On Tuesday the Cambridge Planning Board will hear public comment on a proposed zoning amendment that would "downzone" a huge portion of the Riverside neighborhood with the express desire to limit the size of new structures that can be built in that neighborhood.

Planning Board Meeting
Tuesday, May 24th
7:00 P.M.
334 Broadway, 2nd Floor

If you cannot attend the meeting, or to reinforce your message, please email statements of opposition to [email protected] who will forward your comments to Planning Board members.

Cambridge faces a serious housing crisis. More and more citizens struggle to afford the price of housing in our city due to a serious shortage in the availability of units. Downzoning Riverside will only make our housing crisis worse. Reductions in allowed height and density of the Riverside neighborhood will further restrict supply in Cambridge, leading to fewer units that remain well outside the reach of working families. With easy access to Central Square and Harvard Square, Riverside is a transit-rich neighborhood that should provide greater opportunity for people to live, work, and play in Cambridge.

As we undertake the Envision Cambridge citywide planning process over the next few years, we must work diligently to change the conversation in our city. Exclusionary and preservation-only approaches ignore the reality of substantial population growth in our region, do not benefit the broader Cambridge community, and ignore the needs of working people. We hope you will join us in opposing the downzoning of Riverside.