Adopted Zoning Amendments

This page lists amendments to the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance that have been ordained by the City Council on or after January 27, 2003. The amendments are listed in reverse chronological order, beginning with the most recent. Please note that not all Ordinances are available electronically at this time.

PLEASE NOTE: These online documents are provided for reference and convenience only. The print versions of the referenced documents, along with any amendments that may have been made subsequent to the most recent update to the print versions, remain the official versions. If any discrepancies exist between the documents on file at the Office of the City Clerk and the electronic documents available on this site, the print versions shall be considered correct.

For information about these amendments, please contact the Office of the City Clerk.

Subject of Zoning Amendment Date of First Publication Ordination Date Ordinance
Short-Term Rentals June 15, 2017 August 7, 2017  Ordinance #1397
Restoration of Nonconforming Buildings Damaged or Destroyed by Fire or Other Catastrophe April 6, 2017   April 24, 2017 Ordinance #1393
Inclusionary Housing March 23, 2017 April 3, 2017  Ordinance #1392
Central Square Restoration Zoning (Sater, et al. Petition) February 16, 2017 February 27, 2017 Ordinance #1389
Medical Marijuana Citywide Rezoning January 26, 2017 February 6, 2017 Ordinance #1387
Healthy Pharms (Medical Marijuana District 4) September 15, 2016 September 26, 2016 Ordinance #1386
Friends of MAPOCO (Kroon, et al.) August 4, 2016 September 12, 2016 Ordinance #1385
Richard Avenue Neighbors Zoning (Stern, et al.) June 9, 2016 June 27, 2016 Ordinance #1384
Sage Cannabis, Inc., Medical Marijuana Overlay MM-3) April 7, 2016 April 25, 2016 Ordinance #1382
Carsharing December 17, 2015 January 11, 2016 Ordinance #1380
Accessory Apartments, Basement Space (Barrett, et al. Petition) December 17, 2015 January 11, 2016 Ordinance #1379
Cambridge Redevelopment Authority (MXD District) December 10, 2015 December 21, 2015 Ordinance #1377
Letter of Commitment
Walden and Sherman Streets BA-4 October 1, 2015 October 19, 2015 Ordinance #1372 and Memorandum of Understanding
Incentive Zoning Amendments August 20, 2015 September 28, 2015 Ordinance #1371
Basement Housing Overlay Modifications (Chestnut Hill Realty) May 14, 2015 June 1, 2015 Ordinance #1369
Mass and Main (Normandy/Twining) April 30, 2015 May 18, 2015 Ordinance #1368
Letter of Commitment
Whitehead Institute March 19, 2015 March 30, 2015 Ordinance #1365
Letter of Commitment
Zoning Amendment Expiration (Teague, et al.) December 18, 2014 January 5, 2015 Ordinance #1363
North Point Retail Parking October 30, 2014 November 10, 2014 Ordinance #1362
Cambridge Highlands Overlay District September 25, 2014 October 20, 2014 Ordinance #1361
Medical Marijuana December 5, 2013 December 16, 2013 Ordinance #1359
Boston Properties - Ames Street District November 21, 2013 December 9, 2013 Ordinance #1358
Bicycle Parking Requirements April 25, 2013 June 3, 2013 Ordinance #1357
Medical Marijuana Interim Regulations December 17, 2012 April 22, 2013 Ordinance #1356
MIT PUD-5 Petition for Kendall Square December 17, 2012 April 8, 2013 Ordinance #1355
Forest City Petition to amend CRDD boundaries and regulations (#3) December 10, 2012 February 25, 2013 Ordinance #1354
Ground Floor Cafeterias November 19, 2012 January 28, 2013 Ordinance #1353
Chen Petition
Principal Entrance to Entertainment Venues		 September 24, 2012 December 6, 2012 Ordinance #1352
North Massachusetts Avenue Zoning Petition April 9, 2012 July 30, 2012 Ordinance #1351
CJUF III Northpoint LLC Petition to Amend PUD-6 Regulations April 23, 2012 July 30, 2012 Ordinance #1350
Zoning Modifications to K-8 Public School Sites April 9, 2012 July 30, 2012 Ordinance #1349
Special District 2 Amendments (Bishop, et al. Petition) December 8, 2011 March 5, 2012 Ordinance #1347
Basement Housing Overlay District (Chestnut Hill Realty Petition) August 11, 2011 December 19, 2011 Ordinance #1345
Side Yards in Residence C-1 (Bagedenow, et al. Petition) August 25, 2011 December 13, 2011 Ordinance #1344
Bellis Circle Map Change (Runkel, et al. Petition) August 25, 2011 December 13, 2011 Ordinance #1343
Enforcement (de Rahm, et al. Petition) August 18, 2011 December 11, 2011 Ordinance #1342
Bicycle Sharing Stations June 30, 2011 September 19, 2011 Ordinance #1341
Section 5.28.2 Modifications April 14, 2011 August 1, 2011 Ordinance #1340
Cottage Park Ave Map Change (Fox, et al. Petition) February 17, 2011 June 9, 2011 Ordinance #1339
SD-15 (Novartis Petition) February 24, 2011 May 26, 2011 Ordinance #1338
PUD-6 North Point Amendments (McKinnon, et al. Petition) August 26, 2010 December 13, 2010 Ordinance #1337
Sign Ordinance Revisions June 3, 2010 September 27, 2010 Ordinance #1335
Rescinded
MXD Amendments (Boston Properties Petition) April 22, 2010 August 2, 2010 Ordinance #1334
Article 22 - Sustainable Design and Development April 22, 2010 May 24, 2010 Ordinance #1333
Flood Plan Overlay District Amendments April 15, 2010 May 24, 2010 Ordinance #1332
Wind Turbine Systems May 14, 2009 September 21, 2009 Ordinance #1330
Lesley Porter Overlay District March 19, 2009 June 22, 2009 Ordinance #1327
PUD-3A, PUD-4C (Alexandria Petition) October 30, 2008 February 9, 2009 Ordinance #1319
Memorial Drive Overlay District Amendments October 30, 2008 February 2, 2009 Ordinance #1318
Massachusetts Avenue Overlay District - Porter Square Amendments (Kaya-Ka, Inc. Petition) May 22, 2008 September 22, 2008 Ordinance #1316
Bicycle Parking Gross Floor Area Exclusion March 13, 2008 May 12, 2008 Ordinance #1315
Sections 13.42 and 13.43 Amendments (Constellation Petition) May 10, 2007 June 18, 2007 Ordinance #1307
Prospect Street Overlay District January 25, 2007 April 9, 2007 Ordinance #1305
Business A, A-1 and A-2 District Amendments November 23, 2006 March 5, 2007 Ordinance #1304
Alewife Area Modifications September 14, 2006 December 4, 2006 Ordinance #1303
North Massachusetts Avenue Map Change September 14, 2006 November 20, 2006 Ordinance #1302
Section 5.28.2 Amendments July 6, 2006 October 16, 2006 Ordinance #1301
Concord Avenue Map Change (Woodford, et al. Petition) March 30, 2006 August 7, 2006 Ordinance #1299
Open Space Definition Modifications April 20, 2006 August 7, 2006 Ordinance #1298
Concord-Alewife Map Changes and Alewife Overlay Districts March 23, 2006 June 26, 2006 Ordinance #1297
Memorial Drive Overlay District (MSNP Cambridge Acquisition, LLC Petition) May 11, 2006 June 26, 2006 Ordinance #1296
Municipal Police or Fire Station Exemptions June 6, 2005 September 12, 2005 Ordinance #1288
Massachusetts Avenue Overlay District Amendments May 16, 2005 September 12, 2005 Ordinance #1286
Article 6.000 Parking Requirements Amendments February 17, 2005 June 6, 2005 Ordinance #1285
PUD-6 Amendments (North Point Land Company Petition) December 16, 2004 February 11, 2005 Ordinance #1283
Zoning Petition Filing Fee Increase September 13, 2004 December 6, 2004 Ordinance #1282
Tree Protection August 2, 2004 November 1, 2004 Ordinance #1281
Cambridgeport at Memorial Drive Map Change March 11, 2004 June 21, 2004 Ordinance #1276
Central Square/Cambridgeport Map Change (Roback, et al. Petition) September 9, 2003 February 2, 2004 Ordinance #1273
Open Space Districts Map Change August 29, 2003 November 3, 2003 Ordinance #1272
Rooftop Mechanical Equipment Criteria August 29, 2003 November 3, 2003 Ordinance #1271
Open Space Facilities Map Change September 10, 2003 (unconfirmed) November 3, 2003 Ordinance #1270
Special Districts 12, 13, 14 and Riverside Map Changes (Carlson, et al. Petition) November 1, 2002 October 27, 2003 Ordinance #1269
MDC Open Space Parcels Map Change June 27, 2003 October 1, 2003 Ordinance #1267
Outdoor Lighting Regulations April 16, 2003 June 16, 2003 Ordinance #1266
Truck Curfew November 1, 2002 January 27, 2003 Ordinance #1261


For More Information

For more information contact Liza Paden at 617/349-4647 or lpaden@cambridgema.gov.