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Zoning Amendments

This page lists all amendments to the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance currently under consideration. Past zoning amendments can be found on the Adopted Zoning Amendments or Past Zoning Amendments Not Adopted webpages, depending on the final action taken by the City Council. Electronic versions of some documents relevant to the proposed amendments are also provided on these webpages. Not all documents are available electronically at this time.

• See Zoning FAQ: How does the Zoning Ordinance get Amended?

Amendments Under Consideration

The following amendments to the Zoning Ordinance are currently under official consideration by the City Council and Planning Board. The public hearing dates are listed below (TBD = "to be determined"). 

Zoning Under Discussion

From time to time, the City considers more general changes to the Zoning Ordinance that are associated with a particular topic or initiative. The following zoning topics are under discussion but do not have a formal zoning petition associated with them:

• Climate Resilience Zoning;
• Urban Agriculture Task Force;
• Allowing Multifamily Housing Citywide.

Explanation of Table Headings

Petition Name

Where a zoning amendment is proposed by Cambridge property owners or registered voters, the amendment is typically named for the petitioner or petitioners. Where a zoning amendment is proposed by the City Council or Planning Board, the amendment is typically named for the subject of the petition itself. If the language “(Refiled)” appears after the name of the petition, it indicates that this petition is one version of a petition that may have been refiled and previously considered by the City Council one or more times. 

Key Documents

Lists documents that may be especially relevant to the petition, including the petition text, memoranda from City staff or other agencies, recommendations from the Planning Board, and/or supplemental information provided by the petitioner or City staff.

PLEASE NOTE: This webpage does not list all submitted documents that pertain to the petition. To view the full public record for a zoning petition, contact the Office of the City Clerk.

Referral Date

Lists the date on which the petition was referred by the City Council to the Planning Board and Ordinance Committee. Both the Planning Board and the Ordinance Committee must hold a public hearing on the petition within 65 days of the referral date.

Dates of Public Hearings

Lists the dates on which public hearings have been scheduled for the Planning Board and the Ordinance Committee. "TBD" is given where a hearing date has not yet been advertised. Sometimes a petition is heard at multiple public hearings of the same body.

Expiration Date

A petition must be acted upon by City Council within 90 days of its filing. If no City Council action is taken before the end of that 90 day period, the petition is placed on file and may not be voted upon unless it is refiled, at which point the City Council could refer the petition to the Ordinance Committee and Planning Board for a new set of public hearings. 

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