 PART FIVE -- CAMBRIDGE IS NUMBER 1!!!Councillor Azeem highlights his enormous YIMBY success in his "Primer" featuring Cambridge's huge victory over other progressive cities. See the above chart among others. Now in Cambridge, as Azeem points out, one can squeeze 46 units into 1,000 sq ft/unit projects. He adds:
"Incorrect or incomplete" appears to be basis for this ordinance. And, as Azeem himself urges "we will be watching." Most other cities, simply added the number of allowable units on each property, seeking to increase housing incrementally. And one city (Denver) chose to go back to earlier single family zoning in some neighborhoods because of gentrification impacts. Indeed, as the 46 units in 1,000 sq. ft/unit unit allowance makes clear, the Cambridge equivalent is more like luxury SROs (single room occupancy) projects, perfect for the investor wishing to own and potentially profit from a piece of Cambridge very expensive "dirt." But are these tiny proposed units actually meeting current Cambridge market interests and needs? Likely no. And there are so many problems with this proposal, and more the current and ongoing impacts, that it is hard to grasp what "Number 1" really means here.  As we have seen, it is larger single-family homes that have most favored status, pricing, and financial return. This is leading to gentrification in many of the related neighborhoods. And for those who want to maintain many of our historic homes in Cambridge, that is a good thing. However, it is a bad thing for the ideologically oriented City Councillors and their supporters who maintained that this plan would bring Cambridge housing prices lower, or at least prevent them from rising as quickly. The examples shown in this post - Kirkland Street, Henry Street, Cushing Street and others, show that this is decidedly NOT the case. Property costs and values are rising even higher now as a result of this up-zoning initiative. Councillor Azeem also includes his bio in this celebratory YIMBY Bluesky post which reads: "Councillor Burhan Azeem is the current co-chair of the Housing Committee on Cambridge City Council. In previous terms, he was the main sponsor for removing parking minimums and expanding the Affordable Housing Overlay in the city. He is a founder and board member of Abundant Housing MA, a statewide pro-housing nonprofit that organized to implement the MBTA Communities act (require cities near transit to rezone for more housing) and legalize accessory dwelling units (ADUs)." His colleagues on City Council at the time may disagree with his assuming "main sponsor" accolades on these other initiatives, but we do not begrudge Azeem his success and cheerleadership. The X/Twitter Feed YIMBY Celebration Councillor's Azeem's X (formerly Twitter) and BlueSky social media feeds on February 10 and 11, 2025 celebrate what he believes his victory actually means. And he produces and links to a primer he has authored showing others how they too can achieve this success elsewhere. "If you want more nerdy details, I wrote a primer here" he writes. In response to various celebratory posts he responds to key questions in a frank and informative way. Writes Lib Development on February 11: "So the billion dollar question [is], does the city apply discretionary permits to any development in this area that is nominally by right? If so they'r still screwed but I wouldn't know." Azeem responds: "No discretionary review for anything under 75 sq ft." What Azeem means, in short, is that there is no design oversight and developers get to do pretty much whatever they want. Azeem adds "It's 4 stories with no conditions. To get to 6, you need 20% IZ and at least 5,000 sqft lot. But you can build 6 anywhere if you meet these conditions." Another comment, by the election support group "Run for Something" also celebrated the up-zoning news on Azeem's feed: "Huge shoutout to RFS alum @realBurhanAzeem for championing one of the biggest city zoning changes in decades while also eliminating housing scarcity for MA residents." [Emphasis ours. Note: very unlikely]. Another person adds to the social media thread: "I hope someone is monitoring how this is affecting land prices. [W]ith such a large uniform upzoning I would be super interested in its effects on land." [Alas, we already know the answer]. In response to another question on whether we will see more down-conversions [duplexes or triplexes to single-family homes], Azeem notes: "...limiting down conversions is on the radar and in research/drafting. Gives us time to evaluate how this goes and maybe people will be less worried by the time it comes up for a vote." When someone else points "There's a profound contrast between 'build what you want' and 'you can't turn the building that you own into a single-family house," Azeem responds "Yeah it's valid. I'm more in the former camp but there's been negative reaction to $10M large homes built from a dozen smaller apartments and so gotta do what you gotta do." [in short, Azeem recognizes this problem of creating more luxury homes and increased housing costs in his new ordinance, but forges on any way with a shrug "gotta do what you gotta do." Jason Furman, the Harvard economist professor of practice who lives on swanky Francis Avenue, had championed Azeem's effort in an earlier Boston Globe opinion piece. Furman writes here "Cambridge got it done! One day thousands of families will be living here, spending less of their budget on rent, and few of them will realize it never would have happened but for the leadership and persistence." [Note: let's have a bet, Professor Furman, on how much rent people will now be saving here now!] Another social media poster in this celebratory Azeem chain asks "Are there any rules against existing owners selling out to a developer? That's the fatal flaw in California's YIMBY reforms." Azeem replies "No. And no labor restrictions. It's mostly a clean bill. Only limitation you might not like is the 120% IZ [inclusionary zoning: Note: Is Azeem seems to conveying here opposition to affordable housing needs in Cambridge]] Another poster asks: "What is a new expectation for new units over the next 15 years with the zoning change?" Azeem states: "Maybe 12,500? Hard to really say given the tough economic conditions." [note: this is the housingnumber that CDD, the Cambridge Community Development group drew from thin air to add to the City's Envision housing goals]. Asks another person on this social media chain: "I remember reading a report showing that you had to go above 4 stories for single family infill to pencil with rents that middle class could afford. One question: how are open space requirements calculated?" Azeem replies "It's a bit complicated." [On open space]: "I'd say a rule of thumb is that 30% open space (so 3000 sq ft on a 10k sq ft lot) of which half needs to be permeable (like grass) and half can be decks or balconies or permeable. Setbacks count as part open space." [Note: There are some problems with this answer, since we have shown elsewhere that one could, using these guidelines, create new housing with no viable green space]. Writes another commenter on this celebratory announcement: "Have y'all considered funding the IZ via appropriations so that it pencils better? Or at least via tax abatement." Azeem answers: "Will examine the results of this and potentially. We hoped that we could zone enough that it would make IZ pencil." Note the term "pencil" here or the phrase "tough to pencil" means that there is no means financially for the investor or developer to do a project considering the costs of land, building supplies, labor and other factors. Explains another person, with an apt reality check "Certainly very permissive. My sense is there will be a lot of 4 story buildings. 5,000 min lot size +construction change (at 6) + inclusionary will be tough to pencil." This is very likely to be the case. Still another individual asks about "...measures to help preserve beautiful Victorian and other historic homes of Cambridge? Say one lives in Inman square on a street of historic homes - a developer could presumably outbid any family to buy any of them, tear it down, and build a 6 story building in its place?" To this question, Azeem answers "Yes in our historical commission ordinance we have a demolition delay ordinance for all homes older than 50 years." Alas, Azeem fails to point out that we have only a one year demolition delay and the Cambridge Historical Commission Executive Director can (and sometimes does) simply allow a demolition without commissioner (board) review. Immediately following the above comment, Azeem reposted one from YIMBYLAND that celebrated his great Cambridge success: "Thanks to the new reforms in Cambridge MA, gorgeous 6-story apartment buildings like these are now legal to build CITY-WIDE!" with the accompanying photograph.  See all the trees and planted green spaces in the above rendering? No. Nor did we. Notice all the preserved Victorian homes in this pretty rendering? No. We didn't either. Remember in our earlier post, the tearing up of inner city Medieval Paris that was part of the large boulevard's that Haussman created there. Where is the funding, will, or interest to do that here. Fortunately it will not happen. And if the YIMBY proponents of Cambridge's no-holds-barred up-zoning, think this will create a New England-based broad-boulevard style Paris, with elegant, stylistically congruent buildings facing our narrow quirky streets they might want to think again. Bay State Road As the citywide upzoning was being publicly launched in late spring 2024, Councillor Azeem purchased an 1890 2.5 story duplex home adjacent to the now empty Sozio store on Bay State Road from Louis Sozio. The property sits near the rotary overlooking Fresh Pond. He acquired in the late spring of 2024 around his citywide up-zoning proposal was being launched in public. According to a Cambridge Day report, he has stated that he is happy to have his current tenants remain there and we applaud him for this, even as the $1.197,000 property (like any property now in Cambridge) represents a great investment opportunity. It is now likely worth far more now that the up-zoning has passed. But at least he has made a commitment for the residents to remain there. Most Cambridge residents of residential units that get caught up in the up-zoning mayhem will not be so lucky.  Above image on the left: Beige 1890 two family home on Bay State Road acquired by Councillor Azeem. This citywide up-zoning project was well towards completion by the time it was presented in the form of a slide deck to the Housing Committee by Azeem and Jeff Roberts, the city's zoning expert in May 8, 2024: HERE. Clearly this city councillor and city staff were working closely together on this project far before it was presented to the public in a hearing, a concern that was raised to a resident by the late City Councillor Joan Pickett at the time. Some see this as a breech of our city's Plan E form of government.
In the end, the citywide up-zoning in Cambridge appears to be a major YIMBY success, but the consequences to date are not what the planners and proponents anticipated. Far from it. Rather than bringing down housing costs so more people can afford to live here, instead, housing costs are rising even higher, and with the new ordinance, realtors and purchasers of larger single- family luxury homes are the major winners! Go Cambridge. If this is indeed what the proponents wanted they have succeeded well. And as the Boston Globe editorial exclaims: "Bravo to Cambridge for ending single-family-only zoning." While City Council rejected the efforts by the Cambridge Citizens Coalition to do that in 2020 with our Advancing Housing Affordability petition, this part of the work is now over. The city’s move will create more housing and provide a valuable model for other cities in the Commonwealth." We disagree with the Globe's and YIMBY proponents main argument however, that the kind of new luxury housing being promoted in their Valentine's Day (February 14) Editorial piece (HERE) is the kind of housing we are looking for here and elsewhere. This new luxury housing is more akin the Great Gatsby and the Gilded Age. Emblazoned across the Banker and Tradesman's update on the zoning ordinance "Cambridge Upzoning Could Unlock 3.6K homes." This too is doubtful, but most of those that will be constructed are likely to be luxury housing units (single family homes and duplexes especially) and the chief beneficiaries will be the Realtors, Investors, and Bankers. More lower- and middle-income Cambridge residents will be forced out as housing prices escalate even higher. READ PART SIX: HERE
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