Cambridge Zoning Board Approves Mosque Expansion, Nine Other Permits in 5-0 Sweep

CAMBRIDGE -- July 11, 2024, Cambridge's Board of Zoning Appeals granted relief on all nine cases before it July 11, voting 5-0 on every matter including a mosque expansion and two Lesley University property conversions. The most debated item was a variance for Al-Amin, Inc. at 378-380 Ringe Avenue, where attorney Adam Dash argued the mosque needs a reconfigured prayer hall, a third floor for Arabic studies, and exterior dome and minaret elements to allow congregants to simultaneously face Mecca and observe the imam; the board found all hardship criteria met, and more than 100 signed support letters were on file with no opposition. Board member Daniel Hidalgo and public commenter Heather Hoffman, a 30-year title examiner who identified herself as the person who first brought Cambridge's Dover Amendment exemption to light, both confirmed that Cambridge's exemption, codified in Section 1.20 of the zoning ordinance, applies in this zoning district, making the project subject to standard variance review. The board also unanimously approved companion variances for 27 and 29 Mellon Street, two former Lesley University office houses being subdivided back into residential lots, and granted two variances and a special permit for attorney Sarah Rattigan's client converting a pair of historic 9-11 Mount Auburn Street homes in Harvard Square back to four residential units after roughly four decades of office use. The session was the final meeting for member Bill Beam, who announced he is relocating to Canada.