housing
Planning Board, Ordinance Committee pan Brown petition
A controversial zoning petition proposed by Cambridge resident Doug Brown looks unlikely to stand after meetings of Planning Board and Ordinance Committees. On July 14, the Planning Board’s five members voted unanimously to submit a negative recommendation for the petition back to the city council. A week later, the Ordinance Committee, which includes all city […]
Tenants nervous about CHA takeover face “no threat,” Fraden says
On May 8, The Cambridge Housing Authority sent a letter to the residences of 1648 and 1654 Massachusetts Avenue notifying them that they had acquired the building as part of a plan to create more affordable housing in the city. Read more School Committee bids farewell to student representatives Despite the letter, several current tenants […]
City recommends changes to multifamily housing ordinance
Feelings were mixed in city hall on Thursday, as the City of Cambridge Community Development Department proposed changes to Cambridge’s Multifamily Housing Ordinance (MFHO) that would increase the overall amount of setbacks, require more ground-level green space, and prohibit tall buildings with units that average more than 2,000 square feet. Read more Are we losing […]
City Council tries to ground AirBNB, rental algorithms
City Council on Monday took aim at two kinds of technology it thinks has caused upward pressure on rent, one being short-term rental platforms, the other pricing algorithms used by large residential property owners. The council accepted a new ordinance petition intended to crack down on unregistered short-term rentals advertised on booking companies like AirBnb […]
Cambridge housing does follow economic laws
In a recent letter to the editor, resident Sam Christy alleged that increasing the supply of housing in our city will not help to bring down the cost of housing. Read more Small businesses face 13% health insurance increase To suggest that the laws of economics — namely supply and demand — do not function […]