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Goverment Central Legislative Affairs Update by Terrence F. Smith


Several major issues have been discussed at Cambridge City Hall over the past few months. In December the Council named Deputy City Manager Richard Rossi the next City Manager of Cambridge. Land use and planning issues are again at the forefront. Recommendations from the Kendall Square and Central Square planning studies have been published and Forest City and MIT have re-filed zoning petitions. A petition to significantly downzone Central Square expired in January. The City Council is discussing banning many things.

Richard Rossi Next City Manager
On December 3, the Council adopted a Policy Order appointing Richard Rossi as City Manager as of July 1, 2013 for a period of three years. This will allow a smooth transition following City Manager Robert Healy’s retirement on June 30. The Council’s Government Operations and Rules Committee is responsible for negotiating a contract with Mr. Rossi to be brought to the full Council.
Mr. Rossi has served as Deputy City Manager for the City of Cambridge for 32 years and he has been with the City for more than 40 years. In his career, he has been involved in all aspects of municipal management. As of January, the Council was still finalizing contract language. The Chamber congratulates Mr. Rossi on his appointment.

Kendall Square Central Square Recommendations
The City is engaged in a comprehensive planning study to develop a vision for Central Square, Kendall Square, and the area connecting the two squares. This study was divided into two parts, a Kendall Square Study (K2) and a Central Square Study (C2). Committees of residents, businesses and other stakeholders were appointed by the City Manager to work with the City’s consultant to develop recommendations.
Both committees finalized recommendations in late 2012. In December the CCC’s Government Affairs Committee heard a presentation from Brian Murphy, Assistant City Manager for Community Development and Roger Booth, Director of Community Planning on both studies. The area-wide zoning recommendations developed through the K2 process were presented to the Planning Board in November. The recommendations of the Central Square Advisory Committee were presented to the Planning Board in December. Information on the K2C2 studies is available on the Community Development Department website at www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/Projects/Planning/K2C2.aspx.

Zoning Petitions
The petition re-filed by Forest City will, if adopted, rezone the area around 300 Massachusetts Avenue to allow for the development of a laboratory and office building with ground floor retail. The new laboratory and office space in the new development will allow Millennium Pharmaceuticals to expand in Cambridge. The Planning Board has recommended that the petition be adopted. The petition includes a letter of commitment regarding preservation of existing and development of additional affordable housing.

MIT’s petition to rezone a 26 acre site surrounding the Kendall square MBTA stop was refilled in December and the Planning Board and Ordinance Committee held hearings in January. The proposal would allow for the development of office, laboratory, start-up, retail, open space and housing in Kendall Square. MIT has engaged in an extensive public process in gathering information for this petition and has made several changes from earlier versions.

Both petitions also reflect information gathered when these petitions were previously filed and on the Kendall Square and Central Square planning studies. The Yanow Petition to significantly downzone Central Square expired in January, following an attempt by the proponents to withdraw the petition last fall.

Council Proposes Bans
Over the past several months, the Council has discussed banning plastic bags at retail stores, polystyrene food containers at restaurants and large sugary soft drinks. The council has requested separate draft ordinances from the City Solicitor to ban plastic bags and polystyrene-based disposable food containers. The Council asked that a polystyrene ban adopted by the Town of Brookline be used as a model for the later.

Last June, the City Council discussed a policy order asking the Public Health department to review policies established in New York City to restrict the size of sugary soft drinks. That order was referred to the City Council Community Health Committee and a hearing was held in January. At that hearing, the Council learned, among other things, that the New York City actions were part of a much larger set of public health recommendations. Several local restaurant owners/operators expressed concern about the proposed ban. The matter remains in Committee and it is expected that future hearings will be scheduled to gather input from the business community.

Thank you to Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. and Genzyme. for sponsoring the 2013 Government Affairs Committee programming. Contact Director of Government Affairs Terrence Smith at tsmith@cambridgechamber.org or (617) 876-4213.  

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