Cambridge Planning Board unanimously recommends against hotel variance for Cambridge Street site

CAMBRIDGE — August 27, 2024 — Cambridge Planning Board votes against hotel variance request at 720 Cambridge Street. The board voted 6-0 Tuesday to send a negative recommendation to the Board of Zoning Appeals on BZA Case 281576, filed by applicant Emanuel Barros, who is seeking to add two stories and convert his Cambridge Street building into a hotel, removing eight existing residential units and seeking relief on floor area ratio, setbacks, bicycle parking, and a loading zone. Member Tom Senevich, who flagged the case for review, told Barros the proposal conflicts with at least five of the 15 recommendations in the city's 2023 Cambridge Street Community Plan — a multi-year study drawing on input from 1,400 residents — including recommendations to preserve housing, limit commercial FAR to 1.0, cap commercial building heights at 35 feet, and encourage bicycle infrastructure, while Urban Designer Eric Thorkelson noted the proposal would push FAR to approximately 5.02, exceeding even the study's higher residential scenario of 3.5. Senior Manager Daniel Mesiplay warned that a project review special permit from the Planning Board — triggered at the lower 20,000-square-foot threshold in neighborhood business districts — would likely also be required, along with a certified traffic study, before any building permit could be issued.