Past Zoning Amendments Not Adopted

The following amendments to the Zoning Ordinance were considered by the City Council but were not adopted, either due to being placed on file because the time period for consideration had expired, or due to failure to receive the necessary votes on consideration by the City Council. The amendments are listed in reverse chronological order, beginning with the most recent and ending in 2015. Please note that not all documents are available electronically at this time.

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

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. The documents listed on this web page do not necessarily constitute a full public record.

Petition Name Key Documents Public Hearings Final Action

Lodging Houses 

(Pierson et. al.) 

• Petition Text

• Planning Board Hearing Notice - November 21, 2023

• CDD Memo - November 13, 2023

• Planning Board Presentation - November 21, 2023

• Planning Board Report - November 28, 2023

 

Planning Board:
November 21, 2023

Ordinance Committee:
November 29, 2023

 		 No Action Taken 
Franklin et. al.  

• Petition Text 

• Planning Board Hearing Notice - May 16, 2023 

• CDD Memo - May 16, 2023

• Petitioner Supplementary Materials - May 11, 2023

• Planning Board Presentation - May 16, 2023

• Planning Board Report - June 13, 2023

 

Planning Board:
May 16, 2023

Ordinance Committee:
May 24, 2023

 		 Placed on File 
Ferguson et. al.  

 

• Petition Text

• Planning Board Hearing Notice - June 20, 2023 

• CDD Memo - June 20, 2023

 

Planning Board:
June 20, 2023 (THIS HEARING WAS CANCELLED)

Ordinance Committee:
June 28, 2023 (THIS HEARING WAS CANCELLED)

 		 Petition Withdrawn 
Blier et. al. 

 

• Petition Text 

• Planning Board Hearing Notice - December 6, 2022

• CDD Memo - December 1, 2022

• Planning Board Report - December 14, 2022

 

Planning Board:
December 6, 2022

Ordinance Committee:
December 14, 2022

 
 		 Placed on File 
Callender et. al. 

 

• Petition Text  

• Planning Board Hearing Notice - December 20, 2022

• CDD Memo - December 13, 2022

• Finance Presentation to Neighborhood & Long-Term Planning Committee - December 7, 2022

• CDD Presentation to Neighborhood & Long-Term Planning Committee - December 7, 2022

• Planning Board Report - December 21, 2022

 

Planning Board:
December 20, 2022

Ordinance Committee:
January 4, 2023

   		 Placed on File 

Craig Kelley et. al.

Refiled

 

• Petition Text

• Planning Board Hearing Notice - May 3, 2022 (This hearing is cancelled) 

• Petition Text (Refiled Petition)

• Planning Board Hearing Notice - May 24, 2022

• CDD Memo - May 17, 2022

• Planning Board Presentation - May 24, 2022

• Planning Board Recommendation - June 7, 2022

 

Planning Board:
May 24, 2022

Ordinance Committee:
June 29, 2022

 		 No Action Taken

Article 22.000 Emissions Accounting

Refiled

• Petition Text

• Planning Board Hearing Notice - March 29, 2022

• CDD Memo - March 24, 2022

• Planning Board Recommendation - May 17, 2022

  

Planning Board:
March 29, 2022

Ordinance Committee:
April 6, 2022

 No Action Taken 
Cushing, et al. (Section 11.207.6)

• Petition Text

• Planning Board Hearing Notice - December 21, 2021

• CDD Memo - December 14, 2021

• Planning Board Recommendation - January 24, 2022

Planning Board:
December 21, 2021

Ordinance Committee:
December 15, 2021

 No Action Taken
Yamin, et al. (Section 11.207.5)

• Petition Text

• Planning Board Hearing Notice - December 21, 2021

• CDD Memo - December 14, 2021

• Planning Board Recommendation - January 24, 2022

Planning Board:
December 21, 2021

Ordinance Committee:
December 8, 2021

 No Action Taken
Francis Donovan et. al. 

• Petition Text 

• Planning Board Hearing Notice - November 16, 2021

• CDD Memo - November 10, 2021

• Planning Board Recommendation - January 24, 2022

 

Planning Board:
November 16, 2021

Ordinance Committee:
November 16, 2021

 		 No Action Taken

Article 22.000 Emissions Accounting

Refiled

• Petition Text

• Planning Board Hearing Notice - June 29, 2021

• CDD Memo - June 24, 2021

• Petitioner Presentation - June 29, 2021

• Planning Board Report - July 27, 2021 (Corrected)

Planning Board:
June 29, 2021

Ordinance Committee:
July 28, 2021
September 21, 2021

 No Action Taken
Broad Canal Subdistrict (RREEF America REIT II Corp, PPP)

 

• Petition Text 

• Planning Board Hearing Notice - May 4, 2021

• CDD Memo - April 27, 2021

• Presentation to the Ordinance Committee - April 29, 2021

• Presentation to the Planning Board - May 4, 2021

 		 Planning Board:
May 4, 2021

Ordinance Committee:
April 29, 2021 		 No Action Taken 
Missing Middle Housing Zoning Amendments (Fuller, et al.) 

 

• Petition Text

• Planning Board Hearing Notice - March 30, 2021

• Materials from Petitioners - March 24, 2021

• CDD Map of Rezoning Area

• CDD Memo - March 25, 2021

• Planning Board Hearing Notice - May 11, 2021

• Petitioner Proposed Amendments - May 4, 2021

• CDD Memo Update - May 5, 2021

• Planning Board Recommendation - June 1, 2021

Planning Board:
March 30, 2021

May 11, 2021

Ordinance Committee:
April 8, 2021

June 10, 2021


 Expired 

Article 22.000 Emissions Accounting

• Petition Text

• Planning Board Hearing Notice - June 8, 2021

 Planning Board: June 8, 2021
(Hearing Cancelled)		 Expired

Alewife Quadrangle Northwest Overlay District (Srinivasan, et al.)

Refiled

• Petition Text

• Planning Board Hearing Notice - December 8, 2020

• CDD Memo - December 2, 2020

• Petitioner Response to CDD Memo - December 4, 2020

• Presentation to Planning Board - December 8, 2020

• Planning Board Recommendation - January 19, 2021

• Development Economics Analysis - February 3, 2021

• Development Economics Presentation - February 5, 2021 

Planning Board:
December 8, 2020

Ordinance Committee:
December 16, 2020

February 10, 2021

Failed on Vote

March 15, 2021
Cannabis Delivery-Only

• Petition Text

• Planning Board Hearing Notice - November 24, 2020

• CDD Memo - November 18, 2020

 Planning Board:
November 24, 2020

Ordinance Committee:
December 9, 2020    
 Expired 
Retail Amendments

• Petition Text

• CDD Summary Memo

(See Information on Retail Land Use Initiative)

• Planning Board Hearing Notice - December 1, 2020

• Presentation Slides - December, 2020


 Planning Board:
December 1, 2020

Ordinance Committee:
December 17, 2020
 Placed on File 
Home Occupation Amendments

• Petition Text

• CDD Summary Memo

(See Information on Retail Land Use Initiative)

• Planning Board Hearing Notice - December 1, 2020

• Presentation Slides - December, 2020

 		 Planning Board:
December 1, 2020

Ordinance Committee:
December 17, 2020 		 Placed on File 

Donovan, et al. (Affordable Housing)

  

• Petition Text

• Planning Board Hearing Notice - September 22, 2020

 

 Planning Board: September 22, 2020
(Hearing Cancelled)
 Placed on File
Alewife Quadrangle Northwest Overlay District (Srinivasau, et al.)

• Petition Text

• Planning Board Hearing Notice- September 8, 2020

• CDD Memo - August 28, 2020

• Presentation to Planning Board - September 8, 2020

 Planning Board:
September 8, 2020

Ordinance Committee:
N/A
 Placed on File
Definition of Family (Schmidt, et al.)

 

• Petition Text
• CDD Memo - March 4, 2020
• Presentation to Planning Board - March 10, 2020

Planning Board:
March 10, 2020

Ordinance Committee:
March 17, 2020 Hearing Cancelled

 Placed on File
Alewife Quadrangle Northwest Overlay District (Hartvigsen, et al.) • Petition Text
 March 16, 2020
 Placed on File
Canal District Kendall PUD (BioMed Realty)
 • Petition Text None Placed on File
Mobile Fueling Zoning Petition
 • Petition Text
• Legal Opinion from City Solicitor

Planning Board:
December 10, 2019

Ordinance Committee:
December 10, 2019

Placed on File

March 9, 2020
Alewife Quadrangle Northwest Overlay District (Navia, et al.)
 • Petition Text
• CDD Memo - October 17, 2019
• Current AOD Zoning Text
• Planning Board Presentation - October 22, 2019
• CDD Memo - December 10, 2019
• Revised Petition Text
• Planning Board Presentation - December 17, 2019

Planning Board:
October 22, 2019
December 17, 2019

Ordinance Committee:
October 23, 2019

Placed on File

January 21, 2020
Article 19 Amendment
(Electrical Service and Gas Service Infrastructure Review)
 • Petition Text
• CDD Memo - September 9, 2019
• Planning Board Recommendation

Planning Board:
September 17, 2019

Ordinance Committee:
September 26, 2019
November 26, 2019

Placed on File

December 16, 2019
Shared Mobility • Petition Text
• CDD Memo - September 17, 2019
• Planning Board Recommendation

Planning Board:
September 24, 2019
November 19, 2019

Ordinance Committee:
October 3, 2019

Placed on File

December 9, 2019
Alexandria Grand Junction Overlay
 • Petition Text
• Planning Board Presentation - June 18, 2019
• CDD Memo - June 12, 2019
• Amendments to Petition - July 11, 2019
• Ordinance Committee Presentation - July 11, 2019
• Draft Letter of Commitment - July 11, 2019
• Planning Board Recommendation

Planning Board:
June 18, 2019
July 23, 2019

Ordinance Committee:
July 11, 2019
September 10, 2019

Placed on File

October 9, 2019
Affordable Housing Overlay
 • Petition Text
• CDD Memo - June 20, 2019
• Zoning Maps and Charts
• Prototypical Site Models
• Map of Affordable Housing in Cambridge
• Affordable Housing Overlay FAQ - April 24, 2019
• Policy Order Response - June 21, 2019
• Petition Presentation
• Draft Design Guidelines - July 29, 2019
• Planning Board DRAFT REPORT

August 29, 2019 Materials:
• CDD Memo to Ordinance Committee
• Revised Zoning Petition Text
• Revised Maps and Charts
• Revised Draft Design Guidelines

• Planning Board Recommendation
• Ordinance Committee Amended Text – September 3, 2019

(See additional background information on project page.)

Planning Board:
June 25, 2019
July 9, 2019
September 3, 2019

Ordinance Committee:
July 2, 2019 
August 1, 2019
August 8, 2019
August 13, 2019
September 3, 2019

Placed on File

September 30, 2019
 
New Street Overlay - Self Storage (Refiled)
 • Petition Text
• CDD Memo - May 29, 2019
• Planning Board Recommendation

Planning Board:
June 4, 2019

Ordinance Committee:
June 26, 2019

Failed on Vote

September 16, 2019
 

Cambridgeside Galleria Associates Trust

 • Petition Text
• CDD Memo - March 13, 2019
• Revised Petition Text and Responses to Comments
• CDD Memo - May 10, 2019
• Revised Petition Text and Responses to Comments
• CDD Memo - May 22, 2019

Planning Board:
March 19, 2019
May 14, 2019
May 28, 2019

Ordinance Committee:
April 3, 2019
May 30, 2019

Placed on File

July 2, 2019
Ware Street Innovation Space Overlay
 • Petition Text
• Petition Presentation
• CDD Memo - April 23, 2019

Planning Board:
April 30, 2019

Ordinance Committee:
May 28, 2019

Placed on File

June 17, 2019

Alexandria Grand Junction 
• Petition Text
• CDD Memo - January 24, 2019

Planning Board:
January 29, 2019

Ordinance Committee:
January 30, 2019

Placed on File

April 30, 2019

Stormwater Separation from Flat Roofs (Refiled)

 • Petition Text
• CDD Memo - August 3, 2018
• Planning Board Recommendation

Planning Board:
January 22, 2019

Ordinance Committee:
February 5, 2019

Placed on File

May 6, 2019
234 Monsignor O'Brien 
  
• Petition Text
• CDD Memo - January 11, 2019
• Planning Board Recommendation

Planning Board:
January 22, 2019

Ordinance Committee:
January 15, 2019

Placed on File

April 15, 2019
Self Storage / New Street Overlay District (Pizzuto Family Limited Partnership)
 • Petition Text
• CDD Memo - August 3, 2018

Planning Board:
August 21, 2018 Hearing Cancelled

Ordinance Committee:
August 16, 2018

Placed on File

November 14, 2018
Conversion of Flat Roofs • Petition Text
• Policy Order
• CDD Memo - August 3, 2018

Planning Board:
August 21, 2018 Hearing Cancelled

Ordinance Committee:
August 8, 2018 

Placed on File

November 6, 2018
Douglas Brown, et al., Flood Plain / Green Factor • Petition Text
• City Staff Memo - June 21, 2018
• Attached Maps (CDD) - June 21, 2018

Planning Board:
June 26, 2018

Ordinance Committee:
June 27, 2018

Failed on Vote

July 30, 2018
Kroon, et al. Harvard Square Zoning Petition
 • Petition Text
• CDD Memo - November 8, 2017
• Revised Petition Text
• Planning Board Recommendation
• CDD Zoning Text - January 24, 2018
 Not Available

Placed on File

February 19, 2018
Christopher D. Smith, et al., PUD-7 Graduate Student Housing Petition 
 		 • Petition Text
• Zoning Petition Presentation
 Not Available

Placed on File

January 10, 2018  
Cockrill, et al., Short Term Rentals Petition
 • Petition Text
• CDD Memo - May 19, 2017 (with City Council Short Term Rentals Petition)
• Planning Board Recommendation
 Not Available

Placed on File

August 22, 2017
Observatory Hill Village Petition • Petition Text
• CDD Memo - May 9, 2017
• Zoning Analysis - May 16, 2017
• Planning Board Recommendation
 Not Available

Placed on File

August 16, 2017
Cambridge and Third Streets Rezoning to BA-5 • Petition Text
• CDD Memo - April 26, 2017
• Planning Board Recommendation
 Not Available

Placed on File

August 1, 2017
Registration and Maintenance of Vacant or Abandoned Buildings • Petition Text
• Planning Board Recommendation
 Not Available

Placed on File

July 18, 2017
Harvard Square Rooftop Space Exemption • Petition Text
• CDD Memo - April 4, 2017
• Text Changes Distributed to Ordinance Committee - April 6, 2017
• Planning Board Recommendation
 Not Available

Placed on File

July 5, 2017
Harding, et al., Amendments to Mass and Main Subdistrict • Petition Text
• CDD Memo - March 13, 2017
• Planning Board Recommendation
 Not Available
 Withdrawn by Petitioner
Outdoor Lighting Zoning Amendments • Petition Text
• Proposed Municipal Outdoor Lighting Ordinance
• CDD Presentation on Proposed Zoning Amendments
• Planning Board Recommendation
 Not Available

Placed on File

January 25, 2017
Riverside Neighborhood Protective Zoning (Refiled) • Petition Text
• Map of Affected Area
• CDD Memo - September 30, 2016

Original Petition:
• CDD Memo
• Planning Board Recommendation
 Not Available

Placed on File

January 3, 2017
William Noyes Webster Foundation, Inc. (Medical Marijuana District) • Petition Text
• CDD Memo (also regarding Healthy Pharms, Inc. Petition)
• Status of Applications for RMDs in Cambridge
 Not Available

Placed on File

December 21, 2016
Urban Agriculture (City Council Petition)
 • Petition Text
• Urban Agriculture Task Force Process Update
• Draft Public Health Regulations for Hen Keeping
• Draft Public Health Regulations for Beekeeping
 Not Available

Placed on File

November 21, 2016
Rainwater Separation on Concave Roofs • Petition Text
• Petitioner's Presentation
• CDD Memo
• Planning Board Recommendation
 Not Available
 Placed on File
Peter Cohen, et al., Rezoning Petition (Parking Garages on Nonconforming Lots) • Petition Text
• CDD Memo - February 22, 2016
 Not Available

Placed on File

May 24, 2016

Kroon, et al. Friends of MAPOCO Zoning Petition • Petition Text
• CDD Memo
• Memo from Petitioner - January 19, 2016
• CDD Memo - January 19, 2016
• Planning Board Recommendation - February 16, 2016
 Not Available

Placed on File

March 9, 2016
Alexandrov, et al. Zoning Petition (Business A-3) • Petition Text
• CDD Memo
• Planning Board Recommendation
 Not Available

Placed on File

March 8, 2016

PUD-KS (Volpe) Rezoning Petition (Refiled) • Petition Text
• Background Materials - June 24, 2015
• Kendall Square Design Guidelines
• Supplemental PUD-KS Guidelines
• Volpe Fact Sheet
• CDD Memo - October 14, 2015

CDD Materials (November 9, 2015)
• CDD Memo
• Revised Zoning Text
• DRAFT Urban Design Framework
• Summary of Community Outreach

• CDD Memo - December 1, 2015
• Planning Board Recommendation

Additional Information on Project Page		 Not Available

Placed on File

February 8, 2016

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. 

Public Hearings

Lists the dates on which public hearings were held by the Planning Board and the Ordinance Committee. Sometimes a petition is heard at multiple public hearings of the same body. "Unknown" is given where a hearing date is unknown.

Final Action

Provides the final action on a zoning amendment that was not adopted and the date at which the action was taken. If a zoning petition is placed on file, it may be refiled at any time, at which point the City Council would refer the petition to the Ordinance Committee and Planning Board for a new set of public hearings. If a petition fails to pass on a vote of the City Council, then it may not be refiled until at least two years from the date at which the final vote was taken.

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