ABC 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 |
ABC July 2017 Newsletter: Volpe on the Agenda at Next Week's General Meeting
A Better Cambridge has been shifting into higher gear recently. In fact, 2017 is shaking up to be our most impactful yet:
- Membership: We instituted formal membership criteria in January – and now have over 200 members! (Join here – dues are $20, but ABC will waive them if unaffordable.)
- 2017 City Council Election: Having formally filed as a nonprofit advocacy group we are readying to make our first-ever city councilor endorsements ahead of the November election as well as host a candidate forum this fall.
- Platform: At our first membership-only event in May, ABC members endorsed our platform. In a nutshell: “Increasing density is crucial to racial justice, environmental sustainability, and quality of life.”
If you are as excited as we are to fight for a better Cambridge, please join, and bring a friend to one of our upcoming events (see below).
Recent EventsMay 16 – Inaugural Members-only meeting at CCTV ABC members packed the room to the gills! We reviewed and approved the ABC platform, voted to endorse City Council candidates for the fall election, and discussed what ABC’s stance on parking minimums should be. ABC’s Map Committee also demonstrated the progress they have made explicitly mapping where Cambridge can most easily support increased density. April 19 – ABC Strictly Social Meet-Up at Tavern in the Square, Porter Square Check out our Facebook page for proof of a rollicking good time in Porter Square. March 28 – MAPC on Housing Demand in Cambridge and Greater Boston at MIT Stata Center In our March General Meeting (also packed, despite being rescheduled due to a snow storm), the Metropolitan Area Planning Council – a nonprofit promoting smart growth in the Boston area – highlighted the larger regional issues causing the housing crunch in Cambridge, and what we can do to fight it. (Check out the slides here.) |
UPCOMING EVENTSJuly 17 – Volpe Kendall Square Development: ABC’s July General Meeting (open to all) invites you to hear from and ask questions of MIT representatives about the proposed development. MIT’s proposal includes 1,400 housing units, a focus on locally-owned retail, and potentially the tallest residential building in Cambridge. There will also be a presentation on a proposed rail link for North and South Stations. Monday, July 17th • 6:30 P.M. • MIT Stata Center ABC In The News
The YIMBY (yes, in my back yard) movement is making headlines – and so are we! ABC cameoed in two recent high-profile articles on the dire need for increased density to remedy not only unaffordable housing, but also economic/racial inequality and environmental ills. Atlantic Monthly - From 'Not in My Backyard' to 'Yes in My Backyard' Perfectly capturing the YIMBY ethos, the article says, “With more housing, the thinking goes, the cost of rent in thriving cities like San Francisco, Boston, and Portland will not rise so quickly, which will allow more people from different economic backgrounds to live there and share in the prosperity of the local economy.” It also quotes ABC chair Jesse Kanson-Benanav early on: “We’re saying yes to opportunity, in contrast to the gloom-and-doom negativity of NIMBY. […] There’s now a pro-housing, pro-density constituency in Cambridge that hadn’t been at the table previously.” It is currently one of the magazine’s top 10 most-read articles. Boston Globe - Forget ‘Not in my backyard,’ YIMBY could be the new group on the rise Illustrated with our own Jesse as its poster boy, this May article is part of a series highlighting Boston-area “game-changers.” And YIMBY organizations are a game-changer, says the Globe. That’s definitely our plan. (For a particularly good time, read the comments to get an idea of what – even as game-changers – we’re up against!) |
|
|
|
April Newsletter: An Important Proposal Moves Forward While C2 Gets a Hearing
Please click here to read the ABC May 2015 newsletter.
Spring is here and with that comes the welcome return of street cleaning and the final melting of snow. Below please find the April ABC Newsletter.
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 UPDATESThe Ordinance Committee of the City Council moved the Normandy/Twining zoning petition for the proposed Mass + Main development to the full City Council with a favorable recommendation. The proposal is still before the Planning Board which will hold a second hearing on Tuesday, April 28th. The Boston Foundation released its annual Greater Boston Housing Report Card. The report analyzes the current state of the housing market and how to address the affordability crisis facing the region. Cambridge is seeking membership applications for the Transit Advisory Committee. The committee is devoted to advancing policies that strengthen public transportation. Applications are due by Friday, May 1st. The results of the participatory budgeting initiative were announced. The projects that were approved include a public toilet for Central Square and 100 new trees for the city. |
UPCOMING EVENTSThe next A Better Cambridge general meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 19th at 7 pm. Location TBD. On Wednesday, April 15th at 5:30 pm. the Ordinance Committee will discuss the C2 portion of the K2C2 study. This study contains important recommendations for zoning around Central Square and it is encouraging that the Council is finally taking up this matter. The annual Cambridge Science Festival kicks off on Friday, April 17th. The festival lasts until the 26th. The group Transportation for Massachusetts is hosting a statewide transportation summit on Friday, May 1st. LINKS OF INTEREST |
DID YOU KNOW?According to the United States Census Bureau Cambridge has issued building permits for 40 housing units through the first two months of 2015 compared to 1,071 for Boston. |
|
ABC Newsletter - October, 2014
Welcome to the ABC Newsletter for October, 2014. Going forward, if there are any community events you'd like to publicize in this email, please feel free to contact me.
Get the ABC newsletter delivered to your inbox each month! Click here to sign up for our mailing list.
DEVELOPMENT UPDATESIn Boston, Mayor Walsh announced a plan to build 53,000 new housing units in the city by 2030 including 20,000 units for middle-income residents. With the population expected to grow by 15% over the same period this is a very important plan to address the affordability and housing issues faced by our region. On September 30th the Planning Board unanimously voted to grant the special permits needed to convert the Sullivan Courthouse in East Cambridge to a mixed-use office and residential development. There are still conditions to work out including a parking lease for the First Street Garage which will require City Council approval and likely lawsuits. It's notable that of the 24 housing units one-third will be low-income and one-third middle income. Though not in Cambridge, the recent announcement of plans to build a new transit station as part of the development of the Allston rail yards and straightening of the Pike is significant given the proximity to Cambridge. The new West Station may eventually connect Allston with Kendall Square and North Station. This is an important opportunity to build a new neighborhood with significant housing and transit potential for our region. The Planning Board unanimously approved the special permits to convert a parking lot near the Alewife Station into additional housing and commercial space. The developer must still work out parking details with the Traffic, Parking and Transportation Department. As part of the affordable unit allocation, the developer agreed to have six three-bedroom units designated affordable due to pressure from the Fresh Pond Residents Alliance. This is welcome news given the lack of this size of affordable units across the city. |
UPCOMING EVENTSThe next A Better Cambridge general meeting will take place on Wednesday, November 12th at 7 PM. Location TBA. The Boston Symphony Orchestra will host a free community concert at the Cambridge Public Library from at 3 pm on Sunday, October 19th. The second annual Cycle to the Source bike ride takes place Sunday, October 26th. Sponsored by the Cambridge Water Department, the bike ride is a tour of the Cambridge watershed. The Cambridge Housing Assistance Fund is holding a fundraiser, Open Doors for the Homeless, on Thursday, November 13th at the Charles Hotel Regattabar. LINKS OF INTEREST |
DID YOU KNOW?Cambridge employs more people, but fewer Cambridge residents. Since 1970, the number of jobs in Cambridge grew by over 40,000. Meanwhile, the proportion of Cambridge residents employed in Cambridge fell steadily from 54% in 1970 down to 45% in 2010. |
|