City Council Guarantees More Affordable Housing

The Cambridge City Council voted by a 7 to 2 margin to pass an "incentive zoning and inclusionary housing provision" at Monday night's council meeting.

As a part of the newly-passed provision, new residential constructions of 10 units or more are required to have affordable housing units make up 15 percent of the total number of units in the development.

Councillors Michael A. Sullivan and Timothy J. Toomey voted against the provision.

The purpose of the provision is "to promote the public health, safety, and welfare by encouraging the expansion and upgrading of the City's housing stock while accommodating the expansion of housing and commercial opportunities in the City," the provision reads.

"We're happy. It's a victory," said Bill Marcotte, a member of the Campaign to Save 2000 Cambridge Homes and the Eviction Free Zone. "It sends a message that development and affordability go hand in hand."

Marcotte stressed that Monday night's vote should only be a beginning in terms of securing affordable housing units in the city.

About 60 Cantabrigians spoke during the public comment session at the beginning of Monday's meeting, the vast majority speaking in favor of the provision.

Often going beyond their two-minute allotment, people spoke of how threatened they were feeling as a result of the increasing commercial and high-end residential development.

The greatest applause greeted Lloyd Smith's speech, which implied that the Councilhas not done enough to help low-andmoderate-income housing residents.

"I'm put in a horrible position of supportingsomething I find disgusting, but it's that ornothing at all." Smith told the councillors.

The councillors themselves did not escapeSmith's criticism.

"It would be really refreshing to see new facesin the next election," said Smith. "This CityCouncil is too laidback. But again, they don'thave to worry--their constituents would have beenall evicted by [the next election]."

On a lighter note, Roger O'Sullivan came to theCouncil meeting to commemorate what would havebeen the 94th birthday of Dr. Seuss, thechildren's book writer.

Dressed as the Cat in the Hat, a popular Seusscharacter, O'Sullivan, spoke about Read AcrossAmerica, a national celebration of reading whichtook place earlier in the day Monday.

O'Sullivan is a representative of the EducationAssociation Initiative.

"I'm calling for every child in Cambridge to bein the company of books," said O'Sullivan, notingthat children who read outside of school performbetter in school

"I'm put in a horrible position of supportingsomething I find disgusting, but it's that ornothing at all." Smith told the councillors.

The councillors themselves did not escapeSmith's criticism.

"It would be really refreshing to see new facesin the next election," said Smith. "This CityCouncil is too laidback. But again, they don'thave to worry--their constituents would have beenall evicted by [the next election]."

On a lighter note, Roger O'Sullivan came to theCouncil meeting to commemorate what would havebeen the 94th birthday of Dr. Seuss, thechildren's book writer.

Dressed as the Cat in the Hat, a popular Seusscharacter, O'Sullivan, spoke about Read AcrossAmerica, a national celebration of reading whichtook place earlier in the day Monday.

O'Sullivan is a representative of the EducationAssociation Initiative.

"I'm calling for every child in Cambridge to bein the company of books," said O'Sullivan, notingthat children who read outside of school performbetter in school