Cambridge City Council Ordains Dormer Ordinance, Clears As-of-Right Path for Homeowners

CAMBRIDGE -- December 16, 2024, Cambridge City Council ordains dormer zoning reform and backs city manager contract renewal. The council voted unanimously 9-0 Monday to ordain Ordinance 2024-9, creating an as-of-right pathway for homeowners to add dormers without a Board of Zoning Appeals variance hearing, a shift the BZA's own chair, Jim Monteverde of 12 Oak Street, called necessary given the case load. After debate, the council voted 7-1 to delete a provision capping dormer length at half the roof facade, with Councillor Alanna Mallon Zusy casting the lone dissent. The council also voted 8-0 to approve City Manager Yi-An Huang's performance evaluation and to go on record intending to renew his contract beyond its September 5, 2025 expiration, a notice required by January 15. In a separate 8-0-1 vote, the council adopted a resolution urging landlord Gerald Chan to delay the December 31 eviction of Whitney's Bar, a Harvard Square institution since 1953; Councillor Patty Nolan voted present, citing signed legal agreements by the bar's owner to vacate and what she called an incomplete factual record.