Cambridge Ordinance Committee Refers Multifamily Zoning Petition to Housing Committee

CAMBRIDGE -- May 28, 2024, Cambridge's Ordinance Committee unanimously referred a citizens' zoning petition to end exclusionary zoning in the city's most restrictive residential districts, sending it to the Housing Committee rather than acting on it directly. The committee voted 8-0 on May 28 to refer the petition filed by Joseph Renane and co-signers, which would unify residential A, B, and C zoning districts, allow multifamily housing as of right citywide, cut minimum lot sizes to 5,000 square feet, and raise the residential floor-area ratio to 1.0. Vice Mayor McGovern, who offered the referral motion, said the petition had not been sufficiently vetted, noting that several public speakers who urged speedy passage had previously told the Housing Committee that the council's own multifamily concepts were moving too fast. Jeff Roberts, CDD's director of zoning and development, said the Planning Board reviewed the petition May 21 and issued no positive or negative recommendation, citing overlap with parallel Housing Committee work and unresolved questions about affordability impacts and tree canopy. The city's acting solicitor told the committee that a negative vote would have triggered a two-year bar on substantially similar petitions under state zoning law.