There are two important events coming up next week that I want to make sure you’re aware of:

• Monday, April 2 at 5:30 PM: Fresh Pond development moratorium at City Council

The City Council is considering a proposed moratorium on new development in the Alewife/Fresh Pond area. A moratorium on all development at Alewife is a moratorium on affordable housing, a moratorium on transit oriented development, and a moratorium on an ecologically responsible future.

ABC opposes the proposed moratorium. Visit the ABC website to read our full statement on the issue.

Can I count on you to attend Monday’s council meeting to speak against the moratorium? Emails in opposition before Monday’s meeting are helpful as well. Click here or read below for details on how to take action.

• Wednesday, April 4 at 6:30 PM: ABC Strictly Social Meet-Up at Alewife

While we’re on the topic of Alewife, next week we’ll be in the neighborhood for our first Strictly Social of the year! We’re heading over to the Bertucci’s at Alewife Station to chat with some great people over drinks and pizza. For more information or to RSVP visit our Facebook event page. You can also RSVP on our website if you don’t have a Facebook account.

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Info about the proposed Fresh Pond moratorium

A moratorium on all development at Alewife is a moratorium on affordable housing, a moratorium on transit oriented development, and a moratorium on an ecologically responsible future. It is fundamentally out of step with Cambridge values. Proposals for housing moratoria are often discussed or adopted in surrounding suburban cities and towns, and for the same reasons forwarded in this letter. We join suburbs like Brookline, Newton, Marlborough, Pembroke, among many others as part of the moratorium discussion. Cambridge has been a leader in progressive solutions to affordable housing, the environment, and transit, and we cannot set a precedent by turning our backs on that legacy.

Click here to read ABC’s full statement on the issue.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:

• Attend city council on Monday, April 2nd, 5:30 PM at Cambridge City Hall and speak out against the moratorium

Members of the public are allowed three minutes to address the city council on agenda items. We expect moratorium supporters to come out in big numbers so we hope you’ll come out to say yes to transit-oriented affordable housing and a more sustainable future for Alewife!

• • SIGN UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ONLINE - Click here to access the city council’s public comment sign up form (form is accessible beginning 9am on Friday morning)

• • Alternatively, beginning at 9:00 AM on Monday you can call the city council office to sign up: 617-349-4280.

• • Please also shoot me a quick email ([email protected]) or just respond to this message to let me know if you can attend on Monday.

Given the expected turnout on both sides of this issue it’s best to sign up for public comment as early as possible! However, you can sign up in person at the beginning of Monday’s council meeting, but by then you’ll be far down the list.

• Email the City Councillors before Monday’s meeting to express your opposition to the proposed moratorium
  

This is especially important if you cannot attend Monday’s city council meeting in person.

• • Use [email protected] to reach all nine city councillors at once
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  • Include the city clerk to make sure your comments are included in the public testimony for Monday’s meeting: [email protected]
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  • Please also CC me ([email protected]) so we know that ABC members and supporters are reaching out!

WHAT YOU SHOULD SAY TO THE CITY COUNCIL:

Feel free to use ABC’s statement of opposition to the moratorium as a reference or guide as you craft your own public testimony on this issue. However, try not to just repeat what we’ve written - comments that include personal stories will resonate the most with city councillors.

Do you struggle to afford the cost of housing in Cambridge and how do you believe further limits on affordable housing will impact your ability to stay here? Why is it important to you to live near public transit and do you believe more people should have that opportunity? Why do you appreciate living in an urban community like Cambridge instead of more suburban places like Newton? Answering these and similar questions in your testimony will help add a critical personal element to your testimony.

I am writing today to ask you to take final actions to help ensure City Council approval of the proposed Mass+Main mixed-income residential district that includes an unprecedented 47 new affordable housing units in Central Square.

In recent weeks the Ordinance Committee of the City Council and the Planning Board have both sent positive recommendations on the proposed Mass+Main zoning to the full City Council. Next Monday, May 18th the City Council will vote whether or not to implement these proposed zoning changes. 

We need you to take action in the coming week:

• Send an email to the City Council describing your support for the project. Feel free to use information from our past Action Alerts on this issue. Personalized messages are powerful, but short messages still go a long way to making sure the City Council knows the broad-based support this project has in our community. Even if you've emailed the council on this issue in the past, it's a good idea to reinforce your past support. 
  • Send your message to [email protected] and be sure to copy the City Clerk at [email protected].
  • Emails received by this Friday, 5/15 Thursday, 5/14 at 5pm will be included in the public record for Monday's meeting.

• Attend the next City Council meeting to speak publicly in support of this important project - the Council Council meets Monday, May 18th at 5:30pm in the Sullivan Chambers at Cambridge City Hall.
  • You can sign up to address the City Council by calling the City Council office starting at 9am next Monday (5/18): 617-349-4280.

A Better Cambridge stands in full support of the Mass+Main zoning, primarily for it's inclusion of 20% affordable housing, including 40 units for low-income families and 7 units for middle-income families. In addition, we endorse other key benefits of the proposal, such as its inclusion of family-sized 3 bedroom units, an innovative approach to reducing parking demand generated by the development, a commitment to making commercial rents affordable to local businesses, and creation of a public market. 

Don't just take my word for it. Last week, the Cambridge Chronicle featured three letters from community members detailing why they believe Mass+Main is the right project for Central Square at this time.

• Ellen Shachter is a Cambridge resident and attorney who has represented low-income Cambridge residents in housing matters for the past 25 years. She believes 47 new affordable housing units is critical for Central Square. Read her letter here.

• Carolyn Fuller is an ABC member whose home is directly adjacent to the proposed development. Despite some challenges the development may pose for her property, she supports the project because of the greater benefits it will bring to our community. Read her letter here.

• Mark Boyes-Watson is a Cambridge resident and an architect who has spent most of the past 30 years designing housing in Cambridge. He believes development like Mass+Main can help stabilize the high cost of housing in our city. Read his letter here.

 
Thanks for your support!

I’ve emailed you frequently over the last few months, asking you to join ABC in our efforts to support the proposed Mass & Main mixed-income residential district in Central Square, and to hold the developer accountable for making 20% of the housing units affordable to low- and middle-income Cambridge families.

Thanks to your support, in March the developer announced they would meet the 20% threshold called for by ABC. As a result, this development  will bring 47 new and much-needed units of affordable housing for low- and middle-income families in the heart of Central Square. No other proposal near Mass Ave. and Main Street contemplates nearly as many affordable family housing units, at a time when increasing the affordable housing supply is a shared community goal in Cambridge.

After the City Council Ordinance Committee approved the Mass & Main zoning earlier this month, we’re now in the final stretch with key City Council and Planning board meetings coming up this week.

We need you to take action right away to help make this important mixed-income housing development a reality:

• Speak in support at the City Council and Planning Board meetings this week:

• City Council: Monday, 4/27 at 5:30 P.M. in the Sullivan Chambers at City Hall
  • Sign up ahead of time by calling the City Council office starting Monday at 9:00am - 617-349-4280

• Planning Board: Tuesday, 4/28 at 7:00 P.M. at City Hall Annex - 344 Broadway, 2nd Floor

• Email letters of support to the City Council and Planning Board in advance of their meetings:

• Reach Mayor Maher and the other city councilors at [email protected] or send individual messages using emails listed on the City’s website
  • Send a copy to [email protected] to ensure your comments are included in the public record

• Reach Planning Board Chairman Cohen and the other members by emailing [email protected] who will pass your message along to the members and include it in the public record.

Need more information?

• Read previous ABC action alerts on the Mass & Main zoning, including a list of additional community benefits resulting from the proposal: http://www.abettercambridge.org/tags/mass_main

• Read ABC's recent statement on housing production in Cambridge which outlined the need to create 8,500 new housing units near public transportation to meet the growing demand for affordable housing at all income levels: http://www.abettercambridge.org/abc_housing_statement

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!

Late last week I emailed to remind you about this evening's Planning Board hearing on the Normandy/Twining proposal for Central Square. 

Again, I encourage you to take time this evening to attend the meeting and let the Planning Board members know that  Cambridge residents support higher density development that bring more affordable and family housing, local business opportunities, and innovative parking solution to Central Square:

• Planning Board: Tuesday, 2/24 at 7:00 P.M. in the  Second Floor Meeting room at 344 Broadway

• If you cannot attend the meeting, email the Planning Board by Tuesday to register your support for this proposal. Even if you can attend, consider sending an email to reinforce your support:
  
  

  • Address to Chairman Theodore Cohen and send it to [email protected] who will pass it along to the Chairman and other Planning Board members.

In addition to tonight's Planning Board hearing, the City Council Ordinance Committee will meet on Thursday, to receive public comment on the Normandy/Twining proposal. It is important to make your voice heard at this meeting because the severe weather in February made the process exceed the statutory time frame, making the original hearing no longer count:

• City Council Ordinance Committee: Thursday, 2/26 at 5:30 P.M. in the School Committee meeting room at CRLS - 459 Broadway

• If you cannot attend the meeting, email the Ordinance Committee by Thursday to register your support. Even if you can attend, consider sending an email to reinforce your message:

• 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.

Thanks for your continued support.

Thanks to your action earlier this month, the City Council Ordinance Committee heard a clear message: Cambridge residents support zoning that will bring more affordable housing and transit-oriented development to Central Square. 

Now it's the Planning Board's turn to consider the proposal from Normandy Partners/Twining Properties to build a mixed residential and commercial development that would add more affordable housing just steps from the Central Square T. 


HOW CAN YOU TAKE ACTION?
We need you to send the Planning Board a strong message by:

1. Attending next week's Planning Board meeting to publicly testify in support of the Normandy/Twining proposal:

2. If you cannot attend the meeting, email the Planning Board by Tuesday to register your support for this proposal. Even if you can attend, consider sending an email to reinforce your support:

3. Still haven't sent a letter to the City Council? It's not too late:

Thanks to your action last week, the City Council Ordinance Committee heard a clear message: Cambridge residents support zoning that will bring more affordable housing and transit-oriented development to Central Square. 

Click here to read last week's Action Alert and learn why ABC believes the Normandy Partners/Twining Properties' proposed zoning for Central Square is a productive step towards building a more diverse and sustainable city.


Now we need you to send the same message to the Planning Board:

1. Attend this week's Planning Board meeting to publicly testify in support of the Normandy/Twining proposal:

2. If you cannot attend the meeting, email the Planning Board by Tuesday to register your support for this proposal. Even if you can attend, consider sending an email to reinforce your support:

3. Still haven't sent a letter to the City Council? It's not too late:

Be sure to read last week's Action Alert for talking points to include in your comments to the City Council and Planning Board.