We are excited to share a pro-housing victory: the Cambridge City Council voted on Monday night to remove minimum parking requirements citywide!

This 

• Lowers housing costs. Fewer residents will be forced to pay for off-street parking if they don’t need it. (Parking spaces increase home prices by $50k-$150k/unit, or $100 to $250/month in rent.)
• Makes it easier to build multifamily housing. We won't lose potential homes anymore in places where there isn't enough space for parking.

🎉 Cambridge is now the first city in Massachusetts to remove all minimum parking requirements! 🎉

For years, A Better Cambridge has advocated an end to requiring parking for every new development. Now, each building has the flexibility to "right-size" or share its parking, and isn't forced into a one-size-fits-all approach that has often resulted in unused extra parking.

All six ABC-endorsed councillors voted in favor (Councilors Azeem, McGovern, Simmons, and Toner, plus Mayor Siddiqui and Vice-Mayor Mallon), as did Councilors Zondervan and Nolan. Councilor Carlone was the only “no” vote. You can let them know you appreciate this important accomplishment by sending a quick thank you email to: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] 

We will be celebrating this victory at the monthly pro-housing social on Thursday November 3, 7:00pm inside Grendel’s Den in Harvard Square. Hope to see you there!

We’re excited to continue our momentum towards making Cambridge more affordable and sustainable. If you want to get involved in other campaigns we’re working on, like ending exclusionary zoning across Cambridge, please email us, or consider joining ABC as a member if you’re not one already. With your help, there will be even more pro-housing victories soon.