 Above image: based on Massport rendering on what Porter Square along north Mass Ave would be allowed. Cambridge City Council is pushing for a massive upzoning of two of our main corridors—Massachusetts Avenue from the Common to the Arlington border and all along Cambridge Street—that would radically transform these neighborhoods and displace much of what makes them livable. Who will benefit: investors and developers, most of whom do not even live in Cambridge. READ: the Proposed Zoning Language: HERE This out-of-scale zoning proposal comes before the Planning Board on Thursday October 21, 2025. The Ordinance Committee meets on Monday Oct 30 @ 5:30 PM for Public Comment. It will come back before them on Nov. 13 (after the election) with no public comment. We could call this one the "Cambridge Canyons Luxury Housing Gentrification Upzoning Plan" Under two current proposals, the existing one-, two-, and three-story homes and small local businesses that define these streets could be replaced with buildings ranging from 8 to 15 stories (100–175 feet) on Cambridge Street and up to 12 and 18 stories (and possibly higher) along Massachusetts Avenue from Cambridge Common to the Arlington border. In play is well is raising the heights even higher for Affordable Housing (AHO. Image having a home or apartment in a common 2.5 story residence that sits beside one of these massive structures. In addition to no required parking (and attendant gridlock) we will also see a loss of local businesses, and serious impacts on adjacent neighborhoods (see photo), not only in terms of difficulty with deliveries and plumbers, electricians, and contractors willing to work on one's home, but also, loss of trees, sizable heat island impacts, and attendant noise. Information source: CDD statement of June 17, 2025 at the joint meeting of the Housing and Neighborhood/Long Term Planning. See also the cover letter for the Cambridge Street and Mass Ave Zoning Petitions presented to City Council 9/11/25. Their September 2025 proposal allows up to 18 stories in Porter Square if one includes some ground floor retail and open space (which can include roof decks - so not green space for trees). This proposal also allows up to 12 stories with ground-floor retail along mass Ave from Chauncy/Everett St to the Arlington Border. Along Cambridge St., heights rise to 15 stories at Lechmere, 12 stories near Webster/Windsor, 10 stories in Inman square and 8 stories all along Cambridge St. elsewhere. Below: Porter Square and south to Everett and 18 story heights at Porter Square.
 These proposed plans remove all parking requirements, guaranteeing overflow onto already congested residential streets. What the city calls “vibrant mixed-use development” will, in reality, mean widespread demolition, speculative investment, and the loss of long-time renters, small business tenants, and more affordable housing. By contrast, 4- and 5-story buildings—like those in Paris, Brooklyn, or historic Cambridge--create the most livable urban scale, offering sunlight, walkability, and community connection. The new zoning would erase that balance and canyonize our main corridors, replacing human-scaled neighborhoods with luxury towers (gobbled up by investors, many of which will remain empty. Equally troubling, these rezonings limit design review to the Planning Board for only the largest of structures and come with no legal avenue of appeal. Only very large projects—those over roughly 20,000 square feet of nonresidential floor area—require formal Planning Board design review, meaning many projects will proceed “as of right.” Residents and small business owners would have no recourse even when new construction threatens to displace or impact them. The timing is also deeply misguided: Cambridge already faces a glut of empty offices and reduced housing demand due to university and biotech cutbacks. What do the City's own 2025 Design Guidelines Say about this Possible Upzoning? Cambridge’s Citywide Urban Design Guidelines (2025) make clear that new development should complement and enhance the city’s established character rather than replace it through sweeping upzoning. As the plan states, “each square and corridor segment has developed its own unique character over time, one that can and should be complemented and enhanced when opportunities arise….” (Citywide Urban Design, p. 42). The document repeatedly insists that growth be measured and context-sensitive, affirming that redevelopment “should accommodate greater densities than the surrounding neighborhoods” only where it “strengthens the mix of uses and incentivizes sustainable transportation choices” (ibid., p. 46). This approach reflects a principle of design review grounded in compatibility—not density alone. Page 121 of Shaping Our City 2025 underscores this: “The design of residential buildings is fundamental to Cambridge’s rich and varied character. New residential projects, particularly mid- and high-rise residential buildings, should be sensitive to existing neighborhood character and respect the privacy and quality of life of the residents of abutting properties… [and] enrich Cambridge’s public realm through the arrangement, rhythm, and scale of elements such as structural bays, windows, entrances, roof shapes, dormers, and the detailed assemblage of materials.” The guidance is explicit that large developments must be broken into smaller volumes and employ “step backs, or mansard, gambrel, hipped, or gable roof profiles to enclose habitable upper stories,” so as to “enhance compatibility with the typical scale of Cambridge’s residential neighborhoods” (ibid., p. 121). Likewise, the Envision Cambridge framework—on which these guidelines build—warns that “development patterns in the middle and late 20th century did not prioritize a consistently high-quality public realm,” and that the City’s current approach “pushes private development to make a positive contribution to the public realm” (Envision Cambridge, pp. 182–183). Together, these policies affirm that any upzoning must be contingent on demonstrable conformance with neighborhood scale, public-realm enhancement, and architectural continuity, ensuring that Cambridge’s corridors evolve without erasing the urban and social fabric that defines them. Source: Shaping Our City 2025 CDD Planning Report “Citywide Urban Design” HERE TERMS: Setback: the distance a new building must be set back from the sidewalk at ground level. Step back: the pushing back of floor massing at a higher story to help the building to fit into the neighborhood better. The proposed step backs of only 13 feet is way to high to address neighborhood impacts. And for many proposed designs there are no setbacks required. DETAILS: Cambridge Street Zoning Petition (8-15 stories allowed) --For 6 story buildings and lower: NO Open Space required --If there is a yard within 85 feet of Primary Street: NO setback required --13-15 story buildings require NO setbacks on the Secondary Street, side or rear. Massachusetts Avenue Zoning Petition (12-20 stories allowed) --For 8 story buildings and lower: NO Open Space required --If there is a yard within 85 feet of Primary Street: NO setback required ----13-15 story buildings require NO setbacks above 100' on the Secondary Street, side or rear. We have learned that possibly 25 story buildings will be allowed for "Affordable Housing" projects, so that they can compete with commercial and luxury housing developers. Why is the City not required to complete a comprehensive housing and economic needs report before supporting radical speculative upzoning such as this. Without it, this upzoning risks becoming a developer windfall that sacrifices the scale, sunlight, and diversity that make Cambridge unique.Cambridge Street Zoning Petition --Lots limited to 6 story buildings: NO Open Space required --Side or rear yard, within 85 feet of Primary Street: NO setback required --Note: Lots with buildings 13-15 stories require NO setbacks at Secondary Street, side or rear Massachusetts Avenue Zoning Petition Details --Lots limited to 8 story buildings: NO Open Space required --Side or rear yard, within 85 feet of Primary Street: NO setback required --Upper Story Step back from Primary Street: 13 feet above 100 feet [Compare to Cambridge St stepback @75feet.] --Upper Story Stepback from Secondary Street: 12 feet above 100 feet [Compare to Cambridge St stepback @75feet.] 
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