TONIGHT: Planning Board public hearing on Carlone Petition to give City Council exclusive authority grant special permits for certain large developments.

Tuesday, August 5th at 7:00 P.M.
Second Floor Meeting Room - 344 Broadway, Cambridge

ABC opposes this petition because it politicizes the administration of law in Cambridge. Read this important column by ABC member Seth Zeren to learn more.

Can we count on you to take the following actions and express your opposition to this proposal?

1. Send a letter expressing your opposition to the Carlone Petition to Chairman Hugh Russell and members of the Planning Board by emailing [email protected] who will then forward your letter on to the board. You might consider copying the City Councilors at [email protected].

2. Attend the Planning Board meeting and make voice your opposition directly to the Planning Board members: Tuesday, August 5 at 7pm in the Second Floor Meeting Room at 344 Broadway.

ABC opposes the Carlone Petition, currently before the Planning Board, which would give the City Council exclusive authority to grant certain large Special Permits for development in this city. We are concerned that it could seriously hurt our ability to create new housing at the scale needed to meet the needs of all Cambridge families.

Can we count on you to take the following actions and express your opposition to this proposal?

1. Send a letter expressing your opposition to the Carlone Petition to Chairman Hugh Russell and members of the Planning Board by emailing [email protected] who will then forward your letter on to the board. You might consider copying the City Councilors at [email protected].

2. Attend the Planning Board meeting and make voice your opposition directly to the Planning Board members: Tuesday, August 5 at 7pm in the Second Floor Meeting Room at 344 Broadway.

Last week, ABC member Seth Zeren wrote in the Cambridge Chronicle:"I have worked for a municipality where the legislative branch had taken on the power of granting special permits. The system was so problematic that there were active attempts to move away from it."

With Seth's experience in mind, we need your help to make sure Cambridge doesn't move toward a system that:

• Increases the politicization of development, 
• Relies on the opinion of City Councilors who are not experts on development, zoning, or city planning,
• Increases uncertainty in the planning process, which will help ensure only large, wealthy developers can pay to build in our city -- and likely result in new developments that don't meet the needs of our diverse community.

Your action will be critical to helping stop this misguided and potentially disastrous proposal for Cambridge families. I hope we can count on your support.

We need your help to protect the fair and impartial administration of zoning law in Cambridge.

A few weeks ago I wrote to you about a petition submitted by one City Councilor that would shift the Special Permit Granting Authority for certain large developments from the Planning Board to the City Council. This is an arcane proposal, but could seriously hurt our ability to create new housing at the scale needed to meet the needs of all Cambridge families.

Please join A Better Cambridge in speaking against this proposal at tomorrow’s City Council Ordinance Committee meeting (PLEASE NOTE that the meeting will be held in the School Committee Meeting room at CRLS due to renovations in City Hall):

A Better Cambridge is steadfastly opposed to this proposal because:

• It politicizes the administration of our law by subjecting applicants for project review special permits to the will of elected officials, rather than to the expert-informed analysis of an appointed administrative planning board;

• It favors insider deal-making, rather than good urban planning, by encouraging developers to negotiate the details of projects with individual City Councilors in order to ensure they win the councilor's support and ultimate approval;

• It risks Cambridge’s legal obligation to administer the zoning bylaw impartially and consistently, and may open our city up to litigation by applicants who feel they were treated unfairly by the council during the permitting process;

• It increases uncertainty in the Cambridge planning process and may encourage developers to go with “safe-bet” large, luxury developments -- rather than engage our community in discussions that lead to the creation higher density developments that can provide affordable housing for all families in our community.

For more information check out this letter from ABC member Seth Zeren, an urban planner with experience working in a local community where the Special Permit Granting Authority is controlled by elected officials.

If  you cannot make it to tomorrow’s meeting, I encourage you to send your comments directly to all members of the city council:[email protected]. Please address your comments to the Ordinance Committee co-chairs: Vice-Mayor Benzan and Councilor Carlone, and be sure to note your opposition to the “Carlone petition for City Council Special Permit Granting Authority.”

Note: This letter was written for submission to the Cambridge Chronicle by ABC member Seth Zeren, a City Planner with experience working in a town where Special Permit Granting Authority was administered by elected officials. We reprint it here to help you become better informed about this complicated proposal. Click here to take action against designating the City Council as the exclusive special permit granting authority for Project Review Special Permits.

Dear Editor:

The City Council is discussing a zoning petition filed by Councilor Dennis Carlone that would take the authority to grant special permits from the Planning Board and give it to the City Council. I understand that some are frustrated with recent decisions made by the Planning Board; with 90 years of hindsight, few in the planning profession would suggest that the typical Planning Board process is perfect. There are many ways that we could improve it—for example, requiring early community meetings before a developer spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on a complete design, or making better use of online forums to expand the number of voices who can weigh in on projects.

I have worked for a municipality where the legislative branch had taken on the power of granting special permits. The system was so problematic that there were active attempts to move away from it. The underlying problems were:

Housing Now! Sign our petition calling on the City Council to act on the Central Square Advisory Committee Recommendations!

Dear Friends,

A basic tenet of our democracy -- the fair and impartial administration of the law -- is under attack here in Cambridge, and we need your help to protect it.

A petition has been introduced to the City Council which would grant the council exclusive authority to grant project review special permits, and eliminate the Planning Board's role in this process.

This proposal for City Council politicizes the administration of our law. It will subject applicants for special permits to the will of elected officials most accountable to voter turnout never more than two years away, rather than to the expert-informed analysis of an appointed administrative planning board.

Please join ABC in speaking against this proposal at tonight's City Council meeting (NOTE: tonight's meeting will be held at the School Committee room at CRLS - 459 Broadway).  You can call first thing Monday morning (617.349.4280) to get your name earlier in the speaking order. You should also send your thoughts to all the the City Councilors ([email protected]) or to their individual emails that are available at http://www.cambridgema.gov/ccouncil/citycouncilmembers.aspx.  Please note that, if you wish your communication to be on the official Council record, you need to cc: City Clerk Donna Lopez ([email protected]) and note that it's for the record, or give the clerk a written copy of your remarks at the meeting.