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Eastern Cambridge Planning Study (ECAPS)

A comprehensive planning study of Eastern Cambridge, conducted during an 18-month development moratorium and completed in 2001, created a vision for the study area, addressed concerns about the impacts of excessive development, and identified strategies to realize the vision. The study area was bounded by Windsor Street on the west, the Cambridge/Somerville boundary on the north, the Charles River, O'Brien Highway, Cambridge Street, and First Street on the east and Main Street on the south.

To guide this planning process, the City Manager appointed an eighteen-member committee including neighborhood residents, representatives of Eastern Cambridge businesses and institutions, and City staff. This committee worked closely with a team of professional planning consultants led by Goody, Clancy & Associates to address a variety of planning concerns. Issues addressed included urban design, open space, land use, zoning, transportation, economic development and employment.

The zoning recommendations the Committee forwarded to the Planning Board in April 2001 serve as the basis for the Eastern Cambridge Rezoning adopted by the City Council in October 2001. The resulting zoning changes are incorporated into the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance. Also adopted by the Council are the Eastern Cambridge Design Guidelines, which provide information about the desired character of future development in this area and will be referenced by the Planning Board when reviewing future projects within the study area.

While the Eastern Cambridge Planning Study (ECaPS) was completed in 2001, it is relevant to the Kendall Square/Central Square Study (K2C2) that is taking place in 2012. In many ways, the K2C2 study is updating much of the work in portions of ECaPS, although the study area is much larger in the current project.

On June 18, 2001 the Planning Board submitted the Eastern Cambridge Rezoning Petition to the City Council. This petition derived from the zoning proposals developed by the Committee and forwarded to the Planning Board in April 2001. Zoning changes based on these recommendations were adopted in October 2001. For the final zoning language as passed by the City Council, please refer to the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance.

The report of the Eastern Cambridge Planning Study, issued in October 2001, is a collaborative effort of the Eastern Cambridge Planning Study Committee, City staff, and a team of consultants led by Goody Clancy Associates. The report includes the Eastern Cambridge Planning Study Committee’s zoning and non-zoning recommendations for the Study Area, as well as visions for specific focus areas: North Point, the Volpe Center area, the transition areas, and the residential neighborhoods. The Report serves as a reference for developers, property owners, and the Planning Board to guide future development in the eastern part of the City.

For more information please contact Iram Farooq at 617/349-4606 or ifarooq@cambridgema.gov.