ACTION ALERT: Three actions this week for you to support more housing in Cambridge
There is so much going on in Cambridge right now that I’m taking the risk of sending you a long Action Alert on a Monday morning.
This email contains information on three important and timely items we need you to take action on:
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Support New Homes at Volpe - Make your voice heard at Planning Board & Ordinance Committee meetings Tuesday & Wednesday
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Support Affordable Housing in Porter Square - 1791 Mass Ave development presentation on Tuesday
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Submit your questions (then attend) ABC City Council Candidate Forum on September 19th.
I hope that you’ll read this full email for complete details on each item above.
Read moreABC August 2017 Newsletter: ABC Candidate Forum September 19th
With Labor Day just around the corner, the City Council election will be heating up. ABC will be hosting a candidate forum as well providing ratings and endorsements for the candidates this year. With 26 candidates for nine seats there is a lot of information to sort through. A great resource to start is the candidate pages on the Cambridge Civic Journal created by Robert Winters.
If you are not yet a member of ABC, please consider joining, and bring a friend to one of our upcoming events (see below).
Did someone forward you this email? Make sure you don't miss another newsletter or announcement from A Better Cambridge by signing up on our website: http://www.abettercambridge.org/sign_up.
Development NewsThe City Council passed regulations for short term rentals including AirBnB. The new rules restrict short term rentals to owner occupied units as well as requiring registration for hosts.WBUR A group of MIT students filed a petition with the city requiring the university to add 1,800 graduate student beds before they could develop the Volpe transportation site. Boston Globe At the first Ordinance Committee hearing on MIT's zoning petition for the Volpe center, councilors pushed the university for a stronger and more detailed transportation plan. The next hearing before the Ordinance Committee is on September 13th at 2:30 pm in the Sullivan Chamber at City Hall Cambridge Chronicle Facebook announced plans to expand its presence in Kendall Square at a new building on Binney Street. Cambridge Chronicle |
UPCOMING EVENTSABC is co-sponsoring the Citizens' Housing and Planning Association's (CHAPA) 3rd annual Housing Day at the State House on Thursday, September 14th. The event aims to gather over 200 advocates to meet with lawmakers and speak up for affordable housing, homelessness prevention, and community development. To get more information on attending click here. Don't miss the ABC candidate forum on issues of housing affordability and sustainable urban development in Cambridge on Tuesday, September 19th at 630 pm at the Broad Institute, 415 Main Street. Our moderator for the evening is David Sullivan, former Cambridge City Councilor and current special counsel to the President of the Massachusetts State Senate.We are excited to invite you to our first-ever A Better Cambridge Annual Fundraiser! Come celebrate with us and help ensure that we have the resources we need to be strong and effective advocates for housing for all. It will take place on Thursday, October 5th, from 6:30-9 at Meadhall in Kendall Square and will feature special guests, a buffet dinner, a silent auction, and more! You know we know how to throw a party and this is one you really don’t want to miss! Stay tuned for ticketing information in the coming week. LINKS OF INTEREST
What Happens After the Real Estate Wave Crests?YIMBYism: More Housing, But How? Sierra Club: Housing - Dense, Near Transit, and Green - Can Be a Climate Solution |
Learn about MIT's Volpe Development at ABC July General Meeting
This week MIT submitted a zoning petition for their major redevelopment of the Volpe site in Kendall Square. Their proposal includes up to 1,400 housing units, a focus on locally-owned retail, and potentially the tallest residential building in Cambridge.
We invite you to hear from and ask questions of MIT representatives about their proposed development at the next ABC General Meeting:
ABC July General Meeting
Monday, July 17th
6:30 P.M.
MIT Stata Center
Room 32-144
We will post signs at the Stata Center to direct attendees to the correct room
Let us know if you can make the meeting by RSVPing!
While RSVP is not required, it will ensure we can accommodate everyone in the room
ABC is intrigued by the development plans and have some questions we’d like to explore. Given our serious housing shortage, is 1,400 units all this site can handle? Should MIT be building grad student housing there? How much parking is included, and will it too much given the development’s proximity to the Kendall T stop?
We are also excited to be joined by a representative of Citizens for a North South Rail Link to learn about their campaign to build an efficient and integrated regional rail network by connecting North and South Stations in Boston. ABC believes that building a diverse and affordable region means creating more homes and increasing mobility for all residents, so we look forward to this discussion.