A Better Cambridge

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Support More Homes in West Cambridge, Oppose Wyman Rd NCD!

We once again need your help to support new homes and oppose yet another attempt to weaponize historic preservation against multifamily inclusionary housing in Cambridge.

A second petition has been filed with the Cambridge Historical Commission (CHC), this time to initiate a Neighborhood Conservation District (NCD) study of the entirety of Wyman Road — after the effort to landmark 9 Wyman Road, a single-family home on a very large lot along Huron Ave, failed back in May. The landmark petition sought to block a proposal to replace the existing home with 56 multifamily homes, including 10 affordable inclusionary homes. CHC staff recommended against that first study, and the Commissioners voted it down in short order following public comment.

During May’s meeting, the petitioners explained that they sought to prevent a “sardine box” from being built in their backyard. They claimed they would not have opposed the building had it not been for the size and siting of the building. The petition to study the entire street–ironically, a private road with six single-family homes–as a Neighborhood Conservation District is a continued attempt to misuse historical preservation as a pretext to block multifamily housing in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city. The lot sizes on Wyman Road are exceptionally large for Cambridge, nearly double the average size, with the largest topping out at over 10,000 sq ft.

Analysis has shown that Neighborhood Conservation Districts reduce infill housing in Cambridge, consistent with their intent, and effectively operate as tools of exclusion under the guise of aesthetics. The northern boundary of this proposed NCD draws an unfortunate parallel to its historical predecessor, redlining “executives and professional men” with “desirable character” on one side, and “obsolescence - negro concentration - foreign (Italian) concentration” on the other.

If the NCD petition is taken up, it could freeze the project until the study completes (up to one year). Even if the petition fails at CHC or City Council, the abutters will still have succeeded in delaying the project for multiple months and driving up costs. This comes after the abutters retained legal counsel who began the May hearing by asking for yet another month’s delay, which was thankfully denied by the Historical Commission.

CHC staff have reviewed this petition and once again recommended against it, finding in part that "most of the houses are not publicly visible." (Disappointingly, CHC staff improperly use the memo to weigh in on zoning.) We strongly oppose this second attempt to block the first inclusionary proposal made possible by ending exclusionary zoning in this neighborhood, and we urge you to make your voice heard.

Here are some talking points for your emailed comments and public testimony — feel free to use or adapt them:

  • Cambridge has a severe housing shortage, and every delay to new housing production makes it worse and drives up housing costs and rents.
  • The timing of this petition — filed after the proposal of multifamily housing and denial of a landmarking petition — reveals it is a delay tactic, not a good-faith preservation effort.
  • NCDs are a known tool of exclusion, using aesthetics and "character" as justification to block multifamily projects.
  • Wyman Road once demarcated a boundary between Areas C2 and B4 on HOLC’s redlining maps. We should reject this modern attempt to ban apartments from this neighborhood.
  • Cambridge just passed multifamily zoning last year after years of advocacy. We should not allow landmark and NCD study processes to become a backdoor veto on new housing.
  • I support more housing on Wyman Road and elsewhere in West Cambridge and urge the Commission to decline to initiate a NCD study.

The best comments are personal — feel free to share how the housing crisis has affected you and the Cambridge you want to live in!

Thank you for your advocacy! Cambridge's housing shortage is real, its effects on renters and working families are severe, and every project matters. We won't let preservation be misused to keep our neighborhoods exclusionary.

A Better Cambridge