Not only are we coming down to the wire on an incredibly close presidential election, but the fight for more housing in Cambridge is entering a critical phase as well.  We are on the verge of legalizing multi-family housing citywide but WE NEED YOUR VOICE to get across the finish line.  That being said, please sign the ABC petition supporting multi-family housing citywide and read our FAQ below!

FAQ - Legalizing Multi-Family Housing Citywide

City Council has voted to forward draft zoning language allowing six-story apartment buildings citywide to Ordinance, with several hearings coming up beforehand.

• Why now? Why multifamily?  For years, we have been asking the City Council to end the “exclusionary zoning” rules which make it nearly impossible to build new apartment buildings in most of Cambridge’s neighborhoods.  These rules were designed in the 20th century to keep the city economically and racially segregated. Since then, as Cambridge added jobs but kept it illegal to build enough homes, housing prices have predictably skyrocketed and communities have been displaced.  It’s long past time for the Council to act.
• So what?  If passed, the City estimates 4,880 new units will be built by 2040 (920 affordable) across ~270 new buildings citywide. But under current zoning, the City estimates only 350 new units will be built by 2040 (30 affordable).
• How can I help?  To join our biweekly calls, help flyer, or learn more, reach out to [email protected].
• Stay informed - The Cambridge Community Development Department (CDD) just announced hearing dates here and set up a way to sign up for updates here.

Cambridge Happenings

Knights of the Square Table - Big thanks to Dave Halperin (pictured below), Cathy Higgins, Sam Allon, and Julia Schlozman who staffed an ABC table at Cambridge Carnivale on Sept. 8, and to Dan Phillips for transport.  We had many good conversations about ABC and the housing crisis, and collected 46 signatures on the petition calling for ending Cambridge's exclusionary and allowing 6 stories city-wide!

ABC and Somerville YIMBY members had a great time talking to Oktoberfest revelers about the proposals in Cambridge and Somerville to build more affordable and multi-family housing in their communities. 80 people signaled their support for housing in all neighborhoods by signing the petition!  It’s always invigorating to have conversations with the advocates, supporters and the curious who stop by the table! 

We appreciate the following folks who helped out on October 6: Shivom Sadhwani, Dave Halperin, Ethan Merrill, PJ Santos, and Cathy Higgins (pictured below), as well as Ned Melanson and Justin Saif (not pictured), and to Raffi Freeman and Allan Sadun who helped with transportation.

Spill the T - The City Council followed up on its original policy order to direct the City Manager to prioritize addressing housing affordability when working with the MBTA on zoning for the redevelopment of the Alewife garage. Thanks to Councillor Sobrinho-Wheeler for spearheading this effort (and an ABC member for flagging). Though it’s still quite early, a clearer mandate for housing will hopefully result in significant new housing next door to public transit.

On Pace for Affordability - 35 Cherry St., a 100% affordable housing project near Central Square, is progressing through its action plan and held its third community meeting in August.  Check out the slides here. The infill project will total 10 units and fit seamlessly into the neighborhood.  

New inclusionary housing project proposal!  The first community meetings for multi-family housing at 745 Concord Avenue in Alewife were held Sept 10 and 11 (prior to a special permit application before the Planning Board). 

The proposal is for 12 stories (by right) with 227 residential units, including 46 affordable units (20%). The project involves a mix of studios, 1-bedroom, 1-bedroom with dens, as well as 2- and 3-bedroom units. Other amenities of note: 16,500 square feet of open space (9,470 of which will be publicly accessible),125 car parking spaces, a 242-space bike room, a pet spa, a roof deck, and courtesy e-bikes, e-cargo bikes and e-scooters available to residents of the building. Stay tuned to offer support when the Planning Board meeting is scheduled.

NIMBYs Running Interference on Affordable Housing: AHO Project Walden Square II will be back before the Affordable Housing Trust later this fall. The Trust deferred a final vote for approval pending review of the Planning Board report on the project. 

As detailed in the August ABC newsletter, the campaign being waged by NIMBYs against these 95 units of 100% affordable housing is reminiscent of the kind of anti-affordable housing mobilization that would have prevailed in Cambridge before the AHO eliminated Planning Board vetos of projects. 

To support Walden Square and to oppose any further deviation from the AHO process, send supportive comments to these emails: 

• [email protected], and [email protected] (Chris Cotter, Housing Director); don’t forget to “cc” the City Council: [email protected]

• or deliver to the Housing Department by 5:00 p.m. the day before the meeting.  

A Moment of Your Time, Mayor? Mayor Simmons hosts open hours every other Friday to share thoughts, ideas of concerns. No appointments necessary. The details: 

• 2nd and 4th Fridays of the month (unless otherwise specified)
• 10:30am-11:45am
• Mayor’s Parlor, 2nd Floor of City Hall (795 Massachusetts Ave.)

Regional and National Happenings

In case U didn’t hear: The Massachusetts legislature passed the Affordable Homes Act at the start of August, legalizing Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) statewide. ADUs come in many forms and with many names - attached suites, “granny flats,” tiny houses, etc. Regardless of what you call them, their legalization is, as Abundant Housing Massachusetts puts it, “a major win for renters, young adults, seniors, and those with disabilities looking for affordable homes, and homeowners looking to generate additional income on their property.” 

Friends of the Court, Friends of Housing - Abundant Housing Massachusetts (AHMA), alongside national housing experts and 16 local housing organizations, filed an amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Judicial Court in support of Attorney General Campbell’s lawsuit against the Town of Milton for its failure to comply the MBTA Communities Law.  Commonly known as a “friend of the court” brief,  Abundant Housing Massachusetts’ argument highlighted how “overly restrictive zoning” has driven rising housing costs and how new housing production can help solve this problem.  You can read the full brief here. 

Appealing to a Lower Authority?  The latest edition of Upzone Update goes deep into the legal arguments the Town of Milton is making in its defense against the Attorney General’s lawsuit - and offers some cogent rebuttals.  The Supreme Judicial Court needs to determine whether the Attorney General is authorized to enforce compliance with the MBTA Communities Act by compelling a town to adopt a multifamily district.  Milton is arguing for a limited reading of the law, which penalizes noncompliance with state grant losses.  Upzone Update proposes a broader reading, taking into account where state zone authority stems from - namely, the Massachusetts Constitution and state laws like the Zoning Act.  

If Milton could simply accept the loss of grant monies and flout the MBTA law without further consequence, the state zoning authority would be “flipped on its head.”  The Massachusetts legislature would be subject to “strict compliance” with its zoning authority while a town like Milton would be granted discretion.  Since this is the antithesis of how zoning authority is delegated from state to town, Upzone argues Milton’s interpretation cannot be correct.  

Your Favorite Politicians are Talking About Housing:  National Democratic leaders are joining the housing abundance movement in droves.  In no particular order: 

• Kamala Harris: “In many places it’s too difficult to build, and it’s driving prices up. . . . We will take down barriers and cut red tape, including at the state and local levels.”
  • Darrell Owens in the Harris platform:  “Kamala Harris is running on a platform of ending exclusionary zoning restrictions that unduly burden housing production, and a platform of speeding up housing construction near public transit and infill locations. This was unfathomable three years ago, as it was still a radical idea in California. The Biden Administration and the Vice President’s campaign is more forcefully changing the national narratives around housing density, and implicitly driving anti-density ideas away from the Democratic party and the expensive, coastal Democratic cities.” 
• Barack Obama: “If we want to make it easier for young people to buy a home, we need to build more units and clear away some of the outdated laws and regulations that made it harder to build homes for working people in this country.”
• Joe Biden: “The bottom line is we have to build, build, build. That’s how we bring housing costs down for good.”
• Elizabeth Warren: “To lower housing costs in Massachusetts and around the country, we’ve got to build more housing—it’s Econ 101.”

Aloha Housing - Sen. Brian Schatz (D - Hawaii) sat down with Ezra Klein to discuss his new political crusade: affordability.  

“We have created the scarcity on purpose. We have elevated something called community engagement, but it’s not actually objectively community engagement. It’s the ability for a few people who already have homes to hijack the whole process above the needs of the many. We’re actually making it nearly impossible for people to build anything.”

Senator Schatz appears to be joining with the newer generations of Democrats who see the ability to build things as central to the functionality of the state and to progressive goals.  After all, we can’t environmental review our way out of these crises. 

No Surprise Here: Housing crisis to blame for the rise in homelessness in Greater Boston, reports the Boston Globe.  “The region has one of the highest homeless rates among 45 metropolitan areas in the country, second only to New York City, according to the report released last week by Boston Indicators, a research center with the advocacy group The Boston Foundation. It found homelessness in the Boston area increased 27 percent from 2022 to 2023.”