Cambridge Council Advances Multifamily Zoning Study, Approves Central Square Camera Pilot

CAMBRIDGE — September 9, 2024 — Cambridge City Council honors Councilor Joan Pickett and takes first formal steps toward citywide multifamily upzoning. The council opened its September 9 regular meeting with unanimous adoption of a resolution memorializing Councilor Joan Pickett, 69, who died August 31 after a brief illness following just months in office, with all eight members delivering personal tributes before a packed chamber and Zoom audience. The body then took up two policy orders sponsored by Councilor Burhan Azeem directing the Community Development Department to draft zoning language allowing up to six stories of multifamily housing by right in all residential districts; both were charter-righted by Councilor Quinton Toner and will return at the next meeting. CDD's own analysis estimates the framework would produce roughly 920 new affordable units over 15 years compared to about 30 under current zoning, though 40 percent of new projects would not trigger inclusionary requirements. In a separate 7-1 vote, the council approved a police-department proposal to pilot overt surveillance cameras in Central Square, with Police Commissioner Christine Elow calling cameras "another tool in our tool belt," and only Councilor Sabrina Joy Wheeler dissenting over the absence of a written data-use policy. The council also tabled Policy Order 2024-102 — which would have required a two-thirds supermajority for charter changes — pending appointment of a replacement for Pickett's vacant seat.