Despite Resident Fears, City Officials Optimistic About Impact of Multifamily Zoning

Cambridge officials said they were optimistic about the city’s ability to accomodate the population growth that could accompany eliminating single-family zoning, in an attempt to alleviate fears from some residents that the blanket upzoning could have negative economic impacts.

As the City Council moves ahead with a proposal that would legalize six-story multifamily housing citywide, some residents and neighborhood leaders have asked the city to slow down and consider whether the radical change could irreparably damage the fabric of Cambridge.

But at a Thursday hearing of the Council’s economic development and university relations committee, city leaders appeared confident that the city was well equipped to address the aftermath of the zoning proposal.

“We feel comfortable with the growth rate,” Iram Farooq, the assistant city manager for community development, said.

Staff conceded that the impact on city schools was difficult to reliably predict.

“Projecting the impact of new housing on future enrollment is really difficult, especially without knowing the unit size, the number of bedrooms specifically that will be developed,” according to Claire B. Spinner, the assistant city manager of fiscal affairs.

However, Spinner added that given the long time span of the project and the fact that not all families in new housing will place their children in CPS, “we can assume that the school district will be able to absorb the amount of increase.”

Other staff who spoke at the hearing said that an influx in residents could have positive impacts for transportation.

“With more density, we can really look forward to having our city be even more walkable and bikeable and transit accessible than it is now,” said Brooke McKenna, the assistant director for street management.

She cited improvements in the Red Line as an example of changes residents can look forward to in improving transportation citywide as population density increases.

“I think as Cambridge plans for growth, that growth will be incorporated into the larger regional planning that goes on,” McKenna said.

Still, many Cambridge residents who gave public comment at the beginning of the hearing said they felt uneasy about the pace at which the city was advancing the proposal.

“There seems to be very little, if any, explicit consideration of the issue of population density,” said Cambridge resident Arthur McEwan.

“I agree with all the comments that others have said that it’s necessary for us to address the housing crisis in Cambridge,” said Cambridge resident Henrik Torres. “But to me, it seems like this current proposal still has some issues with unintended economic consequences.”

The hearing is one of several upcoming public meetings to elicit community input about the proposal before it comes to a final vote in the City Council.

—Staff writer Grace E. Yoon can be reached at grace.yoon@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @graceunkyoon.