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Rooftop Mechanicals Task Force
Study Description
The City Manager appointed the Rooftop Mechanicals Task Force in December 2001 to consider visual and acoustic issues relating to commercial mechanical equipment, particularly on rooftops in large-scale new development. Appointees to the task force included residents, business owners, representatives from the biotech community, and members of the Planning Board. The Task Force met approximately monthly from February 2002 through May 2003 and delivered a set of recommendations to the City Manager in June 2003.
Go
to list of Committee Members
Background Information
The Citywide Growth Management process, which culminated in the Citywide Rezoning Petition filed with the City Council in September 2000, considered issues of bulk and height related to rooftop mechanical equipment. This petition proposed limits on the amount of mechanical equipment permitted to exceed the district height limit, with the goal of greater predictability regarding height and bulk of new developments. The City Council did not take action on this component of the petition, expressing the opinion that the issue of rooftop mechanical equipment needed further analysis, and deferred it for future study.
The issue once again emerged during the Eastern Cambridge Planning Study. The concerns raised broadened, encompassing both aesthetics and acoustical impacts of rooftop mechanical equipment, particularly on neighboring residential areas.
In May 2001, the City Council requested that the City Manager and the Community Development Department convene a task force including residents, business owners, members from the biotech communities and members of the Planning Board to examine standards for rooftop and other building related mechanical equipment. The Council charged the task force with addressing both aesthetic/visual and acoustic issues relating to commercial mechanical equipment, particularly on rooftops in large-scale new development.
Task Force Materials
These files are in PDF format and require use of the free Adobe Acrobat viewer.
- Council Order establishing Task Force
- Cambridge Noise Ordinance The ordinance can be found in Title 8.16 NOISE CONTROL of the Cambridge Municipal Code. You will have to navigate your way there by clicking on Title 8, Health and Safety in the left hand frame.
- Rooftop Mechanicals Task Force Recommendations
Zoning Changes Passed
During the Fall of 2003, the City Council passed zoning changes based on the recommendations of the Task Force, following their review by the Planning Board. The zoning legislation included the following key elements:
- Information on schematic design of proposed rooftop mechanical systems added to Article 19.00 special permit application;
- Review of visual aspects will occur under Article 19.00;
- Limitation on the height of mechanicals adjacent to low-density residential districts; and
- As part of Article 19.00 special permit applications, require a description of a project's noise impacts and of the noise abatement strategy to meet the standards of the Cambridge Noise Ordinance.
Click
here to review the changes to the Zoning Ordinance.This file is in PDF format and requires use of the free
Adobe Acrobat viewer.
Click
here to review the Zoning Ordinance.
For More Information
For more information, please contact Iram Farooq, ifarooq@cambridgema.gov, at 617/349-4606. The Community Development Department TTY line is 617/349-4621.
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