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).
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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 |
ACTION ALERT: Tell City Council to Preserve Permanent Housing with Short Term Rental Regulations
As you may have heard, the Cambridge City Council is currently debating the best way to regulate the presence of AirBnB and other Short Term Rentals (STR) in our city. The council’s Ordinance Committee will hold a hearing on this issue next Tuesday.
I hope you will attend the hearing, or write to the Councilors, to demonstrate your support for a draft ordinance limiting STRs to one owner-occupied unit, plus one additional unit on the same property.
Ordinance Committee Hearing on Short Term Rentals
Tuesday, April 4th
3:30 P.M.
Sullivan Chambers
Cambridge City Hall