As an advocate for a diverse Cambridge, I am hoping you can take action this week to support the creation of more affordable housing in Central Square.

Last November, Normandy Partners/Twining Properties submitted a zoning petition to create a higher-density, mixed-income and mixed-use zoning district near Mass Ave. and Main St. in Central Square. While A Better Cambridge expressed our support for key elements of the proposal, we called on Normandy/Twining to increase the number of affordable units in the project to 20%.

Our advocacy worked, and last week Normandy/Twining announced that they would increase the affordable housing percentage to 20%. This includes 17% of all units for low-income families and 3% for middle-income families. In total, this means 47 new permanently affordable and privately subsidized housing units could be built in Cambridge.

Now we need you to take action to make sure this affordable housing is built!

• Attend this Wednesday's City Council Ordinance Committee hearing to publicly testify in support of this proposal:
  • Wednesday, 4/1 at 4:00 P.M. in the Sullivan Chambers at Cambridge City Hall

• If you cannot attend the meeting on Wednesday, email the Ordinance Committee beforehand to let them know about your support for this proposal. Even if you can attend, consider sending an email to reinforce your support:
  • Address to Vice Mayor Benzan and Councilor Carlone, Co-Chairmen of the Ordinance Committee - be sure to email [email protected] AND City Clerk [email protected] to get your message on the official record.

Finally, I invite you to join us for the next ABC general meeting this Thursday to hear about other opportunities to be involved with our advocacy work:

• Thursday, 4/2 at 7:00 P.M. at the Cambridge YWCA. Please click here for more information and to RSVP.

I hope to see you this week!