
SPEAKER_74	Former Councilor Carlone, please go ahead. You have two minutes.
SPEAKER_47	Thank you. Thank you, Madam Mayor and members of the council. I'm calling from the West Coast and I hope the line holds on. When I was on the council with a number of people on the council today, one of our goals as a whole was to try to find how we could fund nonprofits in the city. and we talked about this and we were told that the state prevented that from happening and fortunately that was a misinterpretation and as part of that work with the council we put forth a policy order directing mitigation funds for any upzoning directed at the neighborhoods that were most affected. And a number of benefits have happened in the Kennel Square area. But one of the reasons why I look forward to helping East End House and East Cambridge was that it would directly benefit the East End House and set a precedent for future nonprofits benefiting from mitigation funds, even those not directly impacted. It's a precedent. But I'll go further and say I hope this project moves forward with the 9-0 vote that we initially got in the Ordinance Committee but I hope that you now look at your budget as well as mitigation funds to expand funding for nonprofits. You have the power to do that in all future years to redirect this. As you know, the present community benefits funds does not allow upgrading existing buildings or new construction. So the community benefits funds also needs a rethinking. Thank you all and thank you for your support.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is Rachel Plummer, followed by Marseille Romero, Kwame Dance, then Peter Crawley. Rachel, two minutes.
SPEAKER_55	Thank you. Good evening. My name is Rachel Plummer. I live at 10 Wendell Street in the Baldwin neighborhood, and I'm the associate director at CEOC, Cambridge's anti-poverty nonprofit. I'm speaking tonight on unfinished business number six, which allocates $20 million to a single nonprofit. The proposal came to light very suddenly for the majority of the community and without equitable community input. So we asked the council to table this issue to spend more time considering the proposal and the potential to spread the wealth amongst other nonprofits. I was disheartened to hear that such a large amount of money was proposed to be allocated to just one organization for building renovations. We share in East End House's concern and need for a new building, as do many nonprofits in Cambridge. We run the Cambridge Food Pantry Network and know that food pantries especially are operating in very challenging spaces. For example, we operate our food pantry in the basement of our building in Central Square, which doesn't have heat or air conditioning, and there's no indoor waiting area, which means neighbors are exposed to all of the elements while waiting to get into the pantry. Just last week, we had to call the ambulance for a patron who was experiencing a heat stroke. Most other food pantries in Cambridge are facing similar challenges. I think it's important to note that no one is refuting the importance of the vital work that East End House does. but there are many nonprofits in Cambridge who are in dire need of community benefits funds and who are serving East Cambridge residents. There should be a more equitable, transparent, and community-based distribution of this large sum of money, and the council and the community need more time to evaluate this. Thank you.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is Marseille Romero, followed by Kwame Dance. Marseille?
SPEAKER_53	Hello, my name is Marce Romero. I am the middle school program director and have been working at East End House since October 2020. I have seen the petitions and emails being sent to pause this process. And as a BIPOC staff who is also in leadership and direct care, the petition and emails that were sent out to families were disheartening to read. It seemed as though me being a black Hispanic woman who was giving nothing but love to our youth has been overlooked when it comes to diversity within our organization. Because of this, I feel called to speak on the diversity. So when I started in 2020 as a group leader, I was most amazed at the diversity in staff. For the first time ever, I was not the token black girl. I had coworkers and bosses who actually looked like me. Again, I was not the token black girl. I got to see firsthand how easy it was for students to connect with me simply because I looked like them. Because of the color of my skin, I have been able to make easy connections. I even remember having a toddler mistake me as her mom because of my skin and hair color. Since I restarted the middle school program in 22, we have served students from all over the city of Cambridge, Somerville, and even Boston. Currently in our summer program, we have students from Somerville, Roxbury, Dorchester, Arlington, and more. Our middle school program isn't even in the main building of Easton House, not because we don't want to be, but because there is no space. Instead of having programming out of the cafeteria at Putnam Avenue Upper School, my students want their own rooms and space alongside of the rest of the organization. My students want to feel like they have a home away from home. They want to feel like they belong. My students look like me. My students look like my staff. Diversity is not an issue over at East End House. Thank you.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is Kwame Dance, followed by Peter Crawley, then Marilee Meyer.
SPEAKER_39	Good evening, everyone. My name is Dr. Kwame Dance. I live at 215 Fairweather Street. And I am staff and a longtime board member before that at Cambridge Community Center, where I'm the director of behavioral health programs. I also grew up in Cambridge, as did many of the people who spoke today. And I I just want to touch on a few quick things. First is one of the most valuable lessons I learned growing up in Cambridge, which is teamwork. We're transparent even when we don't want to be. We don't do things behind closed doors in Cambridge. We're a team. We're a community. We get things done. We get things done right. We get things done right. which means we do things as a community. I commend East End House's efforts to serve Cambridge residents, some of whom spoke and are continuing to speak so passionately about the impact. This should be the expectation for organizations in this city, not the exception. We are Cambridge. This is not about any one organization. And if the Cambridge Community Center were the organization that stood to benefit most from a deal that was not transparently executed, I would be the first to hold our executive director accountable. All we're asking here is to wait and to do things right, like we do in Cambridge. Thank you.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is Peter Cawley, speaker number 25, followed by Marilee Meyer, Lee Ferris, then John Froyo. Peter, you have two minutes.
SPEAKER_25	Thank you. Peter Crawley, Thorndike Street. I'm here to speak on unfinished business number six. I've heard a lot of talk about how the process was behind closed doors and not transparent. And I want to tell folks that being part of the subcommittee that considered this, Our first public meeting that BioMed hosted was in October of 2024. They then went on to host at least two additional public meetings open to the entire city. In addition to that, the East Cambridge community where this project is located had no less than five meetings, some within a subcommittee and others with our neighborhood association during that time. As others have said, it was actually a very productive and collaborative process whereby the developer Biomed modified their design to meet the needs of our community greatly. And I think to disparage the process is unfair. It also saddens me to see the city's nonprofits frankly attacking each other. It's really unnecessary. It strikes me that the thinking here is that it's a zero-sum game and that if a nonprofit wins, that means another one automatically loses. My feeling is that the East End House is in an existential, urgent situation. The community rose up to protect it. We got support from counselors due to this time urgency and we need to get this done and then move on to the next urgent deserving non-profit. But to just spend very little money across the city will not achieve our goals. The East End has been told by experts that they have a budget requirement of probably about $40 million. So the point of following through, staying the course with this, and solving one of the city's big kind of urgent Collapses, if you will, of social services is important.
SPEAKER_74	Mr. Crawley, your time has expired.
SPEAKER_25	So thank you, thank you for your time.
SPEAKER_74	If you can please email the remainder of your comments. Our next speaker is Marilee Meyer, followed by Lee Ferris, John Froyo, and then Priscilla Sandville. Marilee, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_58	Hi, I'm Marilyn Meyer from Dana Street. Thank you, Charlie Sullivan, for your legacy of 51 years in your dual role as city planner and guardian of Cambridge's historic legacy. It is a shame that council sees the commission and neighborhood conservation districts as potential barriers to housing production and not as the identity value of rings. Hundreds of demolition requests and building permit applications are now in play, threatening the very function of this commission. While fresh blood and clear term limits are good in principle, appointees should believe in their mission and not as infiltrating housing ideologues. Why would somebody write a scathing letter against neighborhood conservation districts and then apply for the historical commission? Please approve experienced members, keepers of the intellectual history and new faces who can learn from them. The scrutiny of the historical commission has been unprecedented by some linear thinking compartmentalized counselors. THIS IS LEGITIMATE ORGANIZATION DESPITE BEING STRIPPED OF ITS JURISDICTION, DESIGN, REVIEW, SHAPE, AND HEIGHT OVERSIGHT. IT IS STATED THAT MEMBERS AND ALTERNATES CAN STAY UP TO SIX MONTHS AFTER THEIR TERMS EXPIRED UNTIL A QUALIFIED SUCCESSOR IS APPOINTED. FOR THE HISTORICAL COMMISSION, THERE ARE NO TERM LIMITS STATED BY STATE OR CITY and there doesn't seem to be any of the city language to prevent members and alternates switching roles. Expired term limits doesn't make a vote illegal. Quit the relentless badgering of the executive director and look for other term limited violators of which there are many. Please approve all appointees and allow conservationist, architects, historians to preserve significant buildings while looking for opportunity. Thank you.
SPEAKER_74	Our next speaker is Lee Ferris, followed by John Froyo, then Patricia, sorry, Priscilla Sandville. Lee, you have two minutes, please go ahead.
SPEAKER_18	Good evening, I'm speaking for myself first on CMA number four on barriers to housing production. It's clear that the major impediments to building are not caused by Cambridge policies. Therefore, it's best if the inclusionary rate remains unchanged at 20% for now. There are at least two new multifamily projects with inclusionary units already holding meetings with neighbors. Given that the new zoning passed in February, we should wait to see how much the zoning encourages multifamily development before making any changes. I know two other developments say they are stalled, one of whom spoke here tonight. I hope that when interest rates are lowered this year or next, that will enable them to move forward. Meanwhile, it might be good to consider a proposal to temporarily pause tax payments to the city with an agreement that the taxes be paid in full when the building is complete. Of all the options discussed in the report, I especially want to support the report option of the capital funding. This is similar to the idea of social housing that the Cambridge Housing Justice Coalition is supporting. So I hope that counselors will look into that more. I also want to speak about the East End House and the possible idea for a new benefit process. I ask that the council vote in favor of this upzoning. There are different kinds of equity. There's equity based on the impact of commercial development on neighborhoods, and there is equity of funding to nonprofits. In this case, I think equity should be based on the impact to a neighborhood, that that should be the primary principle. And I think it makes sense that the residents who are most affected should have a say in how the developer compensates their neighborhood. I agree there could be a better process for negotiating community benefits. I would want to see that it, perhaps like Union Square Somerville has, that integrates both the nonprofit voices and the neighborhood voices. Thank you.
SPEAKER_74	Our next speaker is John Froyo, followed by Priscilla Samville. John?
SPEAKER_41	Good evening, everybody. My name is John Froyo. I am the deputy director of De Novo, located at 47 Bondyke Street in East Cambridge. I'm here tonight on behalf of De Novo and our clients to testify on unfinished business number six. For those of you on the council who may not be familiar with De Novo, we are a nonprofit organization that provides free legal and mental health services to individuals who otherwise could not afford them. First of all, I want to thank the city and the city council, which has always been a strong partner to De Novo in helping us expand our capacity to serve the community. I've been with De Novo for over 24 years. And throughout my time here, I've consistently been impressed by how innovative the city of Cambridge has been in implementing programs that improve the quality of life for your citizens. One example of this is the community benefits and the community benefits advisory committee. This mechanism to generate revenue and distribute funds to nonprofits is something that sets Cambridge apart. No other cities are doing that. And it's really amazing you do it, and it's a good process. And that's something that really, I think, has shown that it works. I'm not here to speak against the BioMed project and the distribution of the $22 million to nonprofits in Cambridge. Both will have a long-term and positive impact on Cambridge. However, I'm here to express concern about the process. Our office is located not far from the proposed project, yet we only recently heard about it from another organization. We're asking that this matter be, and it's my understanding we'll be tabled tonight, and thank you for that, but we're also asking the city to undertake a further process which will allow nonprofits to participate and develop a more equitable way to distribute the funds. There's no doubt East End House does a great job. They serve the community, they serve the residents, and they have a need. Thank you so much for your time.
SPEAKER_74	Your time has expired. Please email the remainder. We're going to jump ahead to speaker number 31, Priscilla Sandville, followed by Taylor Machado, then James Lyman. Priscilla, you have two minutes. And a reminder to everyone, if we can please speak directly into the microphone so that folks that are listening over Zoom and cable can hear you as well.
SPEAKER_27	Good evening, Mayor Simmons and Councillors. My name is Priscilla Saville. I was a resident of Cambridge for 35 years and now live in Watertown and I serve as the co-chair of the board for Community Arts Center. I'm here tonight in solidarity with our fellow nonprofits, CEOC, CCC, and the Dance Complex, and others, to urge the council to pause and reconsider the proposed 20 million allocation to East End House. Let me be clear. Our concern is not with East End House itself, which we respect as a peer, a valued part of our nonprofit community. Our concern is with the process. A deal of this scale developed outside of the established systems meant to ensure Transparency and fairness sets a troubling precedent, one that risks eroding trust across the nonprofit sector and within the broader community. We risk our own share of our funding because we believe that public benefit dollars must be distributed equitably through open and accountable systems, not through private negotiations. We are not here to tear anyone down. We are here to advocate for a process that lifts everyone up. At a time when our city faces urgent need and limited resources, let's recommit to inclusive planning and shared opportunity. We respectfully ask that you delay this vote, revisit the process, work with all of us to ensure that future investments reflect the values of Cambridge is what Cambridge is known for, equity, transparency, and community-centered decision making. Thank you.
Denise Simmons	Thank you for your testimony.
SPEAKER_27	Thank you. Vice Mayor.
SPEAKER_74	We will go to speaker number 32, Taylor Machado, followed by James Lyman, John Pitkin, then Alexa Diehl.
SPEAKER_42	taylor you have two minutes thank you my name is taylor i've worked at east end house for six years and i'm reading this letter on behalf of amani goodrich dear honorable members of the cambridge city council east end house has been part of my life for as long as i can remember when i went to their program as a child now i'm proud to work here giving back to the place that gave me so much when one of my parents was incarcerated east end house became a safe space It was one of the only places where I felt seen, supported, and cared for. There were always activities, caring adults, and sense of stability that helped me through a really difficult time. That kind of environment changes lives, and it changed mine. Today, I see the same thing happening for other kids and families. East End House continues to be a place where children can be themselves, build connections, and explore opportunities they might not otherwise have. It's not just an after-school program, it's a second home, a place where families find community, hope, and support. East End House is a vital city-wide institution rooted in East Cambridge, and the full $20 million is essential to secure its future. Anything less would put its once-in-a-generation opportunity at risk. Thank you.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is James Lyman. James, you have two minutes, followed by John Pitkin, Alexa Diehld, and Ryan Montbleu.
SPEAKER_16	I'd like to thank the council. My name is James Lyman. I'm the president of Lyman Real Estate Trust. We're the owners of Cambridge Self Storage, a three acre parcel next to the Tobin School in Danahy Park. We are very anxious to build housing on that. We can build up to 470 units. And we are working hard with developers to find someone who will finance this. It's beyond our scope. It's something we can do ourselves. In looking for developers and meeting with multiple developers and brokers, we've all been told it is unfinanceable at this point. The problem is being high interest rates, the new tariffs. And the 20% inclusionary zoning. I know the city can't lower interest rates, and they can't get rid of the tariffs, unfortunately. But lowering that to 10% from 20% would open up many options for us to meet with developers, get something done. We think that would be 470 units, 10% would be 47 affordable units. Right now at 20%, we're building 20% of nothing, which is no affordable units. I think a reasonable compromise would be 10% and we could get something built. Thank you again.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is John Pitkin, followed by Alexa Deal, Ryan Montblue, then Elon Levy. John, two minutes.
SPEAKER_21	Good evening City Councilors. My name is John Pitkin. I live at 18 Fayette Street. I am speaking on the Transportation Demand Management Program report from 2024, which reports on the transportation monitoring of 82 properties and their commuting patterns and on how people travel to the sites covering 37,000 parking spaces and more than 37,000 employees, which is 38% of the total Cambridge. The data in this report call into question a central idea of Cambridge's transportation policy vision. Figure four. shows trends in commute modes for all people who work in Cambridge, with data from the US Census between 2015 to 19 and 2023. Over that six-year period, there was a 2% increase in commuting by bike, from 5% to 7%. This apparently came at the expense of transit ridership, which was down sharply by 7%. Single occupancy car trips were essentially unchanged. Table 4 reports the responses of the survey of employees to the question, what would help you drive less? The answers confirm that improving transit service is by far the strongest strategy for reducing car trips. The three top factors were more reliable buses and trains, more frequent buses and trains, expanded bus, subway, commuter rail routes. Safer bike routes came in eighth place and was mentioned by only one in seven respondents. These data do not support the claim made in Councilor Nolan's policy order one, for example, the citywide network of bicycle facilities, including separated bike lanes, is a key part of the vision for a sustainable transportation system. or the bicycle-centric transportation policy of the last five to six years. Isn't it time to accept the facts and respect the data? The current transportation vision is not realistic. We need to stop disrupting the lives of more and more residents and businesses for at most tiny gains in sustainability.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is Alexa Deal followed by Ryan Montblue, then Elon Levy. Alexa, two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_00	Hi, I'm Alexa Deal. I'm the Community Programs Associate at East End House, and I've been asked to read a letter on behalf of Janet Gannon, an East End House senior and Cambridge resident who lives at 107 Otis Street. My name is Janet Gannon, and I've lived in East Cambridge my whole life. East End House has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I went there as a kid, my children went there, my grandson, who is 30 now, went to daycare and after-school programs there when he was in kindergarten. He would always say, can I stay? Can you come back later? That's how you know a place is special. The kids didn't want to leave. And it was all neighborhood kids together, so they stayed connected after school, and that meant a lot. Now, years later, it's still a big part of my life, just in a different way. After my husband passed away, I was alone at home, and that's very hard, especially when you're older. When I found the senior program at East End House, Mondays and Wednesdays became my favorite days and gave me a reason to get up in the morning. It's all about connection. I've made friends. I get out of the house. I have a routine. Some days it's easy to just sit and feel stuck, but this program gives me something to look forward to, and I'm not the only one that feels that way. My friends and I all talk about how much we love going, and we really do need it. East End House is more than a building. It's a lifeline for seniors, families, and children. It's a place where people come together. It offers childcare, food distribution, youth activities, and for people like me, a reason to get out of bed with purpose. I can only imagine how much more they could do with the bigger space. A new facility would let East End House expand its programs, serve more people, and continue to be that special place for the next generation, just like it was for my children, my grandson, and now for me. So I ask you, please support East End House, support the proposed development that will give them the resources they need to grow and continue serving the people of East Cambridge. For those of us who depend on it, East End House has truly been a blessing and a change to our lives. Thank you. Janet Gannon.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is Ryan Montblow, followed by Elon Levy, Denise Gilson, then Calvin Guillaume. Ryan, you have two minutes.
SPEAKER_37	Good evening, City Council. My name is Ryan Montblue, Community Programs Director at East End House, and tonight I'll be speaking on behalf of Roseanne Poirier, East End House senior and East Cambridge resident at 18 Gore Street. Dear members of Cambridge City Council, my name is Roseanne, and I'm writing to ask for your support for East End House and the proposed rezoning of 320 Charles Street, a decision that could bring meaningful community benefits to this organization and to people like me. Not long ago, I was struggling. I had just lost my sister, who had been a part of my everyday life. The grief left me feeling depressed and isolated. But then I found my way to the East End House Senior Program, and it truly helped me reconnect, not just with others, but with myself. I've been able to spend time with my favorite seniors, rebuild my routine, and find joy again. That has meant everything to me. East End House plays a crucial role in our city. Just look at the senior classes. They've doubled in size. More and more people are coming because we need this kind of connection now more than ever. Seniors in our community rely on this place for friendship, activity, and purpose. And we're not the only ones. East End House also provides childcare, youth programs, a food pantry, senior trips, and special events like the toy drive. It brings the community together in so many ways. A new facility would allow East End House to expand and enhance what it already does so well. As long as I can get to it, I would love to see more space, more programs, and more room for connecting and healing for everyone. Whether it's seeing friends, helping out at the toy drive, or attending a senior class, just having a place like this makes all the difference. If I could share one word with you about why East End House matters, it would be community. That's what this place gives us, and that's what we stand to strengthen if you choose to support it. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Roseanne Poirier. Thank you.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is Ilan Levy, followed by Denise Gilson, Calvin Guillaume, then Brian McCarthy. For those waiting, we are at speaker number 38, Ilan Levy. Ilan has not joined us. We will go to Denise Gilson, followed by Calvin Guillaume, Brian McCarthy, then Tim Ford.
SPEAKER_30	Good evening. Denise Gilson, executive director for the Harvard Square Business Association. First of all, I would like to lend our congratulations to Charlie Sullivan. I was so delighted when Mayor Simmons reached out some time ago to ask if we had any extra cobbles hanging around. And many of you might remember that we harvested cobbles from Palmer Street some 20 years ago. And we hand them out very carefully. So it's just wonderful to see Charlie walk away with a piece of Harvard Square in his hand this evening, so thank you for that. I would also like to comment on policy order number 103. The city managers requested to work with relevant city departments to continue to work with stakeholders in the area including Harvard University and Harvard Square Business Association relative to pedestrianization of Lower Bow Street. I was walking by there this evening on my way to City Hall and remembered back when we had COVID and that small area of Bow Street was cordoned off and Daedalus and the Sea Hag had beautiful lighting out there and seating and it was just rather magical. So it'd be really nice to see that return It's space that hasn't been used in about 18 months because there's been construction going on over there and it would be just delightful to see that cordoned off again and allowed use for Daedalus and CEHAG to have outside seating and lights and music and We're really hoping that you'll support that. And finally, I will say this. I live at 2203 Mass Ave, the 2400 Mass Ave block. We were really excited about the possible housing coming there. And the fact that that is now on hold is really disconcerting. So any opportunity to even temporarily change the zoning so that it goes from 20 to 10 and allow that to continue would be really helpful to the neighborhood. Thank you.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is Calvin Guillaume, followed by Brian McCarthy, Tim Ford, then Sharmeel Modi. Calvin, two minutes.
SPEAKER_01	My name is Calvin, and I'm both a former participant and current staff member at East End. Growing up, East End was like a second home to me. I was surrounded by caring people who showed up for me every day, encouragement, guidance, the kind of support that sticks with you throughout your whole life. Now I get to pay that forward and support the next generation walking through our doors. Easton is a place where the youth build real meaningful relationships. It's where kids learn how to be a part of a community, how to reserve conflict, how to grow into themselves, build the social and emotional skills are foundational not just for school but for life. These are things that I learned firsthand and I see those play out every day with the kids I work with. Most of the children and families that we serve come from underserved communities. A new building would mean more than just a space. It would mean dignity. It would mean fair access to the kind of resources that all kids deserve. It would give us a room to grow programs, welcome more families, offer a high quality support. Our community is always needed. East End has been around for a long time. We've been around for over a century. We've never stopped evolving to meet our community needs. We're not a corporation. We're your neighbors. We're here before school, after school, during holidays, in times of crisis, celebration, and we're here because our community needs us.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is Brian McCarthy. We are at speaker number 41. Brian McCarthy, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_44	Hi, my name is Brian McCarthy. I'm from 86 Otis Street in East Cambridge. About a year and a half ago, I fell and broke my hip, laid on the floor for 35 hours. There was nobody around. Finally, a friend called for a wellness check. Cambridge police rescued me. I was in various hospitals for 16 days. When I came home, No way to get around. I was using a walker. Couldn't get out to go grocery shopping. Got a call from Ryan at the East End house. He wanted to know if I needed any help. I said I could use some food. So he began giving me groceries every week. It was great. I looked forward to it. I had something to eat. It's just something that he did. That's the type of people they are. And then last July when I had a second surgery to fix the first one, he did the same thing all over again. And they have volunteers now doing it for me. And it's great to have the company. It's great. No other group did that, but it was the East End House. And I've been in that building now. And it really needs to go. They need a new building. And it's too small. There are things in there, I would almost say, falling apart. And as far as the money, they need it for a new building. It's us who live in East End House who are going to put up with the traffic and the noise of the development of what Biogen is doing on Charles Street. It's not the people in Central Square or Harvard Square or Inman Square. It's East Cambridge. So the money needs to stay in East Cambridge. Thank you.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. We are going to go back to speaker Ilan Levy, followed by Tim Ford, Sharmel Modi, then Nadia Amrush. Ilan, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_13	Yes, can you hear me?
SPEAKER_74	Yes, we can hear you. If you can speak a little louder. Okay.
SPEAKER_13	The East Cambridge community enhancement zoning petition should be voted down. The city, the developer, and the East Cambridge planning team have not acted in the best interest of the city and its citizens. The following are facts. The East Cambridge neighborhood has received substantial benefits from the development over the last 15 years. They include $9 million for the East End House, the Tumi Park, the Foundry, funds for the East Cambridge Open Space Trust, as well as money and land for the Grand Junction Path. The other non-profits around the city have not received equivalent donation. Until now, such disparities were acceptable because East Cambridge bore the brunt of the developments. The current Biomed Realty proposal is overreach. Considering how it will affect East Cambridge, the benefit Biomed Realty should be paying are not even close to being sufficient. were around $30 million versus Alexandria Real Estate paying $57 million for the Moderna building right next door. The proposal will bring an additional 1,800 people into the neighborhood near a school and a very popular playing field. The impact of the building and its occupants surrounding will be significant, ranging from noise traffic, wind tunnel effect, and other unknown consequences. More importantly, 79 abattoirs and neighborhood resident petitions have been thoroughly ignored. Their petition opposing the proposal that 320 Charles Street, which masquerades as an East Cambridge community enhancement zoning petition, was sent to the email at the city council on May 20, 2025 and thoroughly ignored. I will now speak the name of some of the signatory. Nina Quinlan, Melissa Amaya, Benjamin Mercer, Rana Ifrahim. Writing Patrick Mangan, Amanda Perillo, Patricia Zerusen, Luca Daniels, Francesca Gordini, Barbara Klucznik, Mildred Allen, James Mulroar, Shandy Ramirez, Michael Nicoloro, Vinnie Trivedi-Parmar, Bruce Smith, Hélène Kobeck, Margaret Dines, Madeleine Astor, Anastasia Amaya, Kevin Rourou, Deborah Chassman, Violetta Rosenthal, Tricia Luong, John Tyson, Mary Grassi, Paul Kaplan, Elizabeth Ricker, Anna Martin, Joseph Ryan, Molly Howard, Juneso Park, Chris
SPEAKER_74	Elan, if you can please email the remainder. Your time is expired. Our next speaker is Tim Ford, followed by Sharmell Modi, Nadja Amrush. Tim, if you can unmute yourself, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_50	Yes, can you hear me? Yes. I'm here to support the Biobank project, which will help East End growing for the future. East End has so many programs. daycare, after school, seniors, food programs, core drive, mentoring, and many more. These programs are all Cambridge residents. I've been going to the East End since I was five years old. I'm still involved today with many programs that's helped me to help students. I'm currently teaching karate since 1974 to seniors and adults and children of interest. Please help grow the East End for the future and help everyone in the Cambridge area and residency. Thank you for your time.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is Sharmell Modi, speaker number 43.
SPEAKER_32	Good evening. I'm here to speak on two topics. One, as a commercial property owner in East Cambridge, I'm here to express my very strong support for the East End House, an essential pillar of our community for 150 years, serving a broad cross-section of families throughout Cambridge, but skewing towards our neediest. Therefore, I'm a proponent for the commercial benefit dollars stemming from the BMR project at 320 Charles, staying in East Cambridge and supporting a much-needed new home for the East End House. Topic two on housing production. If the goal of the city is to stimulate the creation of more housing and more affordable housing, then I strongly encourage council to reduce the inclusionary zoning requirement from the current 20%, especially for smaller projects. To be clear, I believe that affordable housing is a laudable goal. However, perhaps counterintuitively, and the last many years in Cambridge should serve as empirical proof, too high an IZ rate hinders rather than helps the production of new housing. This is essentially a question of math. While the specifics of every project and every developer are somewhat unique, we are all bound by roughly the same economic forces and market constraints. Development projects are high-risk affairs. To step into that risk, investors and lenders demand a return or a profit. That profit is most easily conceptualized by a required project margin. For example, if it costs me $80 to build something that is worth $100 upon completion, my project margin is 20%. Generically speaking, for 100% market rate rental multifamily project, the project margin generally works out to 20% to 30%. However, in a high demand, high cost market like Cambridge, it is very likely to be closer to 20%. When it comes to inclusionary units, because the rental revenue generally does not cover the cost to operate and hold, the market value is highly diminished, or perhaps even zero relative to their cost of development. Very simply put, if 20% of the project has no economic value, my 20% project margin could quickly trend toward zero, which simply makes it uninvestable. Remember, investors and lenders are also silent customers of each project. Reducing the IZ requirement to 10%, while not a panacea for all sites and projects, should greatly increase the likelihood that more projects will pencil, get funded, and ultimately be built.
SPEAKER_74	Our next speaker is Nadja Amroosh, followed by Clive Lawrence, Mary Lee Dunn, then Jean Perry. Nadja, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_11	Good evening, Mayor Simmons and the Council. My name is Nadja. I'm from North Cambridge. On the same topic of erasing low-income housing, for Cambridge residents, we heard that some subsidized low-income housing programs are being discontinued. For example, HUD Section 236. Is this true? And if so, what are you doing to help provide a replacement for this program and tackle this issue immediately to help families? Currently, the main alternative is for large families to downsize to small apartments. Cambridge always put families and the future of our children first, however, this issue sort of take gives them a take it or leave it model, which is not what Cambridge community is known for. We urge you to please consider these issues and talk to the neighborhood, so we can come up with decisions as these changes are happening too fast for the families and without a proper solution or feedback from those affected, thank you for your time.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is Clive Lawrence. It looks like Clive has not joined us. We are going to go to Mary Lee Dunn, followed by Jean Perry, Susan LaPierre, then Jack Silverson. Mary Lee Dunn, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_31	Thank you. Council members, I'm speaking in support of East End House. I live at 75 Cambridge Parkway. And moving here 11 years ago, I was happy to be close to the East End House because I had known about it and supported it prior to even living in the city of Cambridge. East End House is an organization to be very proud of and support. It's a caring team led by Michael Delia, who's a committed leader and has done so much with so little. I wonder if those who have spoken opposition of it have visited East End House even. East End is a nurturing place where children and others thrive and deserve the city's support. That was unanimously voted on in May. Our East End Cambridge is severely impacted daily by enormous redevelopment, the noise and disruption, and lack of safety in this area, while trucks are hauling materials to and from major construction sites and traffic backed up on our neighborhood streets day and night. If we lose this opportunity, for East End House, I'd say choose instead the example of East End House to work with the companies choosing Cambridge. Cambridge is a phenomenal city, an innovative city. We have a tremendous city government. We can do more than just one project. All of you deserve that kind of support who are in the arts. It's what makes Cambridge a place that is so desirable for young and for old. So I would hate, again, hate to see them lose this opportunity. And please continue to get other companies to support the arts. Thank you.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is Jean Perry, followed by Susan LaPierre, Jack Silverson, then Nicola Williams. Jean, two minutes.
SPEAKER_23	Good evening, Madam Mayor, council members. Thank you for letting me be here this evening. My name is Jean Perry. I live at 32 Griswold Street in Cambridge. I have lived and or worked in East Cambridge for almost 80 years. I grew up there, raised my children, I have seen the neighborhood change in ways I never imagined. But one thing has always been true, the East Cambridge House has been the heart of the community. The $20 million community benefit earmarked for East End House isn't just money, it's a promise. It's a promise that our city will continue to care for the children after school, for seniors who have some made this their connection to the outside world. For families who rely on them to feed their families. It's for everyone. Please don't delay. The support means keeping the East End House alive and here in Cambridge. I urge you to follow through on what the ordinance committee has already agreed to. On what you agreed to. We need it now more than ever. Some people say we should wait, delay, or share the funds more broadly. But I've been following the process closely. There were meetings in the fall, the winter, and the spring. The public has been given many opportunities to speak about this. The East End House is the only organization in position to use the funding now to meet urgent needs in our community. And frankly, seniors like me,
SPEAKER_74	don't have the luxury of it waiting years thank you very much thank you our next speaker is susan lapierre followed by jack silverson susan you have two minutes please go ahead
SPEAKER_29	Good afternoon. Good evening, Madam Mayor and council members. I'm speaking on the unfinished business agenda item number six tonight, and I am Susan LaPierre. I'm board chair of East End House. I speak tonight to urge you to honor a process that has been open, transparent, and community driven from the start. and to keep your promise to East End House and the people of East Cambridge. Over the past year, the East Cambridge planning team, Linwood Neighbors, and Biomed Realty have worked in partnership to shape a plan that reflects our community's values. That plan includes support for East End House, new recreational space, and affordable housing, real benefits for real people. THE COUNCIL ALREADY RECOGNIZED EAST END HOUSE AS THE PRINCIPAL RECIPIENT OF THE COMMUNITY BENEFITS BACK IN MAY, BASED ON OVERWHELMING TESTIMONY AND A CLEAR PUBLIC MANDATE. THAT DECISION WAS GROUNDED IN FACTS. EAST END HOUSE IS A LIFELINE FOR OVER 5,500 INDIVIDUALS ANNUALLY, MOST OF THEM PEOPLE OF COLOR, LOW TO MODERATE INCOME, AND MANY FROM ACROSS THE CITY, INCLUDING THE PORT IN WELLINGTON-HARRINGTON. To change course now would undermine months of collaboration and community trust. It would jeopardize urgently needed services and threaten the viability of the entire project at a time when delays could have dire consequences. This proposal has been public for nearly a year, discussed at community meetings, covered in the press, and debated in open hearings. It's not just the right process, it's the right outcome. Please keep your promise, vote to ordain this plan, and help East End House continue serving Cambridge for the next 150 years. Thank you.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is Jack Silverson, speaker number 49, followed by Nicola Williams, then Camden Mendick. Jack, you have two minutes.
SPEAKER_46	Thank you. Madam Mayor and city councilors, this is Jack Silverson at 103 Avon Hill Street. I'm speaking to the city manager agenda item number eight, appointments to neighborhood conservation districts. Surely Cambridge needs affordable housing, by that I mean income-restricted housing, not simply less expensive. As Suzanne believes, as the administration decimates both our academic institutions and life sciences, unquestionably people will migrate out of Cambridge. And as a longtime resident of the city, it is my view that it is imperative to balance legitimate housing needs with preserving the historic character of the city. The remit of the Historical Commission is to maintain and support the essence of what makes this a unique place. specifically to preserve the integrity and diversity of Cambridge's built environment and to disseminate information about its history. This is their mission. Your legacy as policymakers will be the quality of those appointments and reappointments to this body you make. I urge you to consider the qualifications and expertise of any and all new appointments and reappointments to this commission. Will they value the diversity and history of Cambridge as we work toward increasing density as a necessity for it becomes clear in the months and years ahead? After all, I don't believe any city resident would approve appointing members to this or any commissioner body whose views are antagonistic to that body's stated mission. I assure you, many residents of Cambridge will be waiting and evaluating your appointments accordingly. Thank you for your time.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you, we're gonna break for a moment to hear from State Rep. Marjorie Decker. Rep. Decker, you have the floor. Two minutes, please go ahead.
SPEAKER_61	Good evening, Madam Mayor, and to my colleagues on the council. It is a little surreal to be here. I have not spoken before the council since I left as a member of the council. And I made that decision because I think that the work that all of you do as city councilors is really important, and it's really hard. Whether I agree with what you're doing or what you're not doing, I know to be able to represent the incredible diversity of needs and opinions in the city is really hard. And I don't think it's always helpful when you hear from other electeds who get to swing in for part of the conversation and then hit the road. So I have not done that. But I live here as not only an elected official, but I live here as a mom and as a resident and as a daughter. I have an aging mom and I have two kids. And I just want to be clear about where my thoughts are on this, because I've heard now some of those thoughts reinterpreted. So I thought best to hear from me directly. I think it is very reasonable to have a conversation in which people get to ask that a development before us today, or not before you today, but that is coming, is seeking some support, some zoning support from the council. And I know that during my time on the city council, which I think you were the only one who was there from those days, we really struggled with, when we did community benefits, what it meant to decide who those community benefits would go to. And in those days, it often went to whatever community organization could find the city councilor that was the strongest and the kind of one who could sort of, I don't know, just insert themselves into the council conversation and decide who had the greatest might. And what it meant was that it wasn't really a transparent process. It wasn't a good process that was open to the community. It just meant who sort of had the most might at that time.
Denise Simmons	Decker, your time is expired. Now the council wants to move to extend it.
Ayesha Wilson	Madam Mayor, so moved.
Denise Simmons	A motion by Council Wilson, roll call.
SPEAKER_71	Councilor Azeem. Yes. Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern. Yes. Councilor Nolan. Yes. Councilor Siddiqui.
Sumbul Siddiqui	Yes.
SPEAKER_71	Yes. Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Yes. Yes. Councilor Toner. Yes. Yes. Councilor Wilson. Yes. Councilor Zusy. Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons. Yes. Yes. You have nine members recorded in the affirmative. Rep.
Denise Simmons	Decker, your time is up.
SPEAKER_61	Thank you to my colleagues for your grace. I guess what I was saying is that at that time, there was a process that started to evolve that's taken place. And out of that became the nonprofit coalition. I remember before they even had a staff person. And I was really excited to see nonprofits from the city come together and start taking agency about looking at community benefits. Since then, there was also a community benefits fund that was created for the city. And these two things together were created to try to depoliticize from the council who should actually benefit the most. The council certainly should have a voice because you represent community. But it was to say that there should be a more transparent voice with more partners who are serving the community. As a counselor and certainly as a state representative, I've often said that without our nonprofits, our community would be bankrupt because of the important services that they provide our community. No other time has that become more true. As you just saw, we just shaved a billion dollars off the state budget. I tell folks expect more to be taken off the state budget before the governor signs it or certainly what's in a process that's called nine C cuts. The federal government continues to take away grants and has stopped funding a number of projects that come to the state budget. We've seen a lot of our nonprofits have already lost money from either the federal government or from many of the life science companies that have been threatened because of work around diversity, equity, inclusion, or they just have also lost money from the federal government. To have learned that there is a process, and to those who are here to support what this deal was that represents one organization receiving $20 million and four organizations splitting $1.5 million, I want to say They are deserving. Everyone in this community who relies on the nonprofit services are deserving. All of the elderly in our community are deserving. All of the under-resourced families are deserving. The question really for the council should have been, and I will say, I think leadership earlier in the process would have diffused a lot of the tensions that I have seen building, and that's our job as elected officials, is to step into sometimes hard conversations and use our platform to actually diffuse that. There's no amount of finger pointing or name calling that takes away from the actual question at hand. Do you think this is a practice, the best practices that were intended to be created when deciding how community benefits should come about? I believe for residents that were involved in this process, they were transparent. There was a community process for those that were involved. And I heard, well, people are coming into the 11th hour. Well, it is the 11th hour for those who had the fortune and the privilege and the access to be part of those conversations. But it's the first hour for a lot of other people in this community. And I will deflect back to the city leadership to say other folks should have been brought into that conversation a lot sooner. That is the role of the council and the city administration. Or the question at hand is not whether or not people are being rude. I mean, honestly, if we're being honest, this city has become a place where it's hard to have conversations about the most basic things without people sometimes deflecting and being rude. We all need to find more grace with each other. What's happening at the federal level requires us to actually take deeper breaths and be able to hear from one another, especially at the moments that we disagree with each other. But when we start demonizing each other, it gives us the ability to deflect from the actual only question that's at hand. You're going to vote eventually on, has this been a good process? Is this what good government does at a time in which our nonprofits will have less? Is this the process that you believe in? So the idea that there's not votes for a different outcomes or the 11th hour, well, there's votes for whatever you on the city council decide to actually move forward on. And so I would just encourage you to really be thinking about the creation of the nonprofit coalition. The creation of the Community Benefits Program was designed exactly to avoid this kind of conversation that the 11th hour for those who are involved does feel awful to have committed all that time. But it also feels really awful for those who wish this is the first hour of the conversation. So my concerns are not with the community. It's not even with the organization that would have an extraordinary benefit here. It's with the leadership that says, where was the city in bringing people in through this process and the structures that exist already to diffuse this? So here you are. And this is the time in which leadership is really more important than ever, because it's already very messy and it's very complicated. There are no winners, but a lot of people will lose. And it'll be people who felt like they, in good faith, spent a last, I don't know, year working on this, or it'll be people who felt like they were never engaged and included in the process and should have been. So we're not walking away with everyone feeling like a winner, but your job is to figure out, is this a good process and does it represent best practices? Thank you for your time and for your listening.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you for your testimony. Thank you. Our next speaker is Nicola Williams, followed by Camden Mendick, Syed Jaffe, then Selvin Chambers. Nicola, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_68	Yep. Can you hear me now? All right. Yep. And the people in the back can hear you too. I'm sorry? And the people in the back can hear you too. Okay. Honorable Mayor Simmons, city councilors, good evening. Thank you for listening. Nicola Williams, A Brewer Street. I just wanted to acknowledge that we received over 1,000 signatures for our petition by the Community Arts Center, CEOC, Cambridge Community Center, and CEOC. I'm co-president of the board of the Community Arts Center, so I am here in person because this situation is deeply concerning to me. I don't believe in taking a bone out of a dog's mouth. This is a $20 million bone, though. I support the efforts of East End, absolutely, but the situation for me is about transparency and equity. Community benefits program is an amazing tool to support projects in communities that are impacted. I support the concept and I've seen it work. In this situation, the port community is affected by anything that happens in East Cambridge. And there's been a lot of development. However, many of the community agencies have really not significantly benefited from the Community Benefits Program. So I think it's something that you should, as leaders, take a look at. Just a little deeper. Is it working? How can we make it better? How can we share the pie a little bit? Especially when it's a $20 million pie. So I urge you to look at it. Make it more equitable. And I 100% support the Community Arts Center. And I hope you consider that. And I support everything that East End House is doing as well. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is Camden Mendick, followed by Syed Jaffe, Selvin Chambers, then Heather Hoffman. Camden? Camden has not joined us. We will go to Syed Jaffe.
SPEAKER_17	Good evening. I want to thank Mayor Simmons and the City Council for giving me the opportunity to speak today about our project, which is CMA 2025, number 180. I work with my son, Alexander, and we are developing a residential building at 8 Winter Street in East Cambridge, a project for the Cambridge Community Development Department included on page 7 of the report provided by CDD on May 12th. We applaud the council's removal of exclusionary zoning and hope to get our 23-unit project off the ground. However, our progress has been slow, and two weeks ago, our contract reached out to us with yet another budget issue. He's a competent builder, and we have had a very trustworthy relationship with him for many years, but these are not ordinary times or conditions. He shared that the cost of light-gauge steel is up significantly because of the tariffs. He also highlighted that several other products that will be used in the construction are going up in cost because many of them are being imported from China. He believes that our project is going up by at least $1.2 million for now. Our financing is tenuous, and the market is very slow. We had hoped to refinance Our ability to finance this project with another we had built in Boston, but to our surprise, because of the high interest rates and a lot of financial uncertainty many people are feeling these days, sales of apartments have completely stalled. We are still committed to build a high-quality building at 8 Winter Street, but our margin is shrinking and untenable, and we are requesting the City Council to please lower inclusion requirement to make the MBTA Community Act threshold of 10% so we can proceed and help Cambridge meet its housing demand. Thank you.
Denise Simmons	Thank you for your testimony.
SPEAKER_74	Our next speaker is Selvin Chambers followed by Heather Hoffman, Charles Franklin, then Michael Delia. Selvin?
SPEAKER_15	Hello, beautiful people. I'm here like others to express a little bit of my disappointment regarding the recent $20 million community benefits allocation. And this is not about the East End House and the quality of the work they do, because my nephew, Gabriel, my great nephew, was in those programs. But this goes deeper than that, right? As a kid that grew up in Cambridge in the port, that grew up in a marginalized community and watched Kendall Square when it was nothing, when it had the Ebola building and the electric company in there, and nobody went there unless you cut through to get to those companies. And then you watch Kendall Square grow into the mecca it is, and then the funding that's helped build those beautiful buildings and that mecca where people go to work every day. get surpassed by other deserving organizations. What this is really about is other organizations that deserve it. So when I think of my time in childhood growing up with one of 11 children and knowing the fact that I went to CEOC to get my first job. I went to Cambridge Community Center to play on a new breed basketball team. My sisters went to the dance complex to dance. My childhood friends developed the Young People's Project. My nieces went to the community arts center and went to Europe to go in the first Do It Your Damn Self film festival at the age of 13 when the community arts center was in a basement. Now it's in a building where it paid $100,000 for an HVAC system. To get my drift, there are a lot of community organizations that need funding. When I think about the Tutoring Plus, when I could barely read and do my homework, help me get my college education, And I would be remissed. The organization I grew up with my siblings at the Margaret Fuller House where I actually have to come full circle and now they're CEO, right? How does a kid from the poor get to do that? Because they were someone that made a vested interest. So you all in the city council, you're the accountability partners, right? This ain't about the East End House.
Denise Simmons	Mr. Chambers.
SPEAKER_15	This is about accountability and making sure that we get what is deserved. So have a fair and open process.
Denise Simmons	Thank you for your testimony.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is Heather Hoffman, followed by Charles Franklin, Michael Delia, then Matthew Connolly. Heather, two minutes.
SPEAKER_63	Hello, Heather Hoffman, 213 Hurley Street. I thought that I had gotten used to the city reneging on its promises to East Cambridge, but apparently it's happening again. Bravo, folks. We're just an ATM. No one lives here. With respect to the federal lawsuits, I'm sure that I'm pleased with the way the city is supporting all of the good things that people are trying to keep in the face of the onslaught from Washington. But you know, there are some other lawsuits that you really ought to talk to us about. especially your complete denial that the First Amendment has an establishment clause still. You have been poorly served by the city solicitor and by the law department in not discussing this. And you should make sure that you hear about it before you vote on anything. With respect to safe streets, you know, with all of the construction in East Cambridge, We are getting shunted from one side of the street to the other. Sometimes we're getting shunted to streets that are blocked off, sidewalks that are blocked off. Could someone please try to walk down 3rd Street and tell me how many times you have to cross the street just so you can get to the subway station or get home? With respect to the... the demolition and building permit. You know, the city claims that all of those applications are not public records. So how's about fixing that? Thank you.
SPEAKER_74	Our next speaker is Charles Franklin, followed by Michael Delia, then Matthew Connolly. Charles, two minutes.
SPEAKER_38	Good evening, council. Charles Franklin, 162 Hampshire Street. I would like to speak in favor of policy order, which one is that? Number one, which explores creative solutions to reduce car dependency. It does say, while expanding access to parking on Broadway, I think it would be better if it said maintaining. I've spoken forever here about induced demand. I'm not going to do that anymore. You know what it is. And I would also like to support the pedestrianization, or at least partial pedestrianization, of Harvard Square. I would love to see as much of it as possible, but any is excellent and a good step. And I wasn't going to talk about bikes, but somebody else did, so I think I will too. This person said that only 7% of people who commute in Cambridge do it by bike. There is another interpretation of this data, which is that since 2021, the share of commuters who bike has gone up by 75%. Thank you.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker is Michael Delia, followed by Matthew Connolly. Michael, two minutes. Please, go ahead.
SPEAKER_36	I'm speaking on the unfinished business number six. I want to tell you that I, and I'm going to just go off script here a second. I really hope that we could figure this out. Nonprofits in this city have so many deep needs, and there has to be multiple pathways to support them. The anti-aid amendment which has existed in this city and has been rigidly defined for over 50 years have left scars all over our nonprofit organizations. The community benefit of funds that was created back in 2015 is deeply flawed, and I never wanted to say that publicly. I'm saying it here. Can it be fixed? Yes. Is it very limited? Yes. And it's a narrow way of getting support to nonprofits. It's based on a needs assessment. Hasn't been done in eight years. It's supposed to be done every three to five years. After the needs assessment was done, it took two, three years to actually put programs in place. It's slow. But nonprofits have infrastructure needs. They have capital needs. They need a line item in the budget. They need more robust support, and they need to respect communities who are facing big upzoning challenges should have some portion of the support. And 501c4s, which we partner with very deeply, East Cambridge Planning Team, the Linden Park Neighborhood, the East Cambridge Open Space Trust, they know who we are. But we stay out of it. thinking about development, talking to them about development, they make the decisions. And then when there is a question about where the community benefits go, of course they're gonna say East End House. And we appreciate that. But I think that we have to step back a second and look at that process and maybe we can make it better, because this is unprecedented. Dennis Carlone, when he stood in front of you, said, nonprofits are starving. I believe that. We can do better together. If you want to go fast, go quickly. If you want to go far, go together.
Denise Simmons	Thank you for your testimony.
SPEAKER_74	Thank you. Our next speaker, our final speaker, is Matthew Connolly. Matthew, you have two minutes. Please go ahead.
SPEAKER_56	Thank you, Matthew Connolly at 13 Cornelius Way. I'm the president of the Linden Park Neighborhood Association. We are in the Wellington Harrington neighborhood on the other side of the tracks, about 400 feet from the proposed project. I will tell you, we've been to a lot of meetings about this over the last nine or so months. And I'll tell you, this process has taken an unexpected turn. And it's hard to hear so many people get up and criticize the project and the process, and even harder to agree with them in a lot of ways. Because I agree, there is a problem about funding nonprofits right now. And I agree that we should be doing more. And I didn't hear this expressly said, but sort of the underlying tone is that the Community Benefits Fund and some of the ways that we fund nonprofits is not really working. And I would urge you as we go forward to think about whether or not this upzoning to fund nonprofits is really the best model in order to support them. That said, that is a long-term conversation, and we are facing an upzoning petition from Biomed that is going to be incredibly impactful to the people of East Cambridge. It is not in Kendall Square, it's in East Cambridge. It is right next to Ahern Field, it's next to Neighborhoods, and it's next to the former Calo School. When I think about how we're gonna support these projects and what we were gonna do, we really wanted to emphasize coming up with a community benefit project that was going to be just as impactful and just as permanent as the building that Biomed was proposing. We didn't start by supporting East End House and their proposal for a new community center. That's the conclusion we came to. And we came to that by over 37 meetings talking to East End House, talking to the people of East Cambridge, Wellington, Harrington, and talking to the people of the port as well. who we heard go to the East End House and were looking for a location that would be better serving their needs. Now, as many in the council know, we are advocating for the new East End House to be on 135 Fulkerson, which would be both permanent and I think wonderful and open up accessibility to everybody. But as we go forward and have this conversation, we really are looking for a project permanent.
Denise Simmons	Thank you so much for your testimony. Please give the remainder of your remarks in writing.
SPEAKER_74	Madam Mayor, that is all who are signed up to speak.
Denise Simmons	Thank you, Ms. Stefan. This concludes public comment. What is the pleasure of the City Council? On a motion by Councilor Wilson to close public comment. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it and public comment is now closed. We do not have a submission of the record or reconsiderations. We're going to go directly to the city manager's agenda without the city manager being here. Madam Mayor.
Burhan Azeem	Councilor Azeem. Oh, I was just going to pull number four.
Denise Simmons	Number four.
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	Madam Mayor. Madam Mayor.
Denise Simmons	Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler.
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	Pull one, five, and eight.
Denise Simmons	One, five, and eight?
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	Yep.
Denise Simmons	I'd like to pull three and eight. Hold on. Five and eight.
Patricia Nolan	Mayor Simmons, number three.
Denise Simmons	Pleasure, City Council. Anything else you'd like to remove? And then I will repeat. Number one was pulled by Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler, three by Councilor Nolan, four by Councilor Azeem, five by Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler, and eight by Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Did I miss anything? On the balance, I would ask just to... It's all placed on file, it looks like.
Ayesha Wilson	Madam Mayor? Number seven?
Denise Simmons	NUMBER 7. SO WHAT'S BEING PULLED IS 1, 3, 4, FIVE AND SEVEN, AND ON THE BALANCE, WE CAN DO A ROLL CALL. DO YOU WANT A ROLL CALL? WE SHOULD DO THAT. OKAY.
SPEAKER_71	ROLL CALL ON THE BALANCE. COUNCILOR ZEEN. YES. YES. VICE MAYOR MCGOVERN. YES. YES. COUNCILOR NOLAN. YES. YES. COUNCILOR SIDDIKI. YES. YES. COUNCILOR Sobrinho-Wheeler. YES. YES. COUNCILOR TONER. YES. YES. COUNCILOR WILSON. YES. YES. COUNCILOR ZUZI.
Catherine Zusy	YES.
SPEAKER_71	YES. MAYOR SIMMONS. YES. AND YOU HAVE NINE MEMBERS RECORDED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE. THANK YOU.
Denise Simmons	AND SO THE CITY MANAGER AGENDA ITEMS TWO. and six are adopted on the affirmative vote of nine members. We'll go now to number one. This was pulled by Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Reads as follows. A communication transmitted from Yan Wang to the manager relative to a federal update in the law department will provide an update on relevant court cases. Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler, the floor is yours.
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	Thanks, Madam Mayor, through you, and thanks to City Manager and staff for this update. There's a lot here. I didn't have specific questions on this, but just wanted to give a chance if there were any pieces you wanted to highlight.
Denise Simmons	Thank you, Counselor. Mr. City Manager, the floor is yours.
Yi-An Huang	Through you Mayor Simmons, I think I'll invite City Solicitor Bayer and Assistant City Solicitor to come up and provide maybe a bit of an update. As context I would say, We've been giving these biweekly federal updates. Tonight, as you all, I'm sure, are aware of, some of the larger things that are happening are the budget reconciliation bill that's being debated actively in the Senate right now. We are, of course, going to pay a lot of attention to what comes out of that and the implications of where federal funding will land as they affect not just our community but the whole country. In the meantime, I really appreciate the work that the Law Department has put in, recognizing that so much of our concern has been regarding a lot of these executive orders, actions the federal government is taking, which are being challenged in court. And as the number of lawsuits has expanded, and certainly as the city of Cambridge has begun to become more engaged in this, we thought it would be helpful as part of these regular updates to provide a summary of not all of the cases, but the relevant ones that we're trying to track in a sense of what the status is. We'll continue to work to try and figure out how to move these into a format that is more accessible to a non-lawyer, which I certainly have been growing in as we've all had to become a little more attuned to how courts appeals work their way all the way up through to the Supreme Court. But I think this is a helpful starting point so that the council can see this and feel free to reach out with questions to the law department as you digest this information. But I will turn this over to City Solicitor Behr to provide a bit of an update.
SPEAKER_54	Solicitor Behr. Thank you. Thank you. Through you, Madam Mayor. So you'll see in the chart here that we put together a number of cases that are at various stages that we thought were of interest to municipalities, particularly the city with different challenges to executive orders or challenges to other executive action. And some of the cases actually brought by the federal government through the Department of Justice challenging actions of some cities. To talk about today, we'll just go through just a few of these just to give you some additional updates and then happy to answer questions or if there are other questions offline at any time, please feel free to reach out. So I'll just... give a few brief updates and then Assistant City Solicitor LaPianca has a couple of updates as well. So one is the first case listed is the case that the city is a party to that we've talked about in greater detail in the past. So that's King County versus Turner. And that was the case that we joined to challenge the grant conditions for the HUD Continuum of Care Grants. And the update I just wanted to share with you on that case, as you know, as we mentioned before, that we do have a preliminary injunction order that says that HUD can't enforce those conditions to the city. And we now have actually gotten a signed grant agreement back from HUD. CROSSED OFF THE OBJECTIONABLE TERMS AND NOTED OUR OBJECTIONS IN THE GRANT AGREEMENT WHEN WE SIGNED IT AND SENT IT TO HUD AND HUD ACCEPTED THAT EDITED VERSION AND SIGNED IT AND HAVE INDICATED THAT THEY HAVE THE MONEY THAT YOU APPROPRIATED LAST WEEK AVAILABLE FOR THE CITY TO START DRAWING DOWN WHILE THAT PRELIMINARY JUNCTION ORDER IS IN PLACE. SO THAT'S REALLY GREAT NEWS. Another case that has an order that applies to the city is a case that we didn't directly participate in, but it's California versus the Department of Transportation. And it's a case that has, I think it's about 20 states that brought a case challenging Department of Transportation cases. conditions that required that the states the recipients of grant funds participate or cooperate in immigration enforcement and on June 19th the court in that case which is in the District Court of Rhode Island granted a preliminary injunction that said that the states did not have to comply with those conditions, but said it also applies, that order applies to the cities and towns within those states. So to the extent we receive any Department of Transportation grants, which we do have, which... Again, the council appropriated last week. If there are conditions about cooperating with federal immigration enforcement, we have an injunction in place that applies to the city, so we do not have to agree to that condition. I'll take that opportunity to segue though to a very recent case on Thursday or Friday of last week. You may have heard in the news that the Supreme Court ruled in the case Trump versus Casa Inc. And this was, it's a consolidated case of a few lower court cases having to do with the birthright citizenship executive order. And the holding of the Supreme Court was not on the merits of whether the birthright citizenship executive order was valid, but whether there could be what is called a universal injunction And a universal injunction would be if a court issues an order and says it doesn't just apply to the plaintiffs in that case, but it should apply to any similarly situated party. And so for the birthright citizenship case, You know, there are certain organizations or states that have brought cases challenging that executive order, and three different lower courts have said, we're going to grant an injunction that's going to apply across the board, that this is not a valid executive order while this case is pending. And now the Supreme Court has said that we can't have universal injunctions. And the Supreme Court looked at the history of when the judiciary was created and did the historical at that time when the Judiciary Act was enacted. Was Congress at that time contemplating that there could be universal injunctions and have this relief that would apply across the board, not just to plaintiffs? And the Supreme Court determined no, that wasn't what was contemplated at the time. And so a universal injunction is not permissible. So that is bad news because that means that to be able to benefit from an injunctive order that you have to actually be a party to the case or bring another case and that there can't be an across-the-board injunction in place when one court finds that an executive order is not valid. There are some possible other ways that that people will be pursuing relief that is more widespread. But this is definitely a step back and it's going to make it harder to be challenging orders and having to really have a lot of litigation out there, which could lead to inconsistent action amongst the courts and more confusion and less efficient. But that's where we are with the Supreme Court. Um, to touch on just a couple other cases, um, the Department of Justice filed a case today, uh, that's United States versus Los Angeles, and it's similar to a few other cases that have been filed through the DOJ, such as, um, uh, what are they, Rochester, Illinois, Colorado, and Newark. So these are all cases that have been brought by the Department of Justice challenging sanctuary policies in the cities, counties, or states. And so there's a new one that was filed today involving Los Angeles. So we'll be following all of those cases carefully. And then I'm going to turn it over to Franz to touch on a couple other cases. Assistant Solicitor LaPianca, the floor is yours.
SPEAKER_09	Thank you, Madam Mayor. Through you, Madam Mayor, there's one case that we've added to the list since we created it, and that is AAU versus Department of Defense. MIT and Boston University joined as plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging Department of Defense funding cuts related to indirect costs for military-based research. And in that case, on June 17, 2025, Judge Murphy of the District of Massachusetts entered a temporary restraining order. Further hearing on that will be set for July 2, 2025. The Harvard versus DHS case last week, well, on June 20th, the judge boroughs entered an order enjoining the federal government from implementing, instituting, maintaining, or giving any force or effect to the federal government's revocation of Harvard's ability to enroll foreign students. The federal government has not appealed that ruling, which makes sense since they already said they were going to reset their challenge to Harvard's ability to enroll foreign students. There was subsequent to that ruling a presidential proclamation seeking to bar foreign students from enrolling at Harvard, and on June 27th, or on June 23rd, Judge Burroughs entered a stay of that presidential proclamation. On June 27th, the federal government did appeal the stay of the president's proclamation. So we will continue to monitor that case and watch what happens and update you accordingly. And that are the updates that I have of local interest.
Denise Simmons	Thank you. Back to you, Madam Solicitor, or back to the City Manager.
SPEAKER_54	So nothing further unless there's specific questions. And then again, in the next few weeks, while we're not meeting, happy to discuss offline any of these developments.
Denise Simmons	Questions from the council? Councilor Nolan?
Patricia Nolan	Is this just on the legal cases?
Denise Simmons	This is just on the court cases.
Patricia Nolan	Not on overall funding or anything. Okay. Then I don't have questions.
Denise Simmons	Councilor Nolan-Niels, Madam, Mr. Vice, whoever you are. It's hot. I can't think. Mr. City Manager, any additional information on City Manager agenda item number one?
Yi-An Huang	No, I think we're good. Thank you so much.
Denise Simmons	On City Manager's agenda number one, Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler moves to place on file. All those in favor say aye.
Unknown Speaker	Aye.
Denise Simmons	Opposed? The ayes have it. And City Manager's agenda item number one is placed on file. We'll move to number three. This is pulled by Councilor Nolan. Reads as follows. Communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang, City Manager, relative to the 2024 Transportation Demand Management Program report. Councilor Nolan, the floor is yours.
Patricia Nolan	Thank you, Mayor Simmons, and through you. This is a really extensive report on something we've been following closely, the transportation demand management. As I reviewed it, there seemed to be some questions raised on that some of the large projects and special permits did not meet any. The reason we do this is to reduce single occupancy vehicle, to increase public transit, increase biking, increase anything that's not single occupancy vehicle. And that there are several large projects or special permits that didn't meet any of the single occupancy vehicle commitments. Is there detail on what follow up would look like? I know it said we were calling them. Are there consequences to not meeting them? how extensive was it that they didn't meet it? Were they supposed to reduce it to 10% and they reduced it to 12% or were they supposed to reduce it to 10% and they only reduced it to 40%? If you make sense as a gist of a question.
SPEAKER_60	Commissioner? Through you, Madam Mayor, I'd like to introduce Ryan McKinnon. Our names are too similar. I get confused. Ryan McKinnon is our PTDM planner. So I will hand it over to Ryan to answer that question.
SPEAKER_43	Mr. McKinnon. Thank you. Through you, Mayor Simmons. So the range of kind of degree of failure is pretty wide. Sure, yeah. Can you hear me now? So of the nine projects, some of them were very close to meeting their goals, and some of them were quite far from meeting their goals. And the steps that we'll take in those two situations are different. So for someone who is very far from meeting the goals, we will work with them to develop additional TDM measures that are going to help them bring the SOV performance back down towards their goals. And for ones who are close and maybe have been improving We will kind of wait and see if they're gonna get closer just by kind of following the plan as it's written Does that answer your full question?
Patricia Nolan	Councilman Nolan. Thank you. Yeah, I think at some point it would be good to know what the percents are because it's hard to know. I know in that thing it says it ranges from 6% to 60%. That's a really wide range. So it would just be good to know. Again, we're counting on this, and it does seem that there's some benefit because the BTDM employers have reduced their single occupancy vehicle use more. However, the recent trends in employee commute modes, including at TDM program participants, is not very good because it suggests that most of the reduction is just because of remote work. that the percentage who use transit has plummeted from 36 or 35% to 20%. Biking, it's only gone from 6% 15 years ago to 7% now. That's for the employee commute mode at TDM program participants. And overall in the city, we see a fairly similar trend to just go from 5% 15 years ago to only 7% biking. Walking is the same. transit is still down and any not much improvement for overall mode commutes for single occupancy vehicles and for the TDM people, it's really only because of remote work. So I think the question is, despite a lot of work, the percent of commuters not in single occupancy vehicle is almost unchanged. It's about double those taking public transit and three or four times those taking biking. and maybe three and a half times walking. So we all need to better understand how to change that. And also, I think my takeaway from this also is we clearly need to do a much better job with public transit, because the clear indication on the survey, which is on table four, improving public transit is still by far the number one strategy for reducing single occupancy vehicles. I mean, you just look at about What would it take to get you out of your single occupancy vehicles? It's either free transit, more transit, more reliable transit. So I know we're working on that, and I personally, and I know this council would love to see this fare free. The state budget that just passed included some fare free transit, I think on the regional transit level, and we are working on it as well. Do you see anything else out of those surveys other than we really can accelerate that kind of push and incentivize to public transit?
Denise Simmons	Mr. McKinnon?
SPEAKER_43	through you mayor simmons some of the other items that people cited as reasons or factors that would help them drive less i think are are things that the city is working on or could be working on living closer to work some of our zoning kind of strategies are aimed around improving that some of these are also things that the properties in the program could do like extra pay not to drive or permission not to or permission to work at home which i think we could interpret as permission to work at home more often you know if folks are already working hybrid schedules so i think there are a lot of opportunities but obviously transit seems to be the one that is kind of the most important to people
Patricia Nolan	Yeah, I saw those. On the other hand, the top three, more than 37%, up to 42% are transit. So I'm just encouraging all of us to move forward with what we have said we need to move forward on. And that still means we want to produce safety for pedestrians and cyclists across the city, and yet we really do need to continue to focus on that. So I appreciate the report, and those are my main questions. If I have any others, I will email them to the staff. Thank you. Mayor Simmons, I yield.
Catherine Zusy	council nolan yields the floor council susie flojos thank you madam mayor um i thought this is a fabulous report just chock full of great stats so excellent work um i just wanted to make sure so as part of the pt um pt oh my gosh uh the ptdm study um city workers are not part of this study right Through you, Madam Mayor.
SPEAKER_43	Mr. McKinnon. Through you, Mayor Simmons. Some city workers work at properties that are under the PTDM ordinance. There are a couple of schools who are subject to the PTDM ordinance.
Denise Simmons	Councillor?
Catherine Zusy	Yes. Okay. So again, through you, Madam Mayor. So I know you recently did a survey of city employees. When will we have that data? It seems like what we really need is we need this data and then we need to understand about city employees and how they're getting to work. And then are we keeping track of, you have a special term for it, but the resident workforce data, right? Are you keeping track of that too? I think you call it, yeah, Cambridge resident workforce. That's not part of this, right? But do you collect that or not?
SPEAKER_43	Mr. McKinnon? through you, Mayor Simmons. Can I answer your second question first? We don't track the resident workforce through kind of a general survey. The folks who live in TDM program properties who take the resident survey that's further along in the report would be considered part of the resident workforce if they work in Cambridge. But we don't kind of specifically look at We don't have a method for surveying folks who don't live in properties that are part of the program. The first question was about when city data will be available, and I don't have the answer to that. Do you, Brooke?
Denise Simmons	Commissioner McKenna?
SPEAKER_60	Through you, Madam Mayor. No, I'm still waiting. I will get back to you offline with that answer.
Denise Simmons	Council Susie?
Catherine Zusy	Yes, again, through you, Madam Mayor, it just seems like it'll be to really understand who's coming in and out of the city and understand parking needs. It'll be essential to understand the habits of our city workers, 3,700. I mean, it's a lot of people. and also to understand what our local residents, how they're getting to work. It seems like that will be essential to understand the larger transportation picture. I was really impressed with the trends. I heard a lecture at MIT that talked about how people were going to be doing remote work, and this confirmed that, 32%. of people working remotely. I was impressed by the number of people that are doing single occupancy vehicle drives, 30% all weekdays, 44% in-person workdays. I was impressed with how transit remains down but is recovering and better MBTA, as Councilor Nolan was saying, and better transit overall is absolutely critical to encouraging more sustainable transportation. I was impressed with how of the apartment buildings that you surveyed, 51% of the people in apartments owned cars. So I think that's data that we need to reckon with. Because all of this suggests that there are a lot of people driving and there are a lot of needs of drivers and people that need to park. So again, while we continue to encourage more sustainable modes of transportation, lots of people have cars and a lot of people will need to park them. I wanted to ask, do we have any data about how many employees are using the shuttles? That's one of the requirements or the opportunities with when people are, it's one of the things that people can do is have a shuttle, right? That's one of your options. I can't remember what page that's on.
Denise Simmons	Mr. McKinnon.
Catherine Zusy	Oh, page 32.
SPEAKER_43	GO FOR IT. THROUGH YOU, MAYOR SIMMONS. SO THE MODES THAT YOU SEE IN MR. MCKINNON, YOU HAVE TO WALK RIGHT INTO YOUR MIC. I'LL LEARN TO DO IT EVENTUALLY. THE MODES THAT YOU SEE IN THE REPORT ARE KIND OF A SUMMARY LEVEL MODE. SO EACH OF THOSE HAS A BUNCH OF kind of sub modes underneath it. And under public transit is a public shuttle option, like the EasyRide shuttle, and there's also a private shuttle option, like some of the shuttles that run between the Alexandria properties, for example. So through that, we could look at how many people use a shuttle for the longest part of their trip, because this question is about what do you do for the longest part of your trip? We also have a question that just asks if you took public transit at all, which of the following did you use? And public and private shuttles are both listed there. So that's something we could definitely look into.
Denise Simmons	Council Zusy.
Catherine Zusy	Again, through you, Madam Mayor. Yeah, I just, I think it's really important to understand because it seems like such a great, high-impact PTM measure to provide shuttle service to transit stations. Like, what a good idea. But I think, again, I see a lot of empty buses. So I think we really want to make sure that they're being used, that it's not just something that people are securing a shuttle to to check off the boxes, right, because they have to do three, but that they actually are, people are actually riding those shuttles. And again, Councilor Nolan asked this, but so do we understand why businesses aren't meeting commitments? Because it's almost 17% that aren't meeting commitments. Mr. McKinnon?
SPEAKER_43	THROUGH MAYOR SIMMONS. THERE'S KIND OF A RANGE OF DIFFERENT REASONS. SOME OF THE PROPERTIES HAVE NOT IMPLEMENTED ALL OF THEIR REQUIRED TDM MEASURES, SO THEY COMMITTED TO IMPLEMENTING A VARIETY OF MEASURES AND THEY'VE ONLY IMPLEMENTED SOME OF THEM. WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM, THOSE PROPERTIES, TO ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT THE REST OF THEIR PLAN. There was this year a group of three properties who didn't meet their SOV commitments and also saw a really significant reduction in their transit mode share by 9% or more. So I'm really optimistic that we've hit kind of the bottom of MBTA service levels. And as things are improving, those properties will be able to recover and get back to meeting their goals.
Denise Simmons	Council Zusy.
Catherine Zusy	Okay, finally, again, I just think this data's fabulous. I think this is exactly the sort of data that we need to be planning for broader transportation planning in the city. So I, again, applaud you for your work. This is a really great report. I just think we need even more data. We need that bit about city workers, and we need to understand the habits. of city workers within, and how they're getting to work. Not just, not working for the city, but people that live in Cambridge going to work. I thank you so much, great work.
Denise Simmons	Councilor Zusy, you'll follow Councilor Zinn.
Burhan Azeem	Thank you, Madam Mayor. I just had one question. The transit improvements came up earlier, and I was just wondering, do we know what the current status of the Better Bus Network redesign is, when we should see those routes starting to change?
SPEAKER_60	Commissioner? Through you, Madam Mayor. So we are seeing a slow rollout across, it will be kind of I think a five or so year rollout. Improvements to the number one, the frequency of the number one bus is kind of the most imminent change that's coming up with the fall. The MBTA implements changes to scheduling along kind of their union, when their union staff bids on what routes they're gonna be on, that's when the changes happen. So that will happen in the fall, and we'll see increases in the number one bus. And then kind of every quarter or every six months, they will be rolling out additional improvements across the network, and we'll make sure to get that information out to the community when it is impacting Cambridge, which usually something good is happening in Cambridge because we do have some good improvements coming with the bus network redesign.
Burhan Azeem	Councilor Zinn. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I just wanted to bring that into the conversation in that I think we sometimes forget, like, you know, it's sad the division of powers in some ways, but I think that overall the bus network redesign is expected to see, I think, around a 30% increase in service overall. And that's starting just in the next couple of months. So hopefully people do feel like it's a better transit improvement in general. And also with the timelines of the cycling safety ordinance ending, which I think regardless of where people feel an issue, I think we'll be excited about. I'd love to get back into a conversation about how we could improve bus service throughout the city. I think there's definitely a lot of low-hanging fruits that we just didn't have. you know, capacity to think about, but especially on the one bus with higher frequency routes, like I'd love to reopen that conversation around BRTs and everything.
SPEAKER_21	Thank you.
Denise Simmons	Councilor Zing yields the floor for the discussion on this matter. Hearing none, I'm accepting the report and place on file. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. And the matter is placed on file. We move now to number five. This was pulled by Council Sobrinho-Wheeler. Reads as follows. A communication. Oh, number four.
SPEAKER_71	By Councilor Nolan. By Councilor Z. Oh, Councilor Z, I'm sorry.
Unknown Speaker	Okay.
Denise Simmons	We just wanted to comment. We just spoke, we thought. Poll by Councilor Azeem reads as follows. The communication transmitted by Yi-An Huang City Manager relative to a waiting report item number 2530 regarding a review of barriers to housing production, a timeline for the next inclusionary housing study, and the feasibility of additional development incentives. Councilor Azeem. The floor is yours.
Burhan Azeem	Thank you, Madam Mayor. So I think that none of us are particularly excited to be here. I think it's a difficult conversation, but an important one. And so I'm hoping that this is just a midpoint rather than a particularly... decisive meeting today. Going through the study, there's a few things that kind of became evident between what we've heard in public comment, what we've seen in the numbers. Both is that we've just recently passed the rezoning and any changes we make would probably take effect at the earliest by the end of the year, which is about, not quite a year, but almost a year since any changes have taken place. We've definitely seen a drop in permitting numbers and it is a hard environment to build housing. I think that in terms of the options given to us, you know, from the conversations that we've had, you know, it seems like there's more than just one option, which is kind of where I'm landing in that I don't want us to think that there's only one option before us, right? There's certainly one option which has been brought up by our colleagues, which is to lower the inclusionary rate temporarily perhaps for two years, as you guys are suggesting, from 20% to 10%. I continue to think, like, you know, we should be open-minded about different options, so sure, we can get more information on that. There's also interesting things that you guys brought up about fully funding inclusionary or funding it through different mechanisms, which I thought was very interesting. I think, you know, as I look around the country, other cities that have faced similar struggles, you know, Baltimore, New York, New Jersey, Seattle, Washington State, they've done this tax abatement and, you know, to some extent, a relief on... PERMITTING FEES, AND I THINK THAT THAT'S SUPER EXCITING. MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THAT WOULD PROBABLY REQUIRE A HOME RULE PETITION AS WE CURRENTLY UNDERSTAND IT, SO THAT MIGHT TAKE SOME TIME. AND I KNOW COUNSELOR WILSON HAS ALSO BROUGHT UP THE IDEA OF, YOU KNOW, POSSIBLY USING SOME OF OUR OTHER FUNDS FROM THE TRUST, AND I HEARD SOME PEOPLE IN PUBLIC COMMENT SPEAK OUT IN FAVOR OF THAT AS WELL. So it seems to me that we have a couple of different options that we could get back when we get a full update, I think in September or October. One perhaps is this, what was requested around lowering it from 20% to 10%. And also there's more research on the funding mechanisms, on the tax abatements, on whether we can use funds from the trust or other sources, whether that would require any other legal changes. I think I would be super curious to continue this conversation, but in a yes and sort of way, right, where we have all these options laid out for us. I don't think that there's enough information for us to make a decision tonight, nor do I want to make a decision tonight, but I would love to, you know, if it makes sense, and I'd love to hear from you guys, if we can get, you know, a couple different options on, like, here's a few ways you could fund it, you know, fully here's a way to, you could like lower it to 10%. And if that would be something that we could get back in September, October. So it's not just that one option, but like various options.
SPEAKER_49	Ms. Peters. yeah thank you through you madam mayor um as indicated in the memo we really think you know a good strategy is looking at all the options and all the available levers the city has to increase housing production so happy to continue to look at all of these in detail and come back in september october with more detail and more definite recommendations on each of these as as possible
Denise Simmons	Councilor Azaria, if you mind, can I ask a follow-up? Because you're asking about getting a report back. And I'm just curious, where's the next study on inclusion fall into this? And have we done it on time? We have this information.
SPEAKER_49	So as outlined, and I'll let Chris speak to more detail, the next study as part of the inclusionary study is at a separate timeline. So that we wouldn't have the study completed by October. The other- Not the question.
Denise Simmons	We should have done it. I'm asking, had we done it on time, would we have had this information leaning into maybe the percentage was too high? Mr. Carter?
SPEAKER_20	Sure. Through you, Mayor Simmons, to your question, if we had done the Nexus study at the time that it was coming up, I think we would have found the same thing that we're finding today, that the market is challenging. I don't know that there would have been answers in the study that would have given us clear guidance as to what to do. If we had done the study to update the Nexus and look at the financial impact, we would have found, I think, conditions similar to what we found in the economic feasibility study that was done a year and a half or two years ago, which showed that development was challenged, challenged with or without inclusionary, with some condominium projects able to move forward. So as we do that, the times have certainly continued to be difficult. As you can see in the memo we've outlined, A lot of the factors that are affecting development now, as well as the timeline and approach to the new study, which we will get underway in early FY26, as well as some of the ideas that we've begun to look at as other ideas that we can bring in to help address the concerns with development, and particularly the inclusionary component.
Denise Simmons	I think I raised that because I feel as though we could have been forewarned. if we had done it on the time schedule that we should have done it on, but I'll give the floor back to Councilor Zing.
Burhan Azeem	Thank you, Madam Mayor. And I just actually had a very similar just closing point on that, which is that, you know, I think that the nexus study is important because that's our legal justification for changing inclusionary, perhaps in a more complicated manner, right? If we wanted to do a step function, perhaps that would require a nexus study is my understanding. So we can't do that immediately. But the economic study part of the nexus of how do the finances look, we just did one that was part of the MBTA Communities Act that said that it's really difficult for anything to pencil in this moment, including our 20% inclusionary. And so we do have that piece of the information. We're missing the legal justification, perhaps anything else we'd want to add into the study for this different sorts of format. So I think I would be happy to support this given that we're not just looking at one very specific solution, but we're getting these many options of like lowering it to 10%, but also, you know, more information about these amendments, more about funding it from the trust, and just, you know, are given a list of options in September and October, and then, you know, we can decide if we want to act on any of them or, you know, multiple of them or pick or choose. But I think just having concrete options laid out would be really helpful rather than having an abstract conversation at this time. That's my preference.
Denise Simmons	Councilor Azeem, yielding the floor. Councilor Azeem yields the floor. Councilor Turner, the floor is yours.
Paul Toner	Thank you, Madam Mayor. Just to follow up on some of those things. I mean, right now, I feel like the city follows some requirements of some ordinances, but doesn't follow other requirements and other ordinances, because this study was supposed to be done two years ago, and I realize everybody's been busy. Ms. Peters, I know that you're new in the role, but right now, I feel like we don't even have the legal justification to keep it at 20%, because if we... If we look, this was first done quite some time ago when interest rates were low and things were good and everybody was building and we're still holding people to a 20% inclusionary rate when those things aren't true and this is all pre-pandemic. the reason i'm so anxious to do something about this is i think we all know there's two or three projects that we're hoping will go forward and they're asking for some relief now i i'm i would be very happy to go down to 10 for two years to help those projects move forward and anybody else we heard from a lot of people we've gotten a lot of emails from people saying if it was 10 inclusionary there i'm far more likely to be able to move forward with the project the city keeps saying they want to do more housing i recognize that's not what some people want to do because it'd be great if people were building and you have 20 of the units be inclusionary but as counselor nolan was quoted and i know a number of offices have said 20 of zero is zero i'll take 10 of something um going forward and you know so i really hope that we can come back and have the one thing one lever that i think you can do very quickly and which is changing the number from twenty percent to ten percent as as opposed to abatements and that's great if we can do that in the future but i you know i heard from you yesterday a couple of days ago and in this report that that's gonna possibly have to go to the state house for approval etc so there's only a couple of things that we can do directly as a city to give some relief so i really do hope that we can have that conversation because i just feel that you know I WAS ALREADY ON THE COUNCIL, I SHOULD HAVE CAUGHT THE DEADLINE AND SAID SOMETHING ABOUT IT A LONG TIME AGO, BUT WE HAVE BEEN HOLDING PEOPLE TO A STANDARD THAT HASN'T BEEN REVIEWED SINCE 2017, BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, AND I JUST DON'T THINK THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO JUSTIFY HOLDING IT AT 20% UNTIL WE GET A STUDY DONE. AND MS. PETERS, I DON'T MEAN TO PUT WORDS IN YOUR MOUTH, BUT I The other day, I think you said that you thought if we had a study done immediately, it'd probably come in around eight to 13% as a recommendation for inclusionary. And if I'm wrong, please correct me, but it'd be much lower than 20%. Ms.
SPEAKER_49	Peters? Yeah, I think just to correct the record, I think my point was that some projects would pencil out at eight, some at 10, some at 11 and a half, some at 13. We really don't know, and the study helps us determine what that would be. Councillor Toner.
Paul Toner	Thank you, Madam Mayor. I just want us to be able to develop more opportunities for affordable housing in the city. And I think this is one thing we can do, and it's short term. And we could take the time to go into the deeper ideas that have been put forward in this study through the longer term study. But I really hope that come September, October, we can make some changes to the inclusionary, again, short term to get some things moving. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I yield.
Denise Simmons	Councilor Turner yields the floor. Councilor Nolan.
Patricia Nolan	Thank you, Mayor Simmons. Happy to see this comprehensive memo in response to some of our questions. And the ideas presented for the RFP make sense. I'm not sure it makes sense to have the study for the RFP think about lowering the threshold for inclusionary unless there's any evidence whatsoever that any city has managed to do that, because what we're hearing is we should actually be raising it. That wouldn't affect the study too much. It does say, so the timing of the report would be a final study wouldn't be completed until spring of 2026. And it seems highly likely, as we heard, that the study would come back unable to justify continuing with the 20% inclusionary that we have now. that we know. Our own data shows almost no 20% IZ projects having been built. Other cities are lowering or repealing them. Boston, my understanding, is really the only thing being built is 100% affordable because of low-income tech credit and others. They have 20% inclusion, but that is not getting built in Boston from having reached out to a couple folks to do building in Boston. We're seeing it here too. So as much as I would love for 20% to work, it seems like there was this ideal moment for one year when a couple projects maybe got built, and our own data again shows almost nothing else has ever gotten built with it. So what I hope tonight is that I... agree we should be giving staff clear direction on how to move forward, and it seems to at least consider and ask for specific language on how we can address the stalled projects. And it seems there's a couple ways to do that per the memo that would be quick and timely and available before the year-and-a-half study for the Nexus study, and that is Would we want to temporarily lower the percent of inclusionary until the study is done? And it could be modified so that it's only for those that started in the next two years or some way to bound it so that it really only applies to a couple of the projects that we want to uninstall and move forward. Or it could be till the end till the inclusionary zoning happens. And another idea which was intriguing in here is the capital funding for housing production, separate from the affordable housing trust, which is another way to consider it. If we had our own capital funding, which was one of the last ones in the memo, it seems like that might be the quickest way to provide, in essence, patient equity or zero interest loans to say, and we're talking $5 to $10 million per project to get projects off the ground. That's not... an extraordinary amount of money given what we've done in order to produce affordable housing here because there is a concern that if the affordable housing trust is one that we don't control and we really want this to be used to install those projects then we have to be aware of that and understand how it is or are there ways to say well this this money is for affordable housing, the city is going to direct it as opposed to have it go through the trust. So I really hope we come up with very specific language very soon because otherwise I believe the folks who are saying this are not just calling a bluff. I think they really will not move forward with their projects if we don't do something really soon. And again, later on tonight, there's a policy order for tonight about getting early indications for multifamily zoning, which I think would also be helpful for us to know. Because we can't at the same time be inundated with six-story housing developments and hear that no inclusionary can be built, which is kind of what we're hearing. Like, my gosh, there's too many projects at six stories, but no inclusionary can be built. And I think the more quick information we can have from an interim report might give us some of that answer and therefore help us as we move forward. But I am very interested in making sure we do something as soon as possible to build some housing. There really is a slowdown, and we need to be building those kinds of housing and understand what the ramifications would be in the city. Thank you, I yield.
Denise Simmons	Councilor Nolan yields the floor. Vice Mayor, the floor is yours. Did you want to say something? Mr. City Manager, take the floor.
Yi-An Huang	Thank you. Through you, Mayor Simmons, I think just to respond to the desire to have more quick action, I think I would just call out perhaps as we are exploring the different options that we've laid on the table, I think the things that would make that would be the quickest to execute would be the temporary reduction in the inclusionary zoning rate. That would have to go through the zoning ordinance process, but it's something that's fully within the council's control. That could happen. We could have language prepared and that could be debated in the fall. I would say the tax incentives requires more legal policy work. We're doing that work now and will be ready in the fall to help inform the council how this could be put to use. We do expect that in many cases. This is a little more complex. It may require a home rule petition. Those are actions that the council could take, but obviously in terms of the impact, we may need to wait for the state legislature to approve the path we're on for those tax incentives to be able to be applied. Funding inclusionary housing, the third option through the Affordable Housing Trust is probably more straightforward in terms of something that we can actually do within our bodies that would require a real conversation with the trust. It's something we're happy to start over the summer. I think the memo does lay out there are some challenges as we think about currently the trust having a history of being used to fund 100% affordable projects. And we've really seen inclusionary as subsidized by the market. And I think the tension that we're seeing now is there's not enough market subsidy in many cases to get to 20%. Are we willing to use some of the funding that we set aside for the Affordable Housing Trust to get those market projects over the finish line and fund some of those inclusionary units. I think that's a policy discussion that we can have within the city with the trust, but it is, I think, more actionable. It doesn't have to go to the state legislature. I call out, I think, Councilor Nolan, you mentioned capital funding. I think my sense, and Chris and Melissa can comment, That is probably a little more of a medium term action. I think just setting up those funding mechanisms and then deploying capital is actually more time consuming than going through the ordinance process, which I think we have much more clarity. And so I would probably categorize that as something that would not be plausible for us to both debate, approve, implement, and have in place by the end of the calendar year. And then the fifth option, exempting multifamily projects from building permit fees, that is something that I think is more actionable. It's a decision that we would essentially make as a city. Obviously, it has costs. We are essentially discussing different ways that we would be subsidizing the production of more housing. But I think hopefully that's a little bit helpful in just clarifying across those five different options roughly like how quickly we could act on those and have those take impact. But maybe I'll just open it up to Director Cotter and ACM Peters just to make sure that I'm capturing that correctly.
Denise Simmons	Mr. Cotter?
SPEAKER_20	Thank you, City Manager. Through you, Mayor Simmons, I think the way the City Manager characterized the timeframes is accurate. I would say we have got more work to do on the tax piece to understand what the available paths are, to understand what is available through the state now, through the existing statutes, what might be available through a home rule legislation if we were to design our own. uh approach uh similarly with the uh uh the capital investing uh we have a model in boston which we're looking at closely to understand uh how does it work how is the process there what are the requirements and what were the decisions here for the the city to be i think it's fair to say though that that would take uh several months and we'll report back on that with the council uh in the fall to give a better sense as to what the next steps would be there As the city manager noted, we will have a conversation with the Affordable Housing Trust about funding, inclusionary with funding from the trust. I will put that on the agenda for one of the trust's upcoming meetings to begin that discussion with them and happy to report back to you on that as well.
Denise Simmons	Vice Mayor?
Marc McGovern	Thank you, Madam Mayor, through you. Thank you very much for the report. I think it really lays out a lot of the challenges that are happening right now, which I think is important, not just for us, but for the public to understand. I remember when we went from 11 and a half to 20, and I'm not gonna exactly quote the Nexus study, I'm sort of paraphrasing here, but it essentially said, Under perfect market conditions, you can do 20%. And 10 years ago, there were perfect market conditions, and clearly we're not in that same spot today. So that, you know, we are definitely in a different place. You know, with that said, you know, I think... My preference would be to think about a number of other options before we get to cutting the inclusionary from 20 to 10. If there are other funding mechanisms and other things that we can do like we've talked about tonight, it may be that we have to you know, that we have to do multiple things. We have to, you know, we have to reduce it, we have to maybe create steps, we have to create, you know, maybe in some cases it's 10%, in some cases it's 12%, you know, what have you. But, so I really, I'm glad we're doing the study and I think before we, you know, pull any triggers, we should, you know, have all the different options and all the studies and all the different options and suggestions in front of us. In terms of the three projects that were noted in the report, maybe rather than saying we're going to reduce the inclusionary to 10% for the next two years, maybe we say any project that has a special permit prior to the report being done, there's some exemption for them. Obviously, I don't want to hold certain things, certain projects up. Believe me, no one has ever accused me of not being supportive of housing development. If anything, some people don't like me for it. I want to get housing done as much as anybody else. uh you know i do think if we go forward with reducing the the inclusionary percentage we have to do a lot of education and outreach because we know the headline is just going to say cambridge city council cuts affordable housing and have to benefit for-profit developers right we know that that's what it's going to say and it's going to say that in part because most people don't really understand how complicated the financing is and they just think that developers walk in with a blank check and can write a check for a $100 million development and don't realize the interest rates and getting a loan from banks and how all of that plays a role in the cost. I think there's an education curve that we have to undertake too with the public. Because if we just do this, then without explaining to people why it's important and educating people about it, there's going to be, I think, a fair amount of backlash, which isn't going to be helpful. Moving forward, I agree with my colleagues on I want to see something that gives us a whole host of possibilities. I am not... you know, digging my heels in and saying I will never support lowering the inclusionary percentage. I think as has been said, you know, when we had this discussion 10 years ago, people wanted us to raise it to 33%. Some people wanted it at 50%. And I said the same thing to them then, that if we're only interested in raising the percentage to say, look how high we've raised it, raise it 80%. Pick a number. If we're really interested in finding that sweet spot that gets us as many inclusionary units as we can while not stifling development, then you have to find that sweet spot. For a period of time, that might have been 20%. Maybe that's not...
Catherine Zusy	that sweet spot now so we have to be open to reducing it but i would prefer that we try to exhaust and look at some other options before we get there thank you madam mayor i'll yield for now vice chair yields the floor council susie floor is yours yeah thank you madam mayor um again ex an excellent this is an excellent report um i think the timing of doing the next study is good that the rfp won't go out till early 26 because i think we still have to wait for the impact of layoffs at Harvard and MIT and other research institutions and how that's going to affect our demand for housing in Cambridge. So the timing of that seems really good to me. I feel more sympathetic to lowering inclusionary sooner for large projects that are on corridors than smaller projects in neighborhoods that are creating havoc. So I feel like with the multifamily housing ordinance, Those developers have already gotten great bonuses. The FAR, there's no longer an FAR requirement. They now have height. They don't have to build parking. Building is as of right. So we've just given them many, many, many perks. And I feel like if... The argument was that if we were going to get 20% inclusionary units, then maybe it was worth some of the pain of building these big buildings in neighborhoods, cutting down trees, building five feet from a neighbor's property line. But I think... I think what's happening in the neighborhoods, especially at 60 Ellery and along Western Ave is ugly. And I think to reduce the inclusionary for those projects is highly problematic. I think that's really selling out our neighborhoods. Again, I feel better about doing something on Concord Ave or on Mass Ave, on broader avenues. I think in projects that will produce more units. I wanted to ask a couple questions about, there were things I didn't understand. In the report on page 52, you were talking about some ideas to explore. And I'm wondering if you could help me understand. So item number three is the impact of setting affordable rents based on affordability targets rather than rents calculated as 30% of actual tenant household income on development financial feasibility. Could you explain that? And the other one, and I'm sure I'm not the only one that doesn't. isn't following this. The last one, the feasibility and advisability of a variable set aside requirement with set maximum and minimum requirements that could adapt to different market conditions. Could you explain in different words what those things mean? Ms. Peters, Mr. Carter.
SPEAKER_20	through you mayor simmons thank you for the question yeah so we included in here just a couple of questions or ideas that have come up that we have heard and want to think about in the context of the new study some of which are and we're not aware that they've been attempted elsewhere, but some of the things that we'd like to at least think about as we consider the approach to study and engage a consultant to give us some recommendations. So the specific things that you mentioned, the first was about the setting of rents. And one thing that's notable about the Cambridge Inclusionary Program is that rents are based on actual household income paying 30%. That's a different approach than most inclusionary programs take. It's very good, much better for the resident who's paying a rent that's affordable to them, but we do also hear from owners and hear concerns about the volatility in the rents, and particularly when the rents go down, income goes down, rent goes down. So again, looking at that to see if we can try to quantify the impact of that and think about other approaches that might be in place elsewhere to provide some more certainty while trying to also preserve the benefit for the tenant who's paying a rent that's affordable to them. A lot of affordable housing programs that are not funded directly through housing authorities do have what we call flat rents. The rents are set at standards, targets to be affordable to a household at a certain income. Our inclusionary program is more like a lot of housing authority programs that rents are actually tailored to each household at the time that their income is being recertified. So there's a difference there. We thought it would be good to look at that given some of what we've heard from folks in response to how rents change over time. So there's that, and then the second piece that you asked about was the idea of a variable requirement. We've had some folks ask us about ways in which the inclusionary requirement might be able to move over time, recognizing that whenever we do the study or we do the EFA, we're looking at a moment in time. Conditions, as you see in the memo, describe a lot of complicated factors that affect development. So when the study is done, it's almost, point in time where then you see those factors begin to move and that significant changes could then have an impact you know within a year or two years let alone several years and so the question we have and I don't know that this has been attempted elsewhere is there a way in which we can come up with a framework to allow for the set-aside ratio to move in response to certain indicators that might give some more flexibility to the program over time and hopefully balance that with some predictability to better adapt to changes in the market and the development climate. So really on the edge here just thinking about some of the ideas that we'd like to ask a team to look at in the study and wanted to share some of those and obviously open to hearing others as we are now putting together the scope for the RFP for the study.
Catherine Zusy	Thank you, and again, through you, Madam Mayor, those sound like worthwhile things to explore. I just wanted to mention, so I guess the Historic Commission has received, I think, about 115 or 116 inquiries about whether buildings are significant or could be demolished. and I understand from inspectional services that they've received 27 applications for demolitions and issued seven demolitions. So I wonder if, like, more... It seems like we're on the cusp of more and more projects happening, so that will be interesting to observe, and I think we'll have a little bit more information by this fall if this conversation doesn't... I thought one of the valuable insights in the report is that we're having this very discussion may delay construction, right? Because any developer is going to want to wait until they have to produce as few inclusionary units as possible so they can make the greatest profit. I was really excited that you were looking at thinking about creating a revolving loan fund. I think creative financial structures like that could really help to reduce the cost of housing. I know my husband has been reading—he's from St. Louis, and he's been reading— that tome about St. Louis and how things have been terrible forever, but apparently they tried tax incentives in St. Louis and it really, it backfired on them because then they weren't getting taxes from properties that were built in St. Louis. So I think we really want to look at that carefully. So anyway, thank you for your work. I'm happy that later in this fall, we'll be having a meeting of the neighborhood and long-term planning and housing committees to really talk about who this housing should be for, and who our current housing serves, and how the universities, their needs and plans are part of this, and employers, their employees' needs and plans figure into all of this, and we'll be talking more about Do we need family housing or single occupancy housing? So I think if we have that conversation in the fall and then we have this further conversation about stopgap measures and then we do this next study, we'll be on a good road to understanding things and planning better for the future. Thank you. I yield.
Denise Simmons	Council Zusy yields the floor. Council Siddiqui, floor is yours.
Sumbul Siddiqui	Did you want to go?
Denise Simmons	Rock, paper, scissors, what's going on?
Yi-An Huang	Through you, Mayor Simmons. Just I think, Councilor Zusy, a quick comment on one of your notes. I think my understanding based on conversations we've had with Charlie Sullivan at the Historical Commission in terms of the number of requests for historical significance. that number of about 100 requests since mid-February is not too different than what we've seen historically. And so I don't think our understanding is right now that there has been an increase in the number of requests. I think those requests also have become very routine. And so anything that's coming on the market is going to get a request just to say, is this of significance? We just want to check. So I think we haven't seen thus far, as a result of the multifamily housing ordinance, passing a significant uptick in requests for demolition or desires to understand whether something is historically significant. Just to put context to those numbers.
Denise Simmons	Council Siddiqui.
Sumbul Siddiqui	Thank you. Through you, I'll just add a few points. I think I look forward to seeing more in the follow-up report about the non-zoning options. I think they're all important. And I will say, I hear the folks who are stalled and they're saying, look, if we change this, it's going to really help us get these projects. I will point out the report also notably says there's mixed evidence that a reduction in the inclusionary set-aside rate would result in a significant increase in housing starts. And so there is that paragraph that kind of talks about the Cambridge Crossing example that even under only 11.5 units, that were set aside as affordable, that lenders were reluctant. And so you talk about how this is consistent with regional and national trends, and you go on and talk about the San Francisco example, which says when they first did it, that it didn't really show, it didn't show that there was necessarily more development, I think, Later on, the law changed statewide, and that's what led to actually more development. So I just point out that to say, I think there's, reading that actually made me think, well, given all the other variables outside our control, it worries me that, even if it's if it's drop gap you know will it will it actually work uh and i get it that we're hearing from folks who are like well it won't work it won't work but you know i'm not 100 sure and so i do think we uh you know counselor vice mayor excuse me mcgovern said this i think uh I am certainly open and I hear what some of my colleagues are saying, but I think that part of it gave me pause. And so I wanted to call that out specifically. Thank you.
Denise Simmons	Councilor Siddiqui yields the floor and Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler.
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	Thanks Madam Mayor. I just wanted to underline a couple of facts that have come up recently since the last time we talked about this, which are the projects proposed on Ellery Street and Western Ave. The last time we talked about this, the main examples we had before us were projects that had been proposed years ago that were further along and they were proposed before the higher interest rates, before the tariffs, and we're now saying, look, we're in a tougher situation Since that last conversation, we now have multiple new projects saying, we know this is a tough time. We know there's tariffs. We know there's a lot of uncertainty. With this new zoning, we can still make it work. We can still make 20% inclusionary work. We're still going to set up these meetings with neighbors, and they're going to be mad about it. and we're going to do it because we can make these projects work. I just have a hard time thinking folks are so masochistic that they want to put themselves through this knowing that it can't work when those projects are there. So I get that these are different kinds of projects. I think it would be really interesting to have a conversation about why the folks on Ellery, why the folks on Western Ave think they can make it work in this much tougher environment. They're proposing it right now and these other projects are saying we can't. What's the difference going on? I think that is a really interesting conversation for us to have. But to the point that Councillor Zusy raised about, you know, this whole conversation is maybe putting a damper on it. The fact we're talking about it is making developers put things off. Doesn't seem to be the case, right? We have developers just in the past couple months saying, we can absolutely do these inclusionary projects. We don't know what the city of Cambridge is gonna do. We can make it work. We're gonna put it forward. We're really interested and we're gonna put the designs out there and have conversations. So I just wanna really make sure we're taking into these more recent conversations into an effect since the last time we talked about this. All that said, really interested in this study. I think there's a bunch of different approaches here that are really interesting from funding to looking at step approaches. So I'm looking forward to the report back on this. And thanks for this report, which I thought was really helpful. I yield back.
Denise Simmons	Council Sabrina will yield the floor. Hearing no more discussion on this, Council Wilson.
Ayesha Wilson	Thank you, Madam Mayor. And I just want to appreciate this conversation and recognize the various complexities that we have. You know, I have been really grappling with this conversation for quite some time, recognizing that we have projects that are, you know, kind of in the queue that are being held up, kind of based on their finances being able to pencil out. Bless you. and I want to make sure that we're able to get these projects going. I also am really struggling with the reduction to move lower than 20%. I'm just really not comfortable with that and think, you know, as someone who grew up in affordable housing and recognized that affordable housing is significant to the diversity of our community, and I really just want to make sure that we keep that as... keep that as the urgency when we talk about affordability here in our city and keep that as something that we want to strive towards. I just feel like lowering the percentage rate is not where we should be going. But I do think that we could work with some of the other things that we discussed here today. For example, like I said, the Affordable Housing Trust and how could we use that to help pencil in, pencil out some of these projects in the queue so that they can get off the ground and actually do and deliver and make sure that they're able to build. I'm not really convinced totally, because I feel like, again, I think to Counsel Siddiqui's point, I think that the memo, while I appreciate it, I feel like it's just very matter of fact. Not matter of fact, it's very just hypotheticals. And I'm just like, oh, OK, well, that doesn't help, really. I appreciate it, but it doesn't really help with helping to make this decision here. So yeah, I'm not really convinced that that's the way that we should go in terms of dropping it from 20 all the way to 10. I would like to see us really think about what that will look like and for us to utilize some of the other options to our disposal first, exhaust some of these other options before we really dive deeper into that. And I also think that we need to have a bit more of a robust community process. And I think through the study and everything, hopefully we would get to that place. I also want to recognize and acknowledge the fact that this study was due some time ago. And the fact that we don't have it is really hurting our ability to kind of move certain decisions forward right now. And so just thinking about, I think, as a whole, how we in the city prioritize studies, because if this was maybe another department, our study would get done immediately. If we were talking about some other issues here, studies get done relatively quickly. So, you know, while I recognize that there's challenges and everybody's working extremely hard and, you know, And we have some things that are before us that helps to inform decisions that we need to make to move forward. So I think with all that being said, I guess the question that I have here is, Really and truly, what is the Cambridge that we desire, right? And how do we actually build and create and encourage projects that are going to help us build the Cambridge that we actually desire? I feel like the two projects that are the big projects that are in the queue that we've been talking about for quite some time, we want to see happen because I feel like those are projects that help lay out that vision of like, what is the Cambridge that we desire? And one that is built in equity, one is built in affordability, one that allows affordability at 20%, and really helps to continue to diversify our communities. So I guess the question really here is back to you, Madam Mayor, to the city manager is, what do you need to hear from us today in order to move forward in this? Because I know that there's a call for some kind of vote, but I'm really just curious because you laid out five options. So do you just want to hear the consensus from us or are you really trying to, what's the next steps? Thank you.
Denise Simmons	Council, the action called for, actually, is just a place on file. I don't know. It was not clear to me that he wanted us to do anything, but here's your options. Think them through. We're going to try to get a report back to you by X date, so...
Ayesha Wilson	But respectfully, Madam Mayor, thank you for just a moment. Because I know that we're talking about several months before kind of moving, I feel like there's something that could be happening within those months. So what will we be working on during that time? Mr. Carter?
SPEAKER_20	Thank you. Through you, Mayor Simmons. I don't know that there's anything specific that we need tonight from the council. We wanted to respond to the order with the information about the study, the challenges that we understand developers are facing, and then also preview some of the ideas that we're working on that we will be continuing to look at over the next couple months with the idea that we would report back with more information and specificity about some of those options that we think would be advisable that we would want to put before the council as ideas, actionable ideas, with some idea of what the potential impact could be. The one thing that we did put in here kind of from the second conversation was the idea of interim zoning change just given the timeframe. If we brought that in in October, it would not be possible to affect that zoning change this council term. So that was something that if we do, the council did want to do that, we wanted to know that sooner so we could begin to work on that to allow us the timeframe to have that. set so that the process could happen this this term but beyond that what we wanted to do is just provide information have the discussion discussion super helpful for us as we think about the study and think about the ideas that we were looking at more closely before we provide the second piece of the report
Denise Simmons	So if I, so if I make a little follow up, I'm just curious because we're going to, this meeting's our last until August. And it seems to me that I hear from my colleague and a few other people is, could you delineate or give us something a little bit more concrete other than I'm going to get back to you. So could you do that?
SPEAKER_20	Sure. So the water, I'm sorry.
Denise Simmons	In writing.
SPEAKER_20	I'm not following the request.
Denise Simmons	What would you... You gave us a couple of options. My colleague just said, you know, what do you want us to do? You just said back to us, nothing really. And then you... And I said to you, well, you're not going to have a break until August. And that's a lot of time where something could be happening. So could you delineate what it is that you're going to do so that we're not sitting on our hands waiting? So what are you going to do?
Yi-An Huang	I mean, I think...
Denise Simmons	And could you delineate that in writing? Tell us now and then prepare it for us in writing. Because I always say if it wasn't written down, it didn't happen.
Yi-An Huang	I would say through you, Mayor Simmons, I think we are following the intent of the council, which is that there's a desire to explore actions that can be taken before the end of the term. I think these are five... pretty concrete options that could be taken uh before the end of the term some of which as i was sharing could actually be enacted before the end of the term if the council moves quickly some of which including the tax incentive option is more likely to require a home rule petition and therefore the council action that could be taken before the end of the term would be the home rule but it wouldn't be enacted until the state legislature picked it up and acted on whatever that we may have proposed. I think the commitment from the city side is understanding that what we are looking at is very low housing production, not just in Cambridge. There was a Boston Globe article that came out today talking about the same challenges that they're having.
Denise Simmons	We are looking into... I don't really think we need you to go over a ground you've already covered, being it getting late and this room being very warm. Council Wilson had a specific question. I followed up on it. If you don't have the answer, say, I don't have it. But I'll give the floor back to Council Wilson.
Ayesha Wilson	Thank you, Madam Mayor. And respectfully, I appreciate that there's a lot of work that's going to go into just what our direction is. I think what's concerning to me is the time. So if we're waiting a few months for final decisions, next steps, et cetera, what does that mean for these projects that are in the queue? Through you, Madam Mayor.
Denise Simmons	to Mr. Carter or to the city manager?
Ayesha Wilson	So whoever feels like they have the answer to that question, the city manager.
Yi-An Huang	Through you, Mayor Simmons, my understanding is that if you're asking, I mean, we're a bit in public session. I'm not sure to what extent we should be sharing about the details of the conversations we've been having. My understanding is there is a lot of interest in action that the city could take from a policy perspective that would make these projects pencil out to a greater extent. My understanding is that they are close enough that with some of the larger actions, they may be much more likely to go forward. I think the Councillor Siddiqui's comments, there is a lot of uncertainty in the market right now. We could see conditions improve, which would make a lot of these projects more likely to happen. We could see conditions deteriorate. The thing that we have control over is policy. And so, you know, what the commitment to and, you know, I think part of why it's not so easy to say we are going to deliver you strawberry milkshake with bananas is we are still exploring exactly what the legal policy options are available to us that we can then bring back and recommend for action recognizing that the timing is such that we all desire for the city to be able to consider and then possibly take action this term across these five options
Ayesha Wilson	Thank you. Through you, I think in addition to what we can do here as policy, what we can also do here is control money, right? And we have dollars and we have opportunities that we could consider and figure out with these dollars, and that's what I would like to see us do. So thank you. With that, I yield.
Yi-An Huang	Through you, Mayor Simmons.
Denise Simmons	Council Wilson yields the floor, Mr. City Manager.
Yi-An Huang	I mean, I would say if there is a desire to wrestle with some of these policy issues earlier, I think we would be happy if we want to consider You know, we could take this offline, but a housing committee meeting, recognizing that some of these issues are ultimately policy trade-offs, and we could line up some discussions to debate them. So we could think a little bit about the work plan and to what extent, if the council desires it, we could have some of those conversations over the summer and not necessarily wait until the fall. You know, I think we may have to just check in on timeline, but I would recognize that there are, you know, this is actually a lot of work. These are like five options that we're exploring all kind of simultaneously. Certainly the conversation even across counselor comments about just a straight lowering of the inclusionary zoning requirement shows that there is, you know, substantive deliberation that councilors can be having and if there are questions the city could provide some answers to, I would say on funding inclusionary housing, that's an option that we are, for the first time, really talking about publicly. There really does need to be a conversation with the Affordable Housing Trust but certainly at housing committee. I mean, a lot of the resources that are used within the trust are coming through the city budget. And those are conversations that I think would benefit from the council talking about, you know, how are we thinking about the overall budget and to what extent we are looking to provide different kinds of subsidy to housing production, inclusionary units, especially in these market conditions.
Ayesha Wilson	Absolutely, thank you. Through you, Madam Mayor, I totally agree and think that that's a possibility. Yes, I think if we can utilize some opportunity during this summer to have a conversation, I know it's probably least desirable, but just need it given that the term will end, and we want to make sure that we have some significant direction. In addition to that, I think I've also mentioned this publicly before is that While the Affordable Housing Trust is used to supply typically 100% affordable units, that's really with many of our affordable housing developers. As someone who grew up in public housing, I often know that everybody who lives in public housing doesn't want to just live in the projects. So they would love to be and desire to be in inclusionary units and luxury buildings, those that have amenities. and no disrespect or shade to our affordable profit developers. Our housing developments are beautiful and well-maintained, and folks would desire to live in something that has some more upscale beauty to it, right? And so we want to make sure that that is maintained at its highest degree possible because members in our community deserve that. Families deserve that. Thank you.
Denise Simmons	Council Wilson yields the floor. Vice Mayor, did you really want to, did you still want to speak?
Marc McGovern	No, I'll yield.
Denise Simmons	Having a exhaustive conversation on city manager item number four on a motion by Councilor Zin to place this item on file. All those in favor say aye.
Burhan Azeem	Aye.
Denise Simmons	Wow. Opposed? The ayes have it, and the matter number four is placed on file. We'll move now to number five. This was pulled by Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler, reads as follows. A communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang City Manager relative to a waiting report item number 2536. Regarding a request that the language of the welcoming community ordinance be amended to clarify that city employees shall not participate in federal immigration enforcement operations and that the sole role of the city employees during any action by ICE is only to protect public safety and to be amended to clarify that if Cambridge Police Department officers respond to the scene of ICE action, CPD officers should document the actions of ICE, including their badge numbers. This was pulled by Council.
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	excuse me sabrina will counsel wheeler you have the floor through you madam mayor yeah uh thank you for your your work on this and it's helpful to see this report back and um thanks for the quick turnaround um this is important to a lot of folks in the community um the recommended action here was to refer to the ordinance committee which i'm happy to do i did have one question was um if we could do that simultaneously with passing it to a second reading um so that at the summer meeting we could ordain it. Would that be possible?
Denise Simmons	Solicitor Veyer, could you respond?
SPEAKER_54	Through you, Madam Mayor, yes, that procedurally is possible to have it considered on an expedited basis.
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	Okay, great, thank you. And then, yeah, help me to make that motion at the end if other folks want to talk. But yeah, I would make the motion both to refer it to Ordinance Committee and pass it to a second reading. There were a couple additional amendments we'd like to see here, which I can connect about offline and loop in the ACLU. But thank you for your work on this. I'm excited to be moving forward with it.
Denise Simmons	Councilor Subina Villa yielding the floor. Any discussion on this side, Councilor Nolan?
Patricia Nolan	Thank you. I want to echo the thanks for working on this. And as I had mentioned to Councilor Subiniwa before the meeting, I think it's prudent for us to pass it to a second reading tonight. We can still make some changes and look at how it is to be improved. And I just want to make sure we're giving clear direction to our police officers, protecting our community, and also following our own laws and the state law. that we are not doing the job of federal officials. We are doing our job, and that's it, and make it exceedingly clear. So I support that and hope that we can then ordain something on August 4th.
Denise Simmons	Councilman Nolan, do you have support for the discussion? Solicitor? Mayor?
SPEAKER_54	Through you, Madam Mayor, just one point. My office, Assistant City Solicitor Sydney Wright and I did have a conversation with an attorney from the ACLU on Friday. We had a very productive conversation. She indicated that the ACLU was in agreement with these changes. She had one slight suggestion, which we did consider. We didn't have a problem with it. We thought it was already addressed. And some of the language, we were worried it could have been too broad and there could be questions of interpretation, whereas the the intent behind it was just really emphasizing again that Cambridge Police Department officers will not participate in federal immigration enforcement activity. So happy to discuss any other proposals you're considering, but I did want everyone to know that we had met with the ACLU and that they were supportive of what we've put forth.
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	So let's debate. Great, thank you. I'm not sure if I talked to them before or after they spoke with you, so happy to follow up on it offline, but glad to be moving forward with this.
Denise Simmons	Are you yielding the floor, Councillor?
Sumbul Siddiqui	Mayor Simmons?
Denise Simmons	Council Siddiqui.
Sumbul Siddiqui	I just want to chime in. I wanted to thank you for your work on this. The three of us did meet on this a bit ago and I don't think, I didn't know what was going to come from it because there were some outstanding questions, but I think, you know, I agree with the intent to move this along as soon as possible and then make sure that people know that This is what we've updated as, so thank you. I'll talk about it. I know there's a fan behind me. I yield.
Denise Simmons	Councilor Siddiqui yields the floor for the discussion. Just a quick question. I know in part of it, it says having officers document the actions, that's easy enough, and including their badge numbers. to Superintendent Wells. Can you speak to how that works? I think we've been lucky, blessed, whatever the appropriate word is, that we haven't had any real interactions. Could you just talk us through what that looks like?
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	Madam Mayor, just a point of information. The amendments being proposed don't include requesting a badge numbers. That was in the original policy order.
Denise Simmons	It says should document the actions of ICE including their badge numbers. That was the original policy order. So you're saying you're removing that?
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	The amendments the solicitor has proposed don't include that specific language. Okay, then I'm good with that.
Denise Simmons	Walk me through it anyway.
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	What does that look like?
SPEAKER_33	Sure, through you, Madam Mayor, what we've done with our supervisors and our officers on the street is explain to them that if there are any interactions with ICE whatsoever in the city of Cambridge, they need to go assess that and then they have to go up the chain of command so that the command staff is aware of it and is able to respond. And as far as identification of ICE agents or federal agents, that will be on the command staff to ascertain those facts. And then they would be documented in a report and anything that happens on the scene would be documented as well.
Denise Simmons	And just to follow up, in terms of interacting with our Citizens, what is the police department doing just to inform our residents of what to expect or what to do? Can you speak to that just a little bit? If not, I will yield.
SPEAKER_33	As far as what the police department is doing, we have met with several different entities, including the religious community, as you had us there. We are certainly open to talking with anybody we have. The Cambridge Police Department has no desire and nor will have anything to do with enforcement of any administrative ICE warrants.
Denise Simmons	Thank you. I think it's important as we continue to have these conversations that we have to figure out ways to get that back into the community because the information is changing constantly and people don't always know what to do. So it'd be important for us to find comprehensive and consistent ways of letting people know what we in the city expect from our public safety officers and what we want them to be able to do or know to do should they find a challenging situation. If there's no further discussion on a motion by Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler to refer to the ordinance and pass to a second meeting. Having had the discussion, all those in favor say aye.
Catherine Zusy	Aye.
Denise Simmons	Opposed? The ayes have it, and the matter number five has been referred to ordinance and passed to a second reading. The next item on my list, which was pulled by Council Wilson, reads as follows. The communication transmitted from Yan Wang, city manager, relative to the 2025 goals and metrics for the annual city manager performance review. Council Wilson?
Ayesha Wilson	Thank you. You have the floor. Thank you, Madam Mayor. And thank you for sharing as a city manager through you, Madam Mayor, as a city manager. I just wanted to get your thoughts and just kind of recognizing where we are in the climate, not only just the administration, but just different things that are happening, goals that we have ultimately, and just get a sense for your own self-assessment and kind of the relationship with the council. Mr. City Manager?
Yi-An Huang	Sure. Through you, Mayor Simmons. I think in the memo, I tried to capture some of the conversations we had at government operations and also some of the conversations I've had with councilors, recognizing a little that the actual work that the council is most focused on tends to be the policy work that we're working on collectively. And so it's much of the changes to the city that we're discussing in this chamber. It's the ordinance changes that are being pursued that require both the council to provide a sense of political direction and ultimately the votes to change our ordinances. But also city staff and city leadership to really come up with the policy details and to provide some of the research and data to support that decision making process. So, you know, I think mostly my feeling is that the most important pieces of the work we do together are actually things that are a little hard for me to decide at the beginning of the year, put on a list of goals, and then go and execute on my own since so much of the work we do is actually collective. Even the conversation we just had about inclusionary zoning was not something that I anticipated we were going to pick up this year. And yet it is something that is very consequential in terms of one of the most important issues that residents are discussing and that we're really facing around the housing crisis. So, I think in terms of the structure of the performance review, I would encourage that that openness allows for us to be discussing the major policy work that we are doing together. And so, even the conversation, you know, we were having about inclusionary zoning, where we're trying to feel out, council wants there to be action, we've identified a problem in our community where we aren't seeing enough housing production. In addition, we have specific housing projects that are stuck. Can the city work with the council to come up with actionable options that are actually complex and represent real trade-offs within our community? Can we collectively do that and do that on time, do that with a level of community engagement where people are brought along in the process? I think that's what I hope that we are demonstrating and that we'll continue to do. And in terms of a lot of the ways that I'm hoping to work with the council, I think that that's one of the most impactful ones, that we can actually get through these policy debates, make changes in a way that's more inclusive, where the council feels like you're all informed about the decisions you're making, you can make real change, and people in our community aren't surprised by them.
Ayesha Wilson	Council Wilson? Thank you, and through you, Madam Mayor, the other question that I had is really around community engagement. I think you talked quite a bit about JUST WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE FOR US TO HAVE A ROBUST COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS? AND YOU HAVE THAT HERE AS THE GOAL AND NOT ONLY JUST YOUR WORK THROUGH THE COMMISSION, BUT ALSO LOOKING AT RESIDENT SURVEY PERFORMANCE. AND SO WHAT ARE THE STEPS AND THE MECHANISMS THAT YOU'RE TAKING TO HELP TO GET TO ACHIEVE THESE? You know, I often struggle with some of our abilities when it comes to community engagement. So just really thinking about how are we tapping into all the resources around us.
Denise Simmons	Mr. City Manager.
Yi-An Huang	Through you, Mayor Simmons, yeah, I think a lot of what we are seeking to do is both strengthen the consistency of the engagement that the city is doing on an ongoing basis, every day, every week, to engage with the community. I think there's been good work that Jackson Price, our Director of Community Engagement, has been doing and we are actually looking for, I think we're going to be trying to look for some time to have, I forget which committee, but whether it's NLTP or government operations to come and have a discussion or civic unity about community engagement. I think we'd love to, and this is one of the goals, start piloting new methods of improving that communication engagement with the community. I think we're still sort of figuring out exactly what that looks like, but how do we pull the community in more? And then one of the feedbacks that I've certainly heard is to do a bit of a review of boards and commissions, thinking about how we strengthen engagement with members who are serving. Those are often folks in our community that are very engaged, that want to help out with the different tasks that we're doing, whether that's the climate committee or work on the urban forestry landscape. But I think we could do a better job of ensuring that they're not only interacting with staff who are working on that committee, but we're actually pulling them in to understand more of what is happening across the city and also thanking them for all of their volunteering and service.
Denise Simmons	That's awesome.
Ayesha Wilson	Thank you, Madam Mayor. And my final question, I think, is just in regards to the establishment of the American Freedmen and recognizing the work that's before us on this commission and being a new commission. I'm just curious to hear your hopes and goals for that one.
Yi-An Huang	Mr. City Manager? Yes, through you, Mayor Simmons. Very excited that we have appointed commissioners. I think the next steps are to have the commission begin meeting and elect a chair. There's also an executive director position that will need to be filled. And then the work to really both support that commission as it wrestles with achieving the mission set out in the ordinance, But I know there's also, and this ties into your other comment, Councilor Wilson, but within that commission, I know a lot of the members have desire to ensure that it is going to be much more engaged with the community. And so I think we'll also be supporting that commission to say, what does it mean for their work not to simply be a biweekly meeting, but how do they get out into the community, talk about the discussions that they're having, and get community input and support for the direction that they want to go in.
Denise Simmons	Council Wilson.
Ayesha Wilson	Thank you. I think I'll yield. I'm sorry. Do we have the position posted yet for the executives?
Yi-An Huang	Through you, Mayor Simmons, we don't have the position posted yet. I think the idea was first to get the commission organized, elect a chair, and in many ways, engage the commission to ensure that we get the job description right, and we think about having them engaged in the hiring.
Denise Simmons	Council Wilson. Great, I yield, thank you. Council Wilson yields the floor. Council Siddiqui, the floor is yours.
Sumbul Siddiqui	Thank you. Just two quick questions. I know we met about this on May 1st, I guess, between now and then. Can you point to what was updated on this? It would have been helpful to see kind of the track changes. I think I can infer, but if you don't mind walking us through the measures, and if you did update anything, that would be helpful.
Denise Simmons	City Manager.
Yi-An Huang	I think the main updates were we added the goal around boards and commissions. That was one of the pieces of feedback that we received. I think that was the big addition. I could probably follow up in terms of other changes. I think a lot of what I was saying up front was more my reflection from the conversation. I felt a lot like... there was some dissatisfaction with these goals not really representing what the council felt like the role of the city manager was in actually achieving a lot of the goals that the council has set out. And I think part of what I'm saying is, no, I agree. These goals have ended up being a little more administrative and to the extent that actually the most important work we do is the policy work that we're debating and the major changes we're making to the city. Those should be part of the performance review and we should work those in both I'll certainly work to have those be more reflected in my self-review, but certainly open to the feedback as we think about, look, what were the major policy initiatives that the council put forward? Were we able to get those done? Was the city able to support the council to get those done? And I think that's a bit more where I feel like it belongs rather than
Sumbul Siddiqui	you know us necessarily at the beginning of the year saying these are the seven policies that we're going to pass since i think at the beginning of the year we don't often know thank you and through you the um part on the boards and commissions it says review boards and commissions and produce recommendations on strengthening engagement with members who are serving i guess a question i have is i thought the When we talked about boards and commissions and reviewing them, I guess it's pretty broad. And so my question is, are we reviewing them to figure out, okay, who's next in the ones we pay a stipend to? Are we reviewing them for if there's duplicative work happening? Is that what you mean by just the review? Or are there more specifics? With the city manager?
Yi-An Huang	Through you, Mayor Simmons. Yes, I think we will be having some of that be part of the review. I think there's certainly been a lot of conversation in the chamber about some of the boards and commissions. I believe there's going to be some follow up on that. And so I'm pretty open to feedback on how we want to scope some of that. And happy to follow up with you.
Sumbul Siddiqui	Council Siddiqui. Okay, those are my two clarifying questions. Thank you. Council Siddiqui yields the floor. Council Nolan.
Patricia Nolan	Thank you, Mayor Siddiqui. So these are the draft goals, and I apologize. We were probably supposed to get feedback to you before tonight. Is that correct through you, Mayor Simmons? Yes.
Yi-An Huang	Through you, Mayor Simmons. Yes, I did send this out a couple of weeks ago and received a couple of replies, not that many.
Patricia Nolan	Okay, so in full disclosure, I apologize for not having seen that and not having given feedback before. I agree with my colleagues' questions. No surprise that I think... These should be reviewed with an eye towards having more smart goals. There's almost nothing specific and measurable about it. That's not entirely true, but some of them don't have specific or measurable. And as following up on what Councillor Siddiqui said on the boards and commissions, I think three years ago, I know through you, Mayor Simmons, the city manager, had a whole list of all of them. And I know there's a gazillion things we're doing every single day. But the idea there is include us in that discussion because several of those boards and commissions were once set up by the council. So we... If I was you, Mayor Simmons, if I was the city manager, I'd be very uncomfortable suggesting something the city council established, not talking about it in conjunction with the council. But also, it does seem with 50 or 60 boards and commissions, it would be really good to know what most cities have. whether some of them can be consolidated to ensure that they're talking with each other because sometimes there's several different boards and commissions and task forces and committees and we really should they should be talking to each other and they might not even know each other so I would expect that to be consolidating it down in order to honor the volunteers who are serving so they can be more effective and also I don't know where it would fit on here but having just talked to a city employee who said there are still a lot of departments literally doing their hours in essence on paper, or they do it on an Excel spreadsheet and someone else literally then copies it somewhere else. This is 2025. This is not something that is at all acceptable in a city of our size, in the center of technology. So I don't know how we can get to that, but we need to be working much smarter in that. And again, this is just something I've heard about. There may be other personnel or human resource or human development or advancement, people power kind of things that need to be looked at. But that is shocking to me. And I think we should all do whatever we can. I would like to see that as a goal because that shouldn't exist in 2025 where people are not making use of software. And that's just an example. But I will certainly... look through some of these others but I think tightening them up with some smart goals I think city operations is is a key to everything we do and see click fixes is one idea but even in there I think getting a little more specific about what it means to close it out because there's a bunch of times when people something stays open for three years and other times it's closed in a week and it hasn't been fixed and so I think we It would be really great to just review that and see, and if it's not the most useful thing for the city, then let's use something else. I'm not saying it has to be, but I do think that is, I'm not sure that's the most appropriate measure for our city operations, but I definitely wanted to raise that human resource functions and to call out and amplify what my colleague said about ensuring that as we review boards and commissions that we understand that there may be smarter ways to work towards a better city altogether. Thank you, Mayor Simmons. Those are my comments for now.
Denise Simmons	Councilor Nolan, you'll floor for the discussion?
Sumbul Siddiqui	Mayor Simmons?
Denise Simmons	Councilor Siddiqui?
Sumbul Siddiqui	Sorry, through you, I just had a question. If you can forward, if there was an email, I don't think I got an email. So if you can re-forward that, that'd be great, because- You mean in terms of the goals through you, Mayor Simmons? You said there was a recent email. Yeah, I got a reply from you. Oh, that was in May.
Yi-An Huang	Yeah, it was a little while ago.
Sumbul Siddiqui	Oh, okay. So I wanted to clarify, there was nothing recently that was sent. That's correct. Yeah, okay. Thank you.
Denise Simmons	Councilor Siddiqui yields. There's no further discussion on this item on placing city manager agenda number seven on file. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed?
Unknown Speaker	Aye.
Denise Simmons	The ayes have it, and the city manager's agenda on annual city manager performance review is placed on file. We'll move now to the city manager's agenda item number eight. This was pulled by Council Sobrinho-Wheeler, reads as follows. Communication transmitted from Yanwang City Manager relative to the appointment of Flory Darwin, Scott Kyle, Michael Rogrove, and the reappointments of Chandra Harrington, Joseph Ferrara, Kyle Sheffield, Gavin Kleepski, Paula Paris, Elizabeth Lister, and Yuting Zhang as members of the Cambridge Historical Commission. This is pulled by Council Wheeler. Sobrinho-Wheeler, my apologies. Council Sobrinho-Wheeler, the floor is yours.
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	Thanks, Madam Mayor, and thanks to city staff for the productive CONVERSATION ABOUT THIS AT THE GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS COMMITTEE MEETING THAT I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO CHAIR. THANKS ALSO FOR LISTENING TO THAT FEEDBACK AND REVISING SOME OF THE APPOINTMENTS HERE. DOWN TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS TONIGHT, I HAVE A SERIES OF MOTIONS HERE TO BRING THAT FORWARD. MORE DISCUSSION BEFORE WE MAKE THE MOTIONS?
Catherine Zusy	Yeah, I just wanted to make sure people were aware of what changed over the last week or two. So now the three alternates, they had originally, Flory had three years, Scott had- Counselor, talk into your mic, because when you turn your head, you turn away from it. Okay, excuse me. I just wanted to make sure people were aware of what changed. So now all of the alternates have three-year terms, which I find a little awkward because I hope they're really great because if they're not, it's going to be a very long three years. Because originally one had three years, one had two years, one had one year. And then the other reappointments were all for fewer years. So the chair had a two-year term. Now she has a one-year term. Joseph Ferrara had a three-year term. And now he has a one-year term. Kyle Sheffield had a one-year term. Now he has a one-year term. Gavin Cleasby's had a one-year term. Now he has a two-year term. Paula Paris had a two-year term. Now she has a two-year term. And then the two appointees of the Boston Real Estate Board and the Boston Society of Architects, they both had had three-year terms. And now they have two-year terms. So anyway, I just worry, I worry that the people with the most experience and knowledge about historic preservation and architecture, their terms have been reduced while the unknowns and some who have no knowledge of historic preservation of architecture have been given three-year terms. So I just want people to be, aware of what's changed here. And I worry, I just, the historic commission's work is so important. I just don't want to gut it.
Denise Simmons	And so we do have Mr. Sullivan here. So why don't we allow him to speak. but I'm not looking at the document, but my feelings might be a little bruised by your description, but I'm sure it's coming from a genuine place. Could we hear from the historical commission?
SPEAKER_26	Thank you, Madam Mayor. Yes, we have a different scheme for appointments here. The situation is that all of the appointments on the commission had expired. And so to reestablish the intent of the statue from when the commission was originally established in 1963, We initially organized terms, one, two, and three-year terms in alphabetical order of the members and alternates' names. So 321, 321, 321. The concern was that the council, we felt, wanted to see more turnover and a greater emphasis placed on the new members, so we came up with a different scheme that does give all of the new appointments three-year terms, but takes the longest-serving members and gives them one, two, or three-year terms in the order of the length in which they have served. So that does not mean that our oldest serving member who is receiving, recommended for a one-year term, is only expected to serve one more year. We expect to be back with reappointments for those one- and two-year members as their short terms expire so that In a couple of years, every member will be serving a three-year term, and we will be back to the council every spring with reappointments for a third of the commission, which is traditionally how the process worked until COVID and other things just happened. INTERRUPTED THE PROCESS, AND WE HAVE FULL CONFIDENCE IN THE NEW MEMBERS THAT WE'RE SUGGESTING. AND SO I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THIS. ARE YOU YIELDING THE FLOOR? OH, YES, MA'AM.
Catherine Zusy	THROUGH YOU, MADAM MAYOR, THAT'S A COMFORT TO HEAR. THANK YOU.
Denise Simmons	COUNCILOR ZUZI, ARE YOU YIELDING THE FLOOR?
Catherine Zusy	I AM.
Denise Simmons	FURTHER DISCUSSION?
Burhan Azeem	MADAM MAYOR. Thank you. First of all, I just wanted to thank both Owen and Charlie for working on this. I think that we reached a good compromise place. And I feel like no one's completely happy, but that's sometimes how it works. And I think that this is a very, very reasonable place to kind of come to. I also just wanted to respond that I think that absolutely all these commissions do important work. I think that this body also does important work. And I think that our newest members bring a lot to the body and don't diminish the importance of our work or ruin this body or devastate it. So I'm happy that we get new members from time to time. And I think that's a good thing. So I just wanted to leave that as well. Thank you.
Denise Simmons	Councilor Azeem yields the floor. Vice Mayor, the floor is yours.
Marc McGovern	Thank you, Madam Mayor. Through you, I apologize for scheduling the government ops meeting and then not being able to be there. I was traveling, so thank you to Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler for stepping in. I'm also happy where this, you know, where this ended up, and just a question through you, Madam Mayor, to Mr. Sullivan. In terms of the new appointments and, you know, the application process and whatnot, you, I assume you were involved in making some of these choices, right?
SPEAKER_26	Yes, through you, Madam Mayor. I've forgotten exactly the numbers there before you, but we had about 20 people register on the manager's website. We interviewed about a dozen. We had second interviews with a short list, including the deputy city manager. So I and a member of the staff, the chair of the historical commission, Chandra Harrington, and then Owen interviewed all of these folks.
Marc McGovern	Madam Mayor, through you. When people bring up concerns about the experience of these new members, I think we should have some trust in Mr. Sullivan, who knows the Historical Commission better than anybody else, who chose these new members rather than questioning his experience. I would also say that you know, experience can come in a lot of different forms. It doesn't have to be that you went to Harvard and got a degree with, you know, and have 16 letters after your name. People who live in housing or have struggled with housing or tenants in housing can have a lot to offer to the conversation. And sometimes people who are educated and have gone to college and are quote unquote experts in a certain area don't always bring a lot to the table just because they have the quote resume to, you know, to suggest it. And so I think we have to be really careful when people are willing to volunteer their time to come out and want to serve on these commissions, and then people come out and say, oh, they're not experienced enough or they shouldn't be there. That's not a great way to increase recruitment. Thank you, Madam Mayor.
Denise Simmons	THE VICE MAYOR YIELDS THE FLOOR FOR THE DISCUSSION ON THIS. COUNCIL SABRINA, WHAT'S UP TO YOU?
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	I WAS GOING TO MAKE UP THE MOTIONS. I THINK THERE'S FIVE ALL TOGETHER. THE FIRST IS TO MAKE A MOTION TO SUSPEND THE RULES TO BRING FORWARD COMMITTEE FOR REPORT NUMBER TWO SO THAT THE CITY MANAGER CAN ASK PERMISSION TO SUBSTITUTE IT WITH CMA NUMBER EIGHT.
Denise Simmons	ON SUSPENSION, WE WILL TAKE THE ROLL CALL.
SPEAKER_71	COUNCILOR ZIN. YES. YES. VICE MAYOR MCGOVERN. YES. YES. COUNCILOR NOLAN. Yes. Councillor Siddiqui.
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	Yes.
SPEAKER_71	Yes. Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler.
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	Yes.
SPEAKER_71	Yes. Councillor Toner. Yes. Yes. Councillor Wilson. Yes. Yes. Councillor Zusy. Yes. Mayor Simmons. Yes. Yes. And you have nine members recorded in the affirmative.
Denise Simmons	The rules are now suspended on bringing forward committee report number two, roll call. Councillor Azeem. Yes.
Unknown Speaker	Yes.
SPEAKER_71	Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern? Yes. Yes. Councilor Nolan? Yes. Yes. Councilor Siddiqui?
Sumbul Siddiqui	Yes.
SPEAKER_71	Yes. Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler?
Sumbul Siddiqui	Yes.
SPEAKER_71	Yes. Councilor Toner? Yes. Yes. Councilor Wilson? Yes. Yes. Councilor Zusy? Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons? Yes. Yes. And you have nine members recorded in the affirmative. Back to you, Councilor.
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	And then I think we did that substitution. So the next is a motion to approve substituted language regarding appointments to the Historical Commission and place CMA 2025 number 185 on file.
Denise Simmons	Is that the roll call? Any discussion? Hearing none, roll call. He says the city manager, he says permission to, actually I thought we were doing permission to withdraw A. Am I hearing correct?
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	Do we not do that? And then the motion is to substitute city manager agenda. Substitute committee report number two with city manager agenda item number eight. The clerk has a question.
SPEAKER_71	Okay. Okay. Councilor Azeem. Yes. Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern.
SPEAKER_51	Yes.
SPEAKER_71	Yes. Councilor Nolan. Yes. Yes. Councilor Siddiqui.
SPEAKER_51	Yes.
SPEAKER_71	Yes. Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler.
SPEAKER_51	Yes.
SPEAKER_71	Yes. Councilor Toner. Yes. Yes. Councilor Wilson. Yes. Yes. Councilor Zusy. Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons.
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	Yes.
SPEAKER_71	Yes. And you have nine members recorded in the affirmative. Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler.
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	Yep. The next is a motion to approve the substituted language regarding appointments to the historical commission and place CMA 2025-185 on file. Discussion?
SPEAKER_71	Hearing none. Councillor Azeem? Yes. Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern?
Marc McGovern	Yes.
SPEAKER_71	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?
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	Yes.
SPEAKER_71	Yes. And you have nine members recorded in the affirmative.
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	Thanks. I think the next is to make a motion to approve the appointments to the Half Crown Marsh Neighborhood Conservation District and police CMA 2025-146 on file.
Denise Simmons	Discussion? Hearing none, roll call.
SPEAKER_71	Councilor Azeem. Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern. Yes. Councilor Nolan. Yes. Councilor Siddiqui. Yes. Yes. Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Yes. Yes. Councilor Toner. Yes. Yes. Councilor Wilson. Yes. Yes. Councilor Zusy. Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons. Yes. Yes. And you have nine members recorded in the affirmative.
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	Okay, and the next one is a motion to approve the appointments to the Avon Hill Neighborhood Conservation District and place CMA 2025-147 on file.
Denise Simmons	Discussion? Hearing none, roll call.
SPEAKER_71	Councilor Azeem? Yes. Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern? Yes. Yes. Councilor Nolan? Yes. Yes. Councilor Siddiqui? Yes. Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Yes. Yes. Councillor Toner. Yes. Yes. Councillor Wilson. Yes. Yes. Councillor Zusy. Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons.
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	Yes.
SPEAKER_71	Yes. And you have nine members recorded in the affirmative.
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	Councillor. And then a motion to accept committee report number two and place it on file.
SPEAKER_71	And that should be as amended, Councillor.
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	As amended. Perfect.
SPEAKER_71	Any discussion? Hearing none. Councillor Azeem. Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern?
SPEAKER_51	Yes.
SPEAKER_71	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? Yes. Yes. And you have nine members recorded in the affirmative.
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	Madam Mayor? Thank you. Councillor. Thanks. That is it for that agenda item. On a separate item, I wanted to make a motion to suspend the rules to allow the city manager to speak on unfinished business item number six.
Denise Simmons	Thank you. On suspension of the rules, roll call.
SPEAKER_71	Councilor Azeem. Yes. Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern. Yes. Yes. Councilor Nolan. Yes. Yes. Councilor Siddiqui.
Sumbul Siddiqui	Yes.
SPEAKER_71	Yes. Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Yes. Yes. Councilor Toner. Yes. Yes. Councilor Wilson. Yes. Yes. Councilor Zusy. Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons. Yes. Yes. And you have nine members recorded in the affirmative.
Denise Simmons	The rule's being suspended. There's a motion to bring unfinished business item number... Six, do we need to allow the city manager to speak? We're not taking this off the calendar. We're just giving, through the suspension of the rules, allowing the city manager to speak to it. So on, I've got to get my language here. BRINGING ON ALLOWING THE CITY MANAGER TO SPEAK ON BUSINESS ITEM, UNFINISHED BUSINESS ITEM NUMBER SIX, ROLL CALL.
SPEAKER_71	COUNCILLOR Azeem. YES. VICE MAYOR MCGOVERN. YES. COUNCILLOR NOLAN. YES. COUNCILLOR SADIKI. YES. COUNCILLOR SABRINO-WHEELER. YES. COUNCILLOR TONER. YES. COUNCILLOR WILSON. YES. COUNCILLOR ZUZI. YES. MAYOR SIMMONS. YES. YOU HAVE NINE MEMBERS RECORDED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.
Denise Simmons	I'm just going to read what unfinished business number six is so people will know what we're talking about. An ordinance has been received from city clerk relative to East Cambridge Community Enhancement Overlay District, which is governed by the regulations and procedures specified in section 20.1200. It is the intent of the section that these regulations will apply to land within the ECCE Overlay District. That is what the city manager will be speaking to. Is the city... Excuse me, Mr. City Manager, the floor is open.
Yi-An Huang	Thank you, Mayor Simmons. Thank you for the space. I think helpful to provide some public context, especially given the large number of people that turned out to public comment. And just want to recognize that um there are there there is this zoning petition that could theoretically be ordained tonight it was passed to a second reading a couple of weeks ago um i met with uh the city solicitor and uh city solicitor payer and assistant city manager for finance Claire Spinner over the last couple of days and after discussions we believe that the zoning amendment is not ready to go before the council tonight for ordination based on us not having a finalized draft of the commitment letter. So we did receive a revised letter on Thursday last week around noon that incorporated some of the changes that the city had been requesting. We have begun that review, but it is not complete. I think ultimately it didn't feel possible for us to do a full review. I think there are still a couple of both questions about funding mechanism and terms that we actually need to engage with Biomed on. likely some conversations with the East End House as well. And there wasn't enough time between 9 AM this morning and a 5.30 meeting to both have all those discussions, finalize the commitment letter, transmit it to the council, have it on the agenda, and be prepared for ordinance tonight. So I recognize that some of this is a little bit late breaking. We have been in pretty constant conversation with Biomed about the commitment letter and so wanted to communicate that more publicly. And happy to answer any questions regarding this. We did relay this to Bioman this morning just so they understood where the city is. And happy to have City Solicitor Bayer come up if helpful.
Denise Simmons	Solicitor Behr, do you want to come forward just in case there's questions? I don't believe there will be. The city mayor is just giving us an update. Solicitor Behr, we are not taking this up for a vote this evening. So just so people that are viewing in, this will not be taken up for a vote or further discussion after tonight until August 5th at the summer meeting. Am I correct? 4th? Well, I'll be here on the fifth. You come on the fourth. Say again? There you go. There you go. So what's the pleasure of the city council? Council of Zuzi. Oh, I'm sorry. Council of Zuzi.
Catherine Zusy	Yeah, thank you, Madam Mayor. I'm just wondering if we couldn't, I don't think it's going to help anyone to wait until August 4th to resolve this. Could we have a special meeting Wednesday morning, Thursday morning? Could we resolve this this week? I just, I feel as if this is a family feud and we need to resolve it. I don't think time is going to It sounds like you're stuck on two things. You need to set up a separate fund for the funds, right, from the community benefit funds, and then you need to come up with a plan for if the East End House leaves Cambridge to come up with a plan for what would happen. But I would imagine the money would go back to the general community benefits fund if they did leave town. So those things don't seem so hard to resolve. Those are the two things that you... noted in your email today, Solicitor Behr. Could they be resolved? I mean, they don't seem like such difficult issues. I think it would be best for the community if we did resolve this sooner rather than later. Could it be resolved at a special meeting that would happen later this week?
Denise Simmons	I can talk to that. We will not be having a special meeting later this week. Just the... How do I say this kindly? I think it's important to allow the staff that has a huge amount of work to get through. Generally, in the summer, although we've been not so generous in the years past, they take this time to catch up with everything that they're doing. And in order to call a meeting, this is Monday, we'd have to call it. If we wanted to even have a meeting, it wouldn't be until Thursday or Friday, because you have to have 48 hours notice. So I think it would not be easy to do, to have a special meeting. And we want to be very thoughtful, not only to the staff, but to all the people that came this evening, regardless of the side that they may be on. I think it might be prudent to allow people a little respite, an opportunity to get people together to talk from both sides of the aisle, and to have a meeting in basically 48 hours might be a little too extraneous. Now, you could certainly bring it forward for a vote. I would vote against it. I don't know about the city manager's availability or the solicitor's availability. Planning meetings is more than a notion. And so I would just respectfully consider that we maybe allow for that break from now until August 5th. The sky will not fall to have conversations from both sides, from the East Cambridge community. They have a lot invested in this, but also the nonprofit community. the nonprofit community of which there are a large number of members who may not be able to rally that quickly. But that would be my recommendation, but I will let the solicitor speak to this and enlighten us with her wisdom.
SPEAKER_54	Through you, Madam Mayor, I agree. We would have to do 48 hours notice. So the earliest possible would be Thursday morning. And I also have to refresh my memory on the rules. The mayor may call a special meeting, and then I think it has to be a certain number of counselors together to call a special meeting. So those would be the mechanisms. But additionally... As City Manager noted, we haven't seen a final letter of commitment from BioMed, and there are these missing terms. We don't know what they're proposing for what would happen if... East End House didn't stay in Cambridge, what they would put in as a condition for the money if that were to happen. And also if some payments had been made and then East End House didn't stay in Cambridge, what would happen? I ALSO THINK WE'LL NEED MORE THAN JUST 48 HOURS TO WORK OUT THOSE ADDITIONAL TERMS WITH BIOMED AND EAST END HOUSE. SO IT IS POSSIBLE THAT A SPECIAL MEETING COULD BE CALLED IF THE COUNCIL WANTS TO MOVE ON THIS SOONER THAN AUGUST 4TH OR 5TH, WHICHEVER DAY THAT MONDAY IS. BUT I THINK WE NEED MORE TIME THAN JUST THIS WEEK.
Catherine Zusy	Through you, Madam Mayor. Yeah, I just, I think, so it sounds like the mayor, you would set up, I also have been really looking forward to my summer, but I think this would be a good thing to resolve before August 4th. So it sounds to me as though you would need to take the lead on setting up the special meeting. But I just think the community will heal sooner if this is resolved sooner. And to me, I just feel like this is such a sad and ugly thing because it seems like it's a family feud over an inheritance. And I think it's gonna be, I think it's better to resolve sooner than later. I think we'll heal sooner if we resolve it sooner. Thank you, I yield.
Denise Simmons	Duly noted. Further discussion on this item. Council Sobrinho-Wheeler.
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	Thanks. I just want to say we really appreciate all the folks who have advocated on this and hope we can have a letter of commitment by our summer meeting that everyone can be excited about or at least live with. I think there's a lot that could be done to improve this whole process. I feel like I've had three days worth of conversations in the last, I guess it's been three days, I feel like about a year's worth of conversations the past three days, but don't need to get into all that tonight. And I think there's just a lot, a big role for the council in helping figure that out so that we're not here the next time there's a development proposed that has mitigation funds and community benefits. I'm open to a special meeting sometime before our summer meeting, but I don't know all our staff's schedules and what it would take to make that possible. Just wanted to clarify for the public that this doesn't expire before our August 4th meeting, so it wouldn't need to be refiled. This doesn't jeopardize that. It is still in play for that meeting. With that, I yield back.
Denise Simmons	Council Sobrinho-Wheeler yields the floor. Vice Mayor, the floor is yours. After the Vice Mayor, we'll hear from Council Siddiqui. Vice Mayor.
Marc McGovern	Thank you, Madam Mayor, through you. I, too, want to thank everyone who participated in this conversation. In the spirit of full disclosure, my kids attended after school at the East End House. One of my kids worked the summer program at the Cambridge Community Center, and my kids have attended programs there, they have taken classes at the art center, the dance complex, and worked last summer at the Baldwin Community Center. So all of these nonprofits have played a part in my life as they have in the lives of many. And I say this just to illustrate and as this conversation goes on to really stress
SPEAKER_51	the value and the importance of all of these nonprofits, right? I mean, they all serve a diverse population.
Denise Simmons	Vice Mayor, hold on for a second. Do you know what's going on with his mic? You're sounding very muffled, but keep going. You're distorted.
Marc McGovern	Any better? It's better. I just say this just to reiterate that all of the non-profits in this city and certainly all the ones that spoke tonight, are nonprofits that touch the lives of lots of people, diverse groups of people. They have diverse staffs. There's really so much more that they have in common, and so I just appreciate all of them, and I think that that's important to say. As far as the community benefits funds go in that process, I said this when we passed this, whatever it was, several years ago, that I agree that the majority of the funds should stay in the neighborhood or the community that is being most impacted by that particular development. But we also have to acknowledge that there are lots of nonprofits in this city who are in neighborhoods that are never going to see development or commercial development, large scale commercial development. And so there's got to be a way where we figure out what is the percentage, how much stays in the neighborhood and then how much goes into the general fund that nonprofits who don't have the benefit of location. I mean, if we're going to keep all of the money in the neighborhood, I would advise every nonprofit to move to Owl Wife because over the next 15 years, that's going to explode and there's going to be a ton of money there. But I don't think that that's the right thing to do either. So I do agree that the majority of the money should stay in the neighborhood. I voted, you know, we all voted for this to move forward with the money going to the East End House. But I do think in general and as we move forward, we have to figure out a way to make sure that, you know, other nonprofits can have access. You know, my hope over the next month, I've had some and I think we've all had conversations with with folks. I had some really good conversations today with both, you know, Michael from the East End House, as well as executive directors from some of the other nonprofits. And I really got the sense that there was a willingness to try and figure something out, you know, and try to figure out a way that We can reach a place where people are gonna feel better about this moving forward. I wanna give them the space to do that. I don't think calling a meeting in two days is gonna allow them or next week is gonna allow them the space to do that. But I will say this. If this comes to a vote on the 4th, if not before, but if we stick to the 4th, I plan on voting for this. I do not want this to expire, which it would in the following week. At the heart of this, remember, there's a lot of talk about the community benefits part, but this is a zoning petition, and I want... the new building to be built by Biomed. It's a better looking building than what's already there. Nobody's building commercial right now. The fact that Biomed wants to go out and do that I think is a good thing. If this expires and they have to start from scratch, I'm not sure they come back. Maybe they say we're gonna ride this out for the next few years until the market gets better and then nobody gets anything and we're still stuck with an ugly building. So this has to be decided before it expires in my opinion. And if, I'm hoping, my pleading to all, you know, to the nonprofit coalition and the various nonprofits is please do not use this time to rally your troops and circle the wagons to send us 5,000 emails about how your program is better than another program is better than another program is better than another program that doesn't get us anywhere. Use this time to talk to each other and figure out if there's a way to actually constructively get something done where the East End House walks away with a big chunk of what they need to survive because they are in that neighborhood, but that maybe there's a way to get some more financing and some money to some of the other nonprofits. Compromise, work together, don't dig your heels in, and I think we will get to a better place, and I want to give you guys the time and the space to do that. So... But if this comes down, if we're sitting here on August 4th and we come down and we're in the same place we are now, then I'm going to vote the way I voted before. And hopefully we can figure something out before then. And I just really, really, really want to encourage folks to try to work together on this because you're all so incredibly vital to this community. I'll yield for now, Madam Mayor. Thank you.
Denise Simmons	Vice Mayor yields the floor. I just want to kind of follow you, Vice Mayor. I really do want to reaffirm my support for the East End House. and the invaluable work that it does in our East Cambridge community. Their mission and the service they provide are exactly the kind of assets we want to strengthen and expand. And so when this proposal first came before us, I was enthusiastic about its potential to advance that mission while facilitating responsible development in East Cambridge, and I remain committed to those goals today. However, As we've moved through this process, I've realized that I need a clear, I think we need a clearer understanding of the specific elements that are truly essential to making this venture successful and exactly what commitments we as a city are being asked to make. This isn't about changing direction or questioning value of the project. It is about ensuring that when we move forward, we do so with the full confidence in what we're approving. For me, good governance requires that we take time to fully understand the details of significant zoning changes, especially ones that will shape our community for years to come. I believe both East End House and Bioman want us to make this informed decision that will set up the project for a long term success. That's why I'm willing to keep this matter on unfinished business until our summer meeting. The petition doesn't expire until August 18th. And that will give us an opportunity to sit down, all parties, not only East End House and Bioman, but the nonprofit, to figure this all out, to discuss specifics, ensure we are being grounded in what we need to do so we can move forward confidently. So I want to be very clear, the brief delay is not intended to impede progress. Rather, I hope it will provide the foundation for stronger, more informed support that ultimately benefits everyone involved. So sometimes taking a moment to ensure we are all on the same page leads to better outcomes for our community, and that is certainly my hope here. So I will let the floor remain open for others to give their opinions on this topic. Yes. Council Siddiqui, are you asking for the floor?
Ayesha Wilson	I'm just asking. I would like to hear from the city manager, if we could hear from the city manager and get some thoughts from him.
Denise Simmons	Council, are you willing to yield to allow? Okay, so city manager.
Yi-An Huang	Through you, Mayor Simmons, do you have a specific question or just generally reaction? Yeah. I think similar to what many of you have shared, I do feel like this is my first pass through community benefits.
Denise Simmons	Sorry, did you say human benefits or community benefits?
Yi-An Huang	Community benefits. This is my first pass at seeing the community benefits process. And we are blessed to have these developments and these opportunities where, on the one hand, there is some real disruption that our communities have to live through. But on the other hand, there's an opportunity to make significant investments into our community. We've seen that in terms of infrastructure, parks, and ways that we can benefit really important community organizations. And so a lot of what I think has been shared feels right to me, that there is an importance to centering the local community. But also recognizing that we are a very tight neighborhood where, I don't know, there are a lot of people that are passing through our neighborhoods that are impacted across the city. And there's not gonna be development in all parts. I mean, I think my big reflection has probably been the challenges of what it means to have a community benefits process. I think in many ways, BioMed did what they were asked and did the similar task that every developer before them has gone through. They hold a couple of community meetings, they receive input. I will give credit to BioMed and to all the residents that participated there was a lot of detailed feedback that's not being discussed in terms of the massing and the design and how the development was going to proceed, and they really listened. And I think that is also why there's community support for the project. I do think it is a challenging dynamic where we're trying to figure out how some of these benefits do get negotiated. And as much as I deeply feel like East End House is a part of the East Cambridge community, has a real need for resources to invest in a new building or repair or renovate their existing building. I also see the challenge of a process where we've ended up with a deal where $20 million is going to one organization, and in the original proposal, there really wasn't a lot of engagement with... any of the other community organizations, all of which I know many counselors and certainly myself have visited, seeing the capital needs and challenges. And I do think there's a way that we have actually had this conversation before around the Community Benefits Fund to say, how do we have a more transparent process? And I think maybe it is just needing to have some of that conversation. And I don't know where that leads. I mean, ultimately, I would say this is a decision for this body. It's for the council to really decide what it means for a community benefit to flow in what way. And that's one of the challenges that really there is a lot of flexibility in terms of where these resources can go and how we structure them. So I'm happy to try to help or to be part of those conversations. I do wish to some extent that we had had more explicit conversations about exactly where this was going to land earlier. And I think that's definitely a lesson for me as I think about how the city and then the council get involved earlier in this process before there's essentially a deal that's already been made. But these are hard conversations, and I do think that it isn't about pitting one organization against another. There are real needs in our community that all need to be met. And I think there has been a process that's been followed fairly that's led us here, and that's one of the challenges that we're facing.
Denise Simmons	City Manager Yields, floor, Council Siddiqui.
Sumbul Siddiqui	Thank you. Through you. So just a few quick points. I think there's two different things here. The city does have this community benefits process, but we also have contract zoning, right? And so they've worked kind of together and separate, really. And so I do think while we have that community benefits conversation, I think the reality is, is what Michael did say in public comment. I agree with him. I think that process needs to be changed, needs to be revised. We have already put in a PO to amend it. That PO, again, as was mentioned last week, was not done to get in the way of this, I think, I wish we had an updated process that hadn't been in place in time to discuss this kind of opportunity, but we didn't. But I think in this moment, we can learn from looking ahead and not necessarily have a reason to put a hard stop on this zoning petition. I think I'm prepared to vote it forward. I think However, I do think that given the immense needs across the nonprofit sector and all the challenges that are coming up and what is being shared, there's a lot that's true at the same time. I do think there's been a process and I do think East End House does important work and I do really like the vision that they've folded out. and we know that our nonprofits compared to a few years ago they're in much more need than before so what i think needs to happen and i think going off of what vice mayor said i do hope that between now and then there can be a conversation with all with the key players you know maybe and that's i do think the city needs to play a bigger role you know we have the cna we have I think there's a convening part of this where I think the city can be involved. And I think we should all own collectively, I think, we can all have done things differently in this situation and to prevent kind of what has taken place. So I do think if there's a way we can figure out, you know, the amount right now, you know, what's been mentioned is the 20 million versus the 1.7. million I think if we can if the nonprofits can get together and and talk through that a little bit more and come up with something I would be open to amending the commitment letter in that respect but you know I think I'm not I think I've said this to everyone I think waiting for this community benefits process and and thinking about how we revise it that's a let's to that's not gonna that's gonna bring us to the fall next year you know it's gonna take a while to see how that we'll get amendments but it's a process so I think that can be in place for future monies but I do think you know we there's an urgency here I think most of us would move this in favor but I do think there is this desire for to talk about that amount and and and doing something, because I hear what others feel, and so that's where I'm at. Thank you.
Denise Simmons	Councilor Siddiqui yields the floor. Councilor Turner, the floor is yours.
Paul Toner	Thank you, Madam Mayor. I would vote for this tonight, the way it is. And I understand how the other nonprofits may feel right now, but I was first contacted by Biomed about their interest in redeveloping their property two years ago, and I think most of you were contacted as well. And during that time, The whole time it was discussed as we want to do something for the community and the community is saying we want to support the East End House. So I live in North Cambridge. I would never think to ask for money from a project being done in East Cambridge to be somehow transplanted to North Cambridge. think the process that was followed is what has been followed and it was public and there were public meetings and people knew about it we all knew about it the staff knew about it i was surprised late last week to find out that people now had all these issues uh with it um if if they do i think we should be going forward with the the proposal as is for this project and going forward come up with a new process in the future. If a development is going to happen, fine. Put whatever, however many millions of dollars in the pot and have that committee decide where it goes. I will say, and this is, you know, as the former executive director of a nonprofit for five years, I know how hard it is to try to raise money. And it's a challenge all around. But I also don't necessarily think going forward as a city with a community benefits program, that it necessarily all the money should be going to nonprofits. There are other things that people in the community might want, whether it's a new park or infrastructure or whatever it is. I don't think it should just automatically be going to nonprofits. In this particular case, Like Council Siddiqui said, this is a contract zoning, a lengthy discussion in the community about what they wanted to see happen. We've heard from them. And again, I understand that the other nonprofits are hurting, but we should figure out other ways to help support them going forward. And I'm going to say something that's very unpopular. I've said this to the city manager. You know, for a small city, we have an awful lot of nonprofits. And I've said it, I think, publicly that some nonprofits, and I've said this about my own former nonprofit, that we should have been thinking about merging and joining forces rather than trying to be competing with one another. But I'll just say that I'm looking forward to voting for this proposal as is, and I hope, I feel like we're putting the East End House in a position that we're saying, oh yeah, we'll support this, But for the next month, go back and negotiate with all the other nonprofits in the city about what you'd be willing to give up when you did the work for two years and the community supports the $20 million. So that's just where I am right now. I know it might not be a popular position, but that's where I am. Thank you. I yield.
Denise Simmons	Council Tony yields the floor. Council Nolan, then Council Azeem.
Patricia Nolan	I'm happy to go, Mayor Simmons, but I believe Councilor Azeem had his hand up first.
Burhan Azeem	Councilor Azeem. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I just wanted to say a few points. So the first is that I think that this petition had the votes to pass tonight. It's unfortunate with the letter timing, but I did want to say that. I think it's like at least my read of all of my colleagues and where everyone seems to be. And I think that's important table setting. The second point is that it's really rare that a commercial development has the votes in this moment. For all the talk of zoning changes we've made, we've not really made changes that made it easier to build commercial development in this point. And I think it's because the community in general has been less supportive. So the fact that this got to this point where it was unanimously supported, I think kind of shows that it felt like there was a lot of community support and consensus behind this. And the risk that I see is that if this becomes a contentious conversation, you know, we talked about potential projects coming up in the future. We could continue building those. I think there's a positive some version of that where, like, you know, maybe, you know, Biomed or... Alexandria has another future project and generate that own surplus that can also go to nonprofits. There's also a chance that this just becomes an ugly fight in August and the council's willingness to engage in commercial redevelopment goes even lower. And I just wanted to say that in that I in general don't see a lot of desire for commercial development in the city on a usual basis. And so I would say that, you know, I would vote for this tonight. It seems like the letter is not ready. And so that's inherently going to give a month for negotiations. I'm hoping we come back with something that's unanimous or near unanimous, because if not, I think it's going to leave bitter taste in people's mouth. And there is a potential to have a positive sum outcome where this project's funds will get allocated this way, but there's also another project or two that might be on the scope that other people can benefit from. The final two details I kind of wanted to add to that are that You know, I think that it's really important that the East End House does get some amount of funding, but also that, you know, the East End House should also have an incentive to get along in that, you know, it might feel like in this moment you can get 20 million and not negotiate, but whether it's land transfers in the future or working with the city, if other nonprofits have a bad relationship with you, I think it'll make those things harder for the city to help and participate in. So even though this might have passed tonight, I do think that's important for everyone to kind of figure it out because goodwill is a currency that will come in handy in future conversations and negotiations. And just to say that, you know, I really do hope that this is not seen as a delay or a way of not getting us to be able to vote for in August. I think that what I do hear unanimously across the difference opinions is that there's a there's still a lot of support for this project happening, regardless of how exactly the money is split. And so I do hope that we do one way or another vote for this in August. Thank you.
Denise Simmons	Councilor Azeem, use the floor. Councilor Nolan.
Patricia Nolan	Thank you, Mayor Simmons. I agree. I hope it passes and I'd be totally open if there is conversation in a letter that happens such that not this week, maybe even not next week, but the week after perhaps if there's a special meeting we call to deal with it, that may free up our August 4th meeting. So I'm open to that special meeting. It can be called by either the mayor, the vice mayor, or four members of the council. But it would be dependent on getting a commitment letter that that was signed. And I do wanna, this process was not behind closed doors. I don't know how often we can say that. And that doesn't mean that we couldn't have done a better job of ensuring that more people knew about it, that many people in the community didn't know. I don't know why they didn't know. After all, it was in Cambridge Day. We heard in public comment about some community members who went to 10 or 20 meetings. I certainly knew about it, and all of us did for not just nine months ago, but more than a year ago. And I heard about it from residents in the city, not East End House, by the way, including some residents who didn't even live in East Cambridge. What do you think of this? And as Councilor Azeem just said, I kept saying, we are lucky Biomed is building anything. Biomed is right here, and I know they're hearing it. We love you, we appreciate you, we're glad you're here. It's unusual because we know all you have to do is open any newspaper around and it is just not happening. So I also want to note there have been other projects that weren't subject to this last minute questions. IQHQ needed ComCom approval and did a lot of community benefits all of which are right around where IQHQ is. biomed spent tens of millions of dollars on the 585 project with a theater and arts programming that did not spur a call instead to invest maybe in central square theater space or help the dance complex in central square so it's just that's part of what at least i'm wrestling with is that this is just this one project all of a sudden it's blown up as though wow why isn't this spread around the city and we have very specific examples of as counselor sadiki called it contract zoning or Or just other, IQHQ didn't require zoning, but it did require an extensive community process that involved people. Nobody was there saying those benefits should not be front and center right where it's developing. So I think it's incumbent on us to ask why this project is raising the question of whether contract zoning and developer mitigation makes sense. We should address it for the future, though. Questions have been raised, and that's a legitimate question for the future. But for now, to throw this monkey wrench in the last minute just does risk leaving a bad taste in all of our society. And the risk also is that after a really long community process that did follow past practice and the developer did exactly what we asked them to do, reach out to the community, come to an agreement, then for us to say, oh, well, you did exactly what we asked, the community did exactly what we asked, and now we're going to upend it. That's just plain and simple bad governance. So I'm really glad. I think all of us are committed to saying we may not vote it tonight, but we really hope the next couple weeks comes through an uplifting process where people work together to figure this out in a way that all or if not all of it, Overwhelmingly, the NE funds do stay in East Cambridge because East Cambridge has borne more of the displacement and therefore seen more of the need for services. East End House is one of the few truly across generational multi-service centers that we have in the city. And so it really does make sense for the developer mitigation funds to be focused there. And it's also known to be an incredibly effective community treasure. So I think we can both support a center in East Cambridge and acknowledge that other nonprofits deserve space and investment. And I think that's something we have to hold. Now, for instance, very soon, we hope soon, it might be a few years, but if we can pull it forward a couple years, the city is going to get 135 Fulkerson Street. If that could be used for a community center by East End House, that would free up $9 million of anticipated cost for land that East End House thinks they have to spend to buy it, and that would free it up and presumably could be used for other nonprofits. So we should really figure out how we can get that property soon so it could be placed for a community center. There's the Windsor Street property, which might be a great home eventually for the community arts center. There's other projects also that will happen. As Vice Mayor McGovern noted, Alewife is going to be bursting And that could well be, whether it's AOI for East Cambridge, any contract zoning or developer mitigation funds could be considered for investments in other areas. It's just that that is a very different process than we've gone through in the past. Again, I would rather have voted this tonight and get it done and get it sealed and then work out the kinks in it. I'm committed to voting for it as soon as we can at the latest by November. August 4th if we could do it sooner that would be my preference because I think having a special meeting even if it's just an hour we can hash this out makes a lot of sense other than piling on a summer meeting is usually one of those that goes till midnight because there's so many things that pile up so this is going to be very close to that Yeah, so those are my thoughts on this. I really am excited. Also, I think we have to remember the excitement of this project. East Cambridge hopefully will get a great community center appropriate for the range of services that are offered. Thank you, Mayor Simmons. Councilman Nolan yields the floor.
Denise Simmons	Any further discussion on this? Council Susan, before I come back to you, who have I not heard from on this? I don't think I've heard from Council Wilson. I think I've heard, then I can come to you.
Ayesha Wilson	Thank you, Madam Mayor. And thank you to all the members of our community who spoke up in public comment. And I really just want to also appreciate Biomed Realty for doing business in Cambridge, keeping business in Cambridge as best they can. This process and also bringing out representatives to come and speak and share their thoughts and feedback with us as well. This has been really a hard conversation across the board when we are talking about organizations that are actually doing the good, great work of supporting our neighbors from our babies to our elders. We, you know, in over a century of doing that work, I mean, it's a no-brainer that there's a need for support, financial support and care to make sure that our nonprofits are able to uphold their commitment to the city of Cambridge. There's also a need for the city of Cambridge to really think about what is our commitment to uphold in our nonprofits to be able to adequately, equitably, and efficiently do that work. We have these buildings that are just in such dire need. I mean, it's a struggling sight to see and we should be taking on some of that responsibility as well. And I appreciate that we have business like Biomed Realty and others that come into our city to do great work and have these financial opportunities and benefits that can impact our city in a great way. And I want to also recognize that this conversation has not been an easy one. to hear, you know, we don't want to see or hear that nonprofits are like battling and trying to pound it out with each other because they're all doing some good work. And we know that I think through this conversation or through the acknowledgement just the awareness that these dollars were more into the community. I'm not debating that there wasn't a robust process. And as I was quoted by one of our representatives about community engagement at its finest, what I meant was the actual project in design. I wasn't necessarily talking about the dollars and how the dollars were being allocated but regardless I think after hearing from members of our community that they don't feel as though this was adequate we have a responsibility to support and engage in that dialogue and really think about how can we make the dollars try to make a little more sense, especially as we're talking about several nonprofits in our community. So I don't know. I mean, I just struggle with this conversation as a whole. I know and I feel very confident that the project will pass to some degree. come summer, but I also want to believe that there's a need for us to think a little more robustly about the allocation of the dollars. And I think while I truly believe that East End House deserves and needs to get quite a portion a large portion of this allocation, I do believe that there's some importance in making sure that some of our other nonprofits are able to benefit even more greatly from this as well. And I know Council Siddiqui had mentioned this, and I think it was all in good faith that we had shared that letter back on May 20th, and this was something that the nonprofits really didn't know of at the time, right? And so we were doing that as a good faith of just saying, we want, let's try to share the pot a little bit. And then when the nonprofits became privy to it, they were like, well, hold on. That doesn't seem like a good fair share of the pot. And so this is where the conversation even became a bit more robust, right? So I don't know, I know that the hour, I mean, it's late and we've had a long night, but I do want to just appreciate kind of where the conversation has been going, the endless conversations and calls and emails that we have received. and also believe that through this summer, we need to, I think, as co-chair of Human Services and Veterans Committee, we need to have a more robust conversation, a roundtable, if you would, not only to discuss Community Benefits Fund, which I think will take us a lot longer to discuss, but we also just need to think about You know, I think even to Council Tona's point, the assets in our community and how are we assessing these great benefits of just community programs that we have and are we... I don't know. I feel like my words are jumbling right now because I'm tired. But I think all in together, we just need to get to a better place. And I think as a community, we have a lot of work to do with that. And so I look forward to further conversations and I look forward to seeing that our nonprofits are able to have their robust conversation together and really maybe help submit a proposal to us that maybe we could consider and adopt later on this summer. Thank you.
Denise Simmons	So Council Wilson yields the floor and thank you for being mindful of the time. It's 1039. This is Owen's last meeting. We don't want to keep him for a week. So what I would respectfully ask is that we retire this conversation. I know the city manager wanted to say a few things, and I think the council members want to say some parting words to... We're not going to sing, if that's what you're worrying about. We had an ice cream cake, but it melted. So what we want to at least do is... give you our best wishes as you leave us. And so with that, let's be tired of this conversation. No votes need to be taken. I'd like to turn the floor over to the city manager to make some remarks. And then we will go around the room and everyone gets a fair chance to roast our deputy city manager, so. City Manager, the floor is yours.
Yi-An Huang	Thank you. Through you, Mayor Simmons, I think we all have one final opportunity to embarrass Owen. And I can't believe it is your last official city council meeting. I don't know if I should wish it upon you that you may have many future City Council meetings that you find yourself attending, perhaps more as a spectator or commenter, but you are always welcome back in City Hall. I feel like I had actually saved an Owen story, but now in the late hour, I've forgotten what it was. But I am just very deeply appreciative of all that you have done over the last three years. As we've gotten to work together, I could not have asked for just a better mentor and friend and colleague and therapist and, you know, a long... along another 25 years of service before that, that I think we've spent a lot of time recognizing. So it is late. I will turn it over. Thank you, Mercy, for this opportunity.
Denise Simmons	I don't even know why you're retiring. You saw Mr. Sullivan was just here. He's done 50 years. How many years have you done?
Yi-An Huang	22 more. There's only 22 more.
Denise Simmons	What's the pleasure of the city council? Councilor Siddiqui.
Sumbul Siddiqui	Aye. I'll just say that, Owen, you've set a high bar for responsiveness and responding to emails and texts. And today I was sending you something and I was like, this is my last email to Owen and my last text to Owen. And so I thank you for... responding and always getting back to me. I think you're in the top of city leaders who's done that. I'm going to have to delete your number so I don't just text you being like, hey, do you know this? But thank you for everything.
Denise Simmons	Vice Mayor.
Marc McGovern	Thank you, Madam Mayor, through you. I apologize for missing your party. I was not here. But I do also want to... Actually, I'm glad you're here tonight because I did miss your party and I didn't get a chance to say a formal... I do also want to thank you very much for your service to the city. I think Councilor Siddiqui is right. I would send Owen emails at midnight because I had forgotten to send them for four days in a row. Now that I'm thinking of it, I have to send him this email and remind him, assuming that you would answer it at nine in the morning when you got to work, but at 12.05, I would get an answer to my email. I had to start putting on the email, do not answer this tonight. I'm just getting it off my list. So your dedication to the city and, you know, your work ethic here was really second to none. And I just, you know, I do wish you the absolute best in retirement. And I won't have to bug you about rat poison anymore. But I still could. I still have your number. So just thank you. Thank you.
Denise Simmons	PLEASURE OF THE CITY COUNCIL. COUNCIL WILSON, COUNCIL ZUZI, COUNCIL WILSON, AND THEN COUNCIL ZUZI. THEN WE'LL COME TO THE SIDE.
Ayesha Wilson	THANK YOU, MADAM MAYOR, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. Wow. I mean, when someone commits that many years to a city, to a job, and just the roles that you've played across the city are just so fitting. And, you know, being at your party last week, you know, I got to really learn more about you and even just your kind of your journey here, which I really appreciate. was pretty inspired by, like, just kind of coming this way and then jumping into these different jobs and roles and then, like, elevating through. And it's just, it's really awesome. And I really hope that you're looking at that and just, you know, I hope you're just getting those pats on your back, like, well, job well done. Job well done. I wish you all the best in retirement. Thank you so much. I have not had the pleasure of, like, texting you and emailing you like crazy, but... Maybe for the fun of it, I'll just do it once before your email closes out or something. But thank you again, Owen. Thank you for your service, and I wish you all the best in retirement.
Denise Simmons	Council Zusy.
Catherine Zusy	I just feel so lucky that we had you, a hydrologist, guiding us as the head of DPW for so many years. I spent two hours at Alewife admiring the restored wetlands on Sunday. They're beautiful. And we saw there were two swans. There were swan chicks. There was a blue heron. There were many, many people out there really enjoying the wetlands that were there at work cleaning the water. Anyway, I'm just so grateful to you for your work and I'm happy for you in your retirement. Enjoy.
Denise Simmons	Councilor Susie yields the floor. Councilor Azeem.
Burhan Azeem	Thank you, Madam Mayor. I'll be brief, but I just wanted to start with this little example. So on May 24th, I sent an email saying, I got this email from Katia saying, there's a permit issue with an event tomorrow in Cambridge. And she goes and details it. I got this email at 1055 on a Friday night. I was like, OK, whatever. I'll just forward this to staff. They can respond to this. I don't know what to do. So I forward this at 11.10 PM. Is there any way that we can get her a quick reply? At 11.24 PM, I get a thing. Hi, Berhan. I'll try and recall ISD first thing in the morning. And my initial thoughts were like, oh, and it's 11.24. What time are you sleeping? What time are you going to get up? This has consistently been my experience with Owen where you will respond all of the time, such a dedication to your work, both late nights and early mornings, and you have the very difficult job of having nine very stubborn city councilors, and you always have to tell us no and why we can't do things and why it's just not possible. And so, you know, I just wanted to let you know, the second you retire, we're completely going back on Jerry's pond. They're going to start redeveloping it immediately, reworking it. All the things that you've told us that we can't do, you know, I know that you were just the one standing in the way. And as soon as you're gone, we're going to be able to do them. So with that, I thank you.
Denise Simmons	Councilor Zemules, the floor, Councilor Nolan.
Patricia Nolan	So I think the first lesson that Owen's hearing is, as soon as I retire, my cell phone and my mobile phone and my email is going to change. So those people in the council are not going to be bothering me anymore. I everyone said you know your responsiveness is legendary and also as Councillor Wilson said being at the retirement party and hearing so many people talk about various anecdotes was quite enlightening it's too bad that I had known some of them before and it is true your colleagues said that you didn't particularly like being the center of attention like you're probably not liking it right now And the city is just much better for you having been here. And I think not just from the actual projects you did, but the way that you mentored people, the way that you respected people, the way that you helped people across the city. Yes, the nine stubborn city councilors are sometimes overeager, but also just really caring so deeply about people's development really shown through in every time that I've had interactions with you. even though many of those times have been, as Councilor Azeem said, when you're saying, no, this is why that is not a good idea, or this is why maybe you want to restructure this. And I think I still have some emails in my inbox waiting for a response from you of things we've gone back and forth on. But I deeply, deeply appreciate what you brought to the city and to me and the council and wish you well. And my son is in Ireland right now in case you have any tips for him to- I told him it's too bad that you're here and I hadn't thought of that before.
Denise Simmons	Councilman Dolan yields the floor. Council, Sobrinho-Wheeler.
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	Thanks, Madam. Similar to the city manager, I feel like I had more Owen stories that I've forgotten at the lead hour. So I'll just land on one from today with seeing Owen stare out the second floor window at the beautiful celebration down below and feel like that is a nice summary of Owen's time at the city doing so much work on so many different projects, but also taking a... A moment to appreciate all of it and really bringing that joy to the work and that thoughtfulness. And so I appreciated getting to see that all with them. I'll go back.
Paul Toner	Council Sobrinho-Wheeler yields the floor. Councilor Turner. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Oh, and there's nothing I can say that wasn't said at your retirement event and around the room. I'll just say that I've always appreciated your willingness to educate me on the issues. Usually the first person I call when it has anything to do with streets or sewers or construction of any sort in the city, because I know nothing about those things. And I've always felt... that I could trust your opinion on those things. So I just thank you for all years of service to Cambridge, for making it a better city, and for, as has been said, I heard a lot about how you've mentored so many people in the city going forward. And I hope you really, you know, You're a workaholic, it's obvious. So I hope that when you walk out the door tonight, you'll be able to relax and enjoy those books I kept hearing people talking about you reading and poetry and everything else and really just enjoy time with your family. And I hope you'll... be here occasionally so we can have a pint or have a cup of coffee which whatever you prefer but um you know i it's really been enjoyable getting to know you over the past few years and i thank you for it i yield thank you council nolan yields miss stiffen
SPEAKER_74	Hoen, I will also miss you, probably in more random ways than people will ever know. I have brought you some, I will call them extremely niche things to help me figure out. You've always been super respectful, smart, and I would also say you have a really good sense of humor about you. You don't take yourself too seriously. and I have asked you for some wacky things and you've always come through, so I will really miss you. I hope you enjoy your time with your family and happy retirement.
Denise Simmons	Mr. Deputy City Manager, On behalf of the city council, I certainly want to wish you all the best that life has to offer. I will send the rosary beads to your wife so she can pray for peace and quiet as you Stay at home with her, if that is your intention, but very seriously. I've probably known you fairly long and always enjoyed working with you most of the time, except for when you tell me no. You know I don't take no well. But very seriously, you're always... very polite and very kind and very uh responsive so i will leave you i know you like poems and you've seen this before so i will close with this may the road rise to meet you may the winds always be at your back may the sun shine warm upon your face and rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again may god hold you in the palm of his hand Congratulations and good luck.
SPEAKER_28	To you, Mayor Simmons. and to you and fellow councillors and indeed Naomi and the city manager. I feel as if I've had a wonderful career in the city of Cambridge. It's not often one gets to have such a fulfilling career in one place. And, you know, my intention when I... Well, I should tell you, the reason that I worked in the city of Cambridge in the first instance is that my wife and I had just come from California. She was a student, and... we decided we weren't going to participate in the Boston St. Patrick's Day parade, but then understood that there was an alternative parade in Cambridge at the same time. I think Mayor Reeves had organized it at the time, and so it was a joyous celebration that was so inclusive and included everybody, and it made a huge impression on both of us straight away. And so within a few months, I was looking at whether or not there were jobs in the city of Cambridge, and I was lucky enough to get one eventually. And so it's always been a wonderful place to work, and I have loved every minute of it. I mean, there have obviously been challenging days for everybody, but it's been just an enormously enjoyable and fulfilling career, and I've loved working with all of the 15 different city councils that I've worked with. And to include this one, I just greatly appreciate all of your kind remarks tonight and indeed support over the years. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
Denise Simmons	Thank you. You're absolutely welcome. We will now turn our attention to the policy order and resolution list. What is the pleasure of the city council?
Patricia Nolan	Yes.
Denise Simmons	Number five. Number five. Pleasure of the City Council. I'd like to pull number one. I'd like number six. Number six. Pleasure of the City Council. On a motion by the Vice Mayor to adopt two, three, 2, 3, and 4 of the policy and resolution list. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. The first item which I pulled is that the city managers requested to work with the relevant city departments to explore creative solutions that reduce car dependency while expanding access to parking options near by nearby Broadway. And so this is offered by Councilor Nolan, Susie Siddiqui, and the Vice Mayor. So I always appreciate the hard work of my colleagues for bringing this forward. Let me just say a few remarks, maybe not so few. We all know that the separate bike lanes are coming to Broadway, that decision has been made. And now we must figure out how this will come to pass while hopefully mitigating the worst of the coming consequences of that decision. That said, I will not support this policy order, and it's not because I oppose bike safety and not because I think we can turn back the clock. I oppose it because I believe it fails to reckon with the full reality of what these changes will mean for many of our residents. The order suggests several creative ideas to address the loss of parking along Broadway, but even in its creativity, it remains incomplete, in some cases blind to the burdens it may impose. For example, it says nothing about the seniors and people with mobility challenges who live nearby or who receive services there. For these individuals, proximity to parking is not just about convenience, it's about access and independence. It says little about home health aids, case workers, plumbers, electricians, meals on wheels, drivers, the people who keep others safe, well and stable in their homes and who will now struggle to find legal parking anywhere close. It does not meaningfully address the impact on residents who have no off street parking, often renters or lower income families who now face the prospect of hunting for a space several blocks away from their home every single day. And it overlooks how this will affect our schools, not just the teachers who drive in, but the parents managing drop-offs and pick-ups with young children in tow. Telling them to take a shuttle or use blue bikes is not always feasible, and quite frankly can come off as a bit dismissive of their reality. This order also seems to treat mitigation as a matter of infrastructure and programming, but it should also be a matter of equity, accessibility, and shared sacrifice. Without a genuine analysis of who would be the most affected and how, I fear a once again crafting policy that assumes everyone can adapt equally. That assumption is wrong. And if we continue to build on it, it will deepen disparities rather than bridge them. So yes, the bright lanes are coming, but mitigation needs to be more than a checklist of alternatives that work well on paper. It needs to be rooted in the lived experiences of people who do not have the luxury of choice when it comes to how they move around the city. And so for all these reasons, I will not be supporting the order as written, and I urge my colleagues to demand more thoughtful, inclusive, and realistic approaches to this transition. The floor is open. Councilor Susie? Susie? Floor is yours.
Catherine Zusy	Let me defer to Councilor Nolan since it's her policy order.
Denise Simmons	She pointed to you, but I'll point back to you. Whichever. Councilor Nolan?
Patricia Nolan	Yes, thank you. I really appreciate your comments, Mayor Simmons, and the intent of this policy order, to be clear, was actually to address the concerns heard from the community, recognizing we are not fixing the problem, that this does not... this does not solve the issue of the fact that when we deploy these lanes, there will be fewer parking spaces. We're reallocating the public way, and what that means is that there will be less available for private car storage and more available for other means of transit across the city. However, I do want to say that it really was with an eye towards us understanding that there will be people who will be affected by this who will as they move forward think that this is this is something that's really important for us to do everything we possibly can this does not include everything but it does include some several specific ideas with the idea again of being clear that we can mitigate at least some of the challenges of this and concerns that will be experienced by people by taking these steps the existing shuttle services the blue bike stations car sharing options and the whole idea is that if we do that can we find more parking available for for people including home health aides and people with mobility issues and people who who do rely on a car we are very clear which is what it says in the policy order that you know it We want a network of bike lanes, but we want to be sensitive to the needs of all residents, including those who rely on cars and walking. That's in the very first whereas, because we're very clear that we understand that does include a lot of people. I understand to you, Mayor Simmons, i feel that this is not cognizant at all or taking into account enough of the concerns you have but i do want to assure everyone in the public that the intent here is that this isn't the the last statement we'll have on this and yet it's one plea to the city to say We really could be doing more to ensure that there is more parking available. We know for sure that there's people all along that corridor who have maybe parking spots that they're not using themselves, and they don't even know that they could rent them out to neighbors. So that's another part of this. And to really bring more urgency to one of the things we've been working on now for a couple years, which is expanding and consolidating shuttle services across. So I do hope we do pass this because I think without this, the city will not get the message that we really need to ramp up our efforts to try to address some of the needs of people in this particular area of the city. Thank you, Mayor Simmons, I yield.
Denise Simmons	Councilor Nolan yields the floor. Councilor Zutty, the floor is yours.
Catherine Zusy	Vice Mayor. Thank you, Madam Mayor. As you all know, I wish my policy order had passed last week because I've been eager to provide relief for those experiencing parking scarcity along the Broadway corridor and, frankly, other places in the city as well, but my policy order did not pass. So I'm happy to be co-sponsoring this with Councilor Nolan As the transportation demand management program report shared today noted, 44% of our local workers are driving in single occupancy vehicles on in-person work days, and 51% of those surveyed in apartments own cars. And over the last five years, we know that Cambridge residents have held steady with about 42,000 cars. So people are using cars, and while we'll continue to encourage residents to use more sustainable modes, it's likely that residents will continue to use cars until the city is denser and has more reliable mass transit so this policy order introduces several things that i think are really important first it asks the city to come up with creative ways to identify alternative parking for residents or means of reducing the demand for parking. And then secondly, it asks the communications department, the CDD to work with transportation. So it's just not transportation alone to come up with these solutions. And I'm confident that if the city works collectively like they did with bringing attention to the drought, that will find solutions for parking problems, creating greater parking availability. I had other ideas for creating parking availability, including, again, reaching out to the owners of parking garages and lots and encouraging them to join the flexible parking corridor parking program, doing that more proactively, and opening up satellite parking garages and lots. that are currently underutilized in other parts of the city, creating a Broadway and Garden Street parking permit program exclusively for residents of those streets, giving residents over 75 or with mobility issues parking preferences in their neighborhoods. And then to reduce car use, open up zip car spaces, reduce the number of permits issued per person and per household, and increase the cost of permits for people who have curb cuts in off-street parking since they're always using a space for the curb cut already. So I think this is a great step in the right direction. Councillor Nolan, thank you for including me and I hope it passes tonight. I think it will provide relief. Thank you. I yield.
Marc McGovern	Pleasure of the council.
Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler	Move to adopt.
Marc McGovern	On a motion by Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler to adopt policy order number one. All those in favor say aye. Those opposed, nay. Madam Mayor, who's out of the room, will be recorded as a nay since she said that earlier. And the motion passes. We now move on to policy order number five, that the city managers requested to work with relevant city departments to prepare an interim report on demolition requests and building permit applications in order to facilitate a discussion on the outcomes observed during the first six months of the new multifamily housing zoning. This is filed by Councilor Nolan, Councilor Siddiqui, and Councilor Azeem. Councilor Nolan, you pulled this, and you are the lead sponsor, so take it away.
Patricia Nolan	Thank you, Vice Mayor, Chair McGovern. I just pulled it partly to make clear to people what this does. I mean, it's kind of obvious, but the policy order asks for an interim report on housing production. I did mention to the city staff that this might be something prudent to do. It's basically since we passed the multifamily housing zoning. And I want to be clear, this can't stop anything. There's some people like, oh, pass this because then everything will be changed. But what it can do is get us information, because since the zoning was adopted, we've heard these projects are popping up. Many are in the early stages of development and may change, but it would be good to know what kind of projects are happening. Are they, at least do we have some initial sense that it's meeting our goals of more housing, more affordable housing, and not jeopardizing existing housing so that's just the intent of this to get a quick check we've heard you know there's a hundred demolition permits and other people say no there's not nearly a hundred so it's really getting can let's just get a baseline and it should be really relatively simple this isn't meant to create a whole bunch of extra work for the staff of a 20 page report it really is hey a one or two page memo here's what we're seeing in terms of the demolition permits and and building permits we should just know what's true so that we can be transparent ourselves so that's it I just wanted to clarify that
Marc McGovern	Thank you. Councilor Zusy.
Catherine Zusy	I just wanted to say, I did hear that the number is something like 115 since February 10th for the historic commission being asked about whether buildings are significant and could be demolished. And that number actually, I did get an email from Charlie about that. That number is up from previous times. What is constant is, only seven demolition permits have been issued. So that is what is a constant. So demolition permits haven't gone up, but lots of people are asking about whether their buildings can be demolished. So that's a change. So I think this is a really great idea. It's essential. that we assess what's going on. I wonder if six months is too early because I still feel like we're seeing the multifamily housing ordinance play out. But I think it will be very important. I almost wonder if it should be a year because we need to see how much affordable housing is built, how many people are displaced because their buildings are torn down. and what sort of havoc it causes in the neighborhoods. Again, at 60 Ellery and 124-132 Western Ave, residents have serious concerns about their impact on their foundations, the water table, where the Uber Lyft pickups will be and the Amazon deliveries, what's going to happen with parking. They have real worries that I think are... legitimate. I think it's very, very important that we analyze these impacts and assess whether we're really, again, creating the affordable units that this ordinance aspired to or whether it's having more unintended consequences that are actually doing the opposite. Thank you.
Marc McGovern	I'm going to comment on this. I really, first of all, I will support it. I agree with Councilor Zusy that I don't think six months is going to tell us whether this is working or not. It takes longer than that to go through the process, even when things are by right. It takes longer to build. Someone's going to build a six-story building next to someone. You're not going to know how that's going to play out for a couple of years after that's built. So I think that there's, and I think Councilor Nolan said, I think there's some people that are viewing this as, oh, this is a way that we're going to stop the multifamily housing and this is going to show it's not working. That's not gonna happen for a while. And I also wanna say, and I really plead, I've said this before, I really, really, really wanna plead with some of our community organizations and neighborhood organizations. These are really, there's a lot of anxiety in this world right now and in this city right now, not just about this issue, but just about the state of everything. when someone puts out an email stating as fact that there's been a hundred demolition permits when the reality is as i called inspectional services and found out that in fiscal year twenty five which ended started July 1, 2024, and ended at 5 o'clock tonight, June 30, 2025, there have been 54 demolition permits pulled and granted in the entire year. Not over 100, not over 90. Someone calling Charlie to say, hey, how does the demolition process work, is not a demolition permit being granted. And so there have been 54 in the year, 27 have come since February of 2025. Of those 27, seven have been issued, seven have been rejected, and 13 are still in the process. That 54 number is in line with 61 demolition permits in 2021, 40 demolition permits in 2022, there was a drop to 26 in 2023, and 36 in 2020-24. So it is up a little, but this, oh my God, demolition permits are skyrocketing since, that is not the reality of what the numbers are. So I just, I really hope the organizations that are putting that out to people will actually issue a clarification. Because it's causing people a whole lot of stress, and that's not fair. And so the numbers are 54 demolition permits for the entire year, not 90, not over 100. And it's important to note, and this is what the conversation I had with inspectional services, is that not all demolition permits are some developer coming in to knock down a house to build something. They're partial demolitions. If 25% of your property is being demolished to add an addition or something else, you have to file a demolition permit. There are properties in Cambridge, like the one on the corner of Soden Street and Western Ave a couple years ago, that were literally condemned and falling apart, and they were demolished because they were a hazard. So this is nuance. You can't just look at a number and say, oh, this is all because of the multifamily zoning, because I don't like it, this proves my point. Not all of those 54, and I'm sure not all of those 27, necessarily have something to do with the multifamily housing ordinance. So can we just kind of... take a breath, you know, and not try to think about how can we spin something to prove our point to get people on our side. The numbers are not what people are presenting. So I will support this because I think information is always good and my hope is that what this report will come back with will actually explain this in more detail of what these demolition permits are so that people have accurate information. I am sure, too, that we are going to see an increase. We passed the multifamily housing ordinance so that we would encourage people to build bigger buildings and more units. There are only so many empty lots to do that. That means that someone is going to buy a property, look at Spears right around the corner from my house, and I know there's a lot of controversy and a lot of people in my neighborhood are not singing my praises right now, but you have two, first of all, that sale hasn't even gone through yet, so God knows where that's gonna end up. But you have two, a single family home and a funeral home that are gonna be knocked down and what's being considered, if they get knocked down, they still have to go through the historical commission, so there is a whole demolition delay and a whole historical commission process. That's going to be replaced with a six-story building of 50 units with 20% affordable, apparently, supposedly. That was what this ordinance was allowing. I fully expect we'll see an increase in some demolitions. I'm not sure that that's necessarily bad. We were seeing plenty of demolitions of two and three story homes that were being demolished to build single family homes. That was a problem, right? So knocking down, demolishing a home to build more units I don't think is always necessarily a bad thing. I think there are individual projects that are concerning that we have to deal with, You know, I don't think it's surprising that the number's a little higher, but again, let's not exaggerate the number to make a point. Consular Azeem.
Burhan Azeem	Thank you, Madam Mayor. Oh, not Madam Mayor. Mr. Vice Mayor. It's okay. Hold on. I just wanted to add a few small points. One is that, you know, hey, like this is just asking for information. We're gonna get a yearly report anyway, and so this is asking for a six month update, but we were always going to get a one year report. So like that, purely additive, we're still gonna get the one year report. Two is that, like, you know, we've talked about these numbers of we want 12,500 units, all these sorts of stuff, right? So far, we have two buildings that are maybe, maybe penciling, which is Ellery Street and Western Ave., right? Which is a total of less than 90 units. Even if you do that every year, you're going to get maybe 1,000 units, which gets us not even 10% of our goal, right? Two, both of these projects can still be stopped. Everyone's saying like, oh, there's no process, there's no review. The demolition delay for the Spears Family Home can stop the project. The Spears Family Home contract is based on the fact that they don't get a demolition delay. So if they do get demolition delay, the project is over. Ellery Street is reviewable by the Mid-Cambridge NCD. So both of these projects might not happen anyways. And so I think that both there is review, there is process, and even if both of these projects happen, we're talking about two projects that might pencil this year in the entire city. I don't think it's a big deal. I mean, obviously it has a direct impact on those neighbors and those two blocks, but in the terms of the city, it's a very small amount of units of housing we're actually talking about here. We're talking about two projects that maybe, maybe will pencil if they don't get through the other processes and reviews that we have. So I get all the consternation. I think it's good to have helpful direct evidence. And there's also a chance that both of those projects might get blocked and we might be back to zero by the time this report comes back. So just wanted to say that.
Marc McGovern	pleasure to counsel anything nope not seeing anybody no no okay um so on a motion by counselor nolan to adopt policy order number five all those in favor say aye aye aye all those opposed nay The order passes. We now move on to number six, that the Human Services and Veterans Committee hold a meeting in fall 2025, an extended invitation to the superintendent of Cambridge Public Schools and the school committee to discuss the progress and future direction of the Cambridge preschool program filed by Councilor Siddiqui, Councilor Wilson, and myself. It was pulled by Councilor Zusy. Councilor Siddiqui, you want to go first as the lead sponsor?
Sumbul Siddiqui	Sure, so thank you to the co-chairs for joining me on this. We introduced this order to keep the conversation going around CPP. I appreciated the January roundtable update where we heard about the progress being made and looked at the data and also talked about various changes. I think something that we've also been discussing has been around kind of holding space to discuss how we're approaching the means testing for the program. And this is, I think, a critical part of ensuring that our policies reflect both equity and access. We want it to be universal, of course, and we've also talked about Expand expansion. So what does that look like in in in those conversations? and I think you know we We we need to have some broader Discussions and I think the staff at CPP has are also been thinking about some of this and some of the other gaps You know, I think in the past we've talked about the importance of infant care and two-year-olds and so I think it's important that we have more discussion on this. And I think the idea was to kind of go deeper into it in human services. So that's the background. If Councillor Wilson, who's, Councillor Wilson in particular has joined me on some meetings around this topic with CPP. So if you want to add anything.
Marc McGovern	Councillor Wilson.
Ayesha Wilson	Thank you, Vice Mayor. Yeah, I mean, I think this is just gonna be an important conversation at this hour. It's just, you know, everything that Councilor Siddiqui just said. We look forward to having a future conversation on this so that we could really reflect on moving forward. We definitely need to figure out a new plan or just what's missing so that we can think about expanding. What does expanding look like? I think we've received a few emails in regards to this. And so it's important that we are really thinking more creatively and more outside the box so that we can service the families in need. As a mother of a toddler who pays for childcare in the city of Cambridge, I know truly firsthand how challenging it is when you are not receiving additional assistance, when you are a single parent, whatever the case is, and don't qualify for additional vouchers or whatever the case is, or you're not in a program that offers sliding scales. there is an importance to have a more expanded conversation here so that we can think about what does it look like to expand the services in need to those who truly could benefit financially from the expansion of CPP. With that, I yield.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. Councilor Zusy.
Catherine Zusy	i just i think it's always great to evaluate programs especially a new program and i'm particularly interested in the impact of this program on legacy preschools like the garden nursery school so i think that will be an important part of the evaluation i'll look forward to this meeting thank you i yield constant on
Patricia Nolan	Thanks. Very exciting. I think all of us have talked about UPK and CPP for a while. I did have a question of whether in the order that mentions the superintendent of public schools and school committee, would we also, I would assume the intent also is relevant city staff and any programs as well. They're not mentioned. I assume they're just included or is this really just meant to be more like a round table? Either way, it's fine. Just at some point, obviously we want to have all the city staff and some of the community providers as well to-
Marc McGovern	They will all be included. It's just there, like you said, that sort of goes unsaid that human services and those folks will be there. We just wanted to make sure a special invitation went out to the schools. Anything further? Hearing none, on a motion by Councillor Siddiqui to approve policy order, where are we? Number six. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, nay. The ayes have it. We now move on to the calendar. I believe everything that is currently on the table is going to stay on the table. I SEE ANYTHING DIFFERENT. NO. UNFINISHED BUSINESS. PLEASURE OF THE COUNCIL. I HAVE TO PULL SEVEN AND EIGHT. I HAVE THAT. I PULL SEVEN AND EIGHT. I BELIEVE WE CAN TAKE THESE UP TOGETHER. they have to do separate okay so unfinished business item number seven a communication transmitted from Yi-An Huang city manager relative to an amendment to the fresh pond golf pro shop fund ordinance to enable the funds to be used to cover the purchase of office supplies for the shop and the purchase of supplies and services for the care maintenance and improvement of the golf course the shop and parking lot uh this is able to be ordained tonight is there any discussion no uh do we need a roll call yeah we do because it's money um roll call madam clerk
SPEAKER_71	Councilor Azeem. Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern. Yes. Yes. Councilor Nolan. Yes. Yes. Councilor Siddiqui.
Sumbul Siddiqui	Yes.
SPEAKER_71	Yes. Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Yes. Yes. Councilor Toner. Yes. Yes. Councilor Wilson. Yes. Yes. Councilor Zusy. Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons. Yes. And you have nine members recorded in the affirmative.
Marc McGovern	We move on to number eight. An ordinance has been received from the interim city clerk relative to Fresh Pond Golf Course revolving fund amendments to section 3.24.070 authorized revolving funds. This was passed to a second reading on June 9th, 2025 and is eligible to be ordained tonight. Any discussion? Seeing none, roll call, Madam Clerk. Councilor Azeem.
SPEAKER_71	Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern? Yes. Yes. Councilor Nolan? Yes. Yes. Councilor Siddiqui? Yes. Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler? Yes. Yes. Councilor Toner? Yes. Yes. Councilor Wilson? Yes. Yes. Councilor Zusy? Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons? Yes. And you have nine members recorded in the affirmative.
Marc McGovern	The motion passes. We now move forward to applications and petitions. Pleasure of the council. On a motion by Councilor Toner to adopt 1 and 2. All those in favor say aye.
Patricia Nolan	Aye.
Marc McGovern	Those opposed nay. The ayes have it. Motions pass. We now move on to communications. Pleasure of the Council. On a motion by the Mayor to place 1 through 24 on file. All those in favor say aye. Those opposed, nay. The ayes have it. And the communications are placed on file. We now move to committee reports. Pleasure of the council. Resolutions. Resolutions. Did you miss resolutions? No, it's not on the page. I knew something was weird. On resolutions, pleasure of the council. Anyone want to pull any? Councilor Toner, are you pulling any? No. Motion to adopt. On a motion by the mayor to adopt all resolutions, making them unanimous upon adoption. All those in favor say aye. Those opposed, nay. The ayes have it. Now we move on to committee reports. Pleasure of the council. On a motion by the mayor to place committee reports one. No, just one. Just one on file. And accept the report and place on file. All those in favor say aye. Those opposed, nay. The ayes have it.
Patricia Nolan	Mayor, is there one of these as a petition that needs to be passed for second reading?
Marc McGovern	So, yeah. Sorry, hold on a minute. Um, yeah, so there is in, in, in number one, uh, this is the, um, that the ordinance committee voted favorably to forward the Musha Marasso at all zoning petition to the full city council with no recommendation. Uh, so we can move this to a second by accepting the petition by accepting it. We'll move it to, it moves it to a second, uh, a second reading.
Patricia Nolan	Well, we have to vote on that, right? It says this petition could be passed to a second reading.
SPEAKER_51	Could be.
Marc McGovern	Could be.
Patricia Nolan	And then my understanding is that weren't there a couple changes in the policy order that we just passed?
Marc McGovern	The policy order that we passed addressed that, yeah. Okay. So on a motion to send this to a second reading, why don't we do a roll call?
SPEAKER_71	Counselor is the council Yes, vice mayor McGovern. Yes. Yes. Counselor Nolan. Yes. Yes. Counselor Siddiqui. Yes. Counselor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Yes. Yes. Counselor Toner. Yes. Counselor Wilson. Yes. Counselor Zusy. Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons. Yes. And you have nine members recorded in the affirmative.
Marc McGovern	We already took care of number two. Number four was withdrawn. Okay. Now we move on to communications and reports from other city officers.
Patricia Nolan	Place on file.
Marc McGovern	On a motion by Councilor Rowland to place on file. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed nay. The ayes have it and the matters are placed on file. We do have a late application that was filed, so we need to move to suspend the rules to take up the late application. So on suspension, roll call.
SPEAKER_71	Councilor Azeem? Yes. Yes, Vice Mayor McGovern? Yes. Yes, Councilor Nolan? Yes. Yes, Councilor Siddiqui?
Marc McGovern	yes counselor Sobrinho-Wheeler yes yes counselor toner yes yes counselor wilson yes counselor Zusy yes mayor simmons yes and you have nine members recorded in the affirmative and the late application reads as follows it's an application for a curb cut at 45 holden street application 2025 number 27. please note that the neighborhood association letter expired on june 29 2025 And rather than delay for the August 4th, 2025 City Council meeting, it was added as a late application. So it's on the curb cut on 45 Holden Street. I think everyone has packets on their desks. Pleasure of the Council. on a motion by Councilor Toner to approve the application. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Those opposed, nay. The ayes have it. And the late application is adopted. We now move on to late resolutions. There are three. We need to move suspension to take up late resolutions. On suspension, Madam Clerk.
SPEAKER_71	Councilor Azeem. Yes. Yes. Vice Mayor McGovern. Yes. Yes. Councilor Nolan. Yes. Councilor Siddiqui. Yes. Yes. Councilor Sobrinho-Wheeler. Yes. Yes. Councilor Toner. Yes. Yes. Councilor Wilson. Yes. Yes. Councilor Zusy. Yes. Yes. Mayor Simmons. Yes. Yes. And you have nine members recorded in the affirmative.
Marc McGovern	Okay. I don't have them in front of me. So on the late resolution, Councilor Azeem.
Burhan Azeem	I just wanted to pull number one.
Marc McGovern	Councilor Azeem wants to speak on number one, on the two and three. Okay, we'll go, Councilor Azeem, we'll go to you first.
Burhan Azeem	Just on the first one, I think many of you guys have met at this point, but both here in the chamber, but also in the public, Legislative A, Lynn. This morning, she gave birth to their son, Jasper, which was very exciting. And I told her that it was very convenient that her delivery date was supposed to be in a couple of weeks that she gave birth right before and got to miss the city council meeting. But it's very exciting. It was a healthy delivery and they now have a son. And so I just wanted to give her all congrats.
Marc McGovern	Well, I hope she's getting a little bit of sleep and not watching us at the moment that she can see it on tape on adoption and We can do all three. On adoption of all three late resolutions, all those in favor say aye. Those opposed, nay. The ayes have it. Are there any late policy orders? There are no late policy orders. Any announcements? Councilor Wilson. I didn't even look up. I just... Just playing the odds, Councilor Wilson. You good? Happy 4th of July. Anybody else with announcements?
Ayesha Wilson	Sorry, the Monday event. We have the veterans. 250th. The top secret 250 celebration. Monday. Great, Councilor Wilson.
SPEAKER_74	Councilor Wilson, if you can speak into your mic so folks can hear you.
Ayesha Wilson	Sorry, thank you. On Monday, it's been rescheduled from the June 14th. It's the 250th birthday of the Army. There'll be the celebration here. At City Hall, right? Yes, from 1 to 4 p.m.
Marc McGovern	At Cambridge Common.
Ayesha Wilson	At Cambridge Common. It says it really big at the bottom. Cambridge Common, Monday. There it is, folks. And good night.
Marc McGovern	Thank you. Any other announcements? Hearing none, is there a motion to adjourn? Yes. On a motion by Councilor Siddiqui to adjourn, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed, nay. The question is, no, we are adjourned. Thank you.
SPEAKER_75	and my cheat sheet's back.