Updates
At the Ordinance Committee's continued hearing on the Missing Middle Housing petition (video here), we were pleased that the Council overwhelmingly agreed to the need for substantive - not just symbolic - zoning reform, and agreed to many of our zoning objectives. There was insufficient time to formally consider adopting the petition, but the Council promised to quickly continue the discussion. No matter what form the conversation ends up taking, we will continue to be committed to ending exclusionary zoning. (Hearing held June 10th, 2021)
mmh_amendments_PB_FINAL_0504.pdfIn response to feedback and after discussions with the Community Development Department, we have released nine amendments for the Missing Middle Housing petition. The amendments increase required open space, add new anti-downconversion protections, and condition the density bonus to prevent large McMansions, among other technical improvements. (Submitted May 4th, 2021)
Check out this op-ed by Ming-Tai Huh and Jeffrey Allen, two Black residents of the Port. "Our current building laws are rapidly depleting our stock of housing configurations that people can afford — replacing them with higher profit-margin homes catering to predominantly white demographics. By doing nothing, we’re exacerbating displacement." (Released April 19, 2021)
A news article in The Crimson that gives a great overview of what's at stake with the MMH petition and what it's about. (Article from April 15, 2021)
At the March 30th Cambridge Planning Board meeting, PB member and Harvard Law professor Niko Bowie gave a 10-minute set of comments in support of the petition, detailing the exclusionary, racist, and classist origins of Cambridge's zoning rules, and asking: "Why should existing law continue to forbid people from building housing?". (Remarks from March 30, 2021)
The Community Development Department has released their memo assessing the Missing Middle Housing Petition. It contains some interesting statements on the history of Cambridge zoning; overall, it explicitly supports many of the statements that we have made in bringing the petition forward. (Created March 25, 2021)
The Cambridge Citizen's Coalition recently launched a petition to oppose the Missing Middle Housing Petition. Unfortunately, they significantly misrepresent both the petition and the depth of Cambridge's housing crisis. Read a rebuttal of their false and misleading claims. (Created March 25, 2021)
Check out this op-ed by CRLS grads Becca Schofield and Will MacArthur on why they support the Missing Middle Housing petition. (Created March 22, 2021)