Please read the attached (not too long) re-zoning petition for Harvard Square and consider signing the letter of support and the Change.org petition (both llinks in blue below). Ruth From: "Blier, Suzanne" <blier@fas.harvard.edu> Date: Sunday, November 19, 2017 at 4:57 PM Subject: Please sign and support this petition joining our efforts on Harvard Square Re-Zoning Dear Friends, Please consider signing the petition (attached and letter of support below). This petition will help keep Harvard Square a vibrant commercial center with a mix of local businesses alongside others (national chains) in this era of change. Tuesday afternoon at 5:30 this will be discussed at City Hall in the Ordinance Committee. This follows a presentation at the Planning Board last week where it was decided that this should go forward. The Harvard Square Neighborhood Association voiced unanimous support for the principles behind the petition at a Fall meeting; it will be important to add individual support such as in a petition as well. Please sign HERE or on our Change.org petition. Also feel free to forward to others. Best, Suzanne Letter of Support that accompanies this Petition: November 16, 2017 Honorable Cambridge City Mayor, Cambridge City Councilors, Cambridge City Manager, and members of the Cambridge Planning Board: Please accept this letter of support for the petition for revision of the city zoning ordinance submitted on September 28, 2017 by Peter Kroon. Most, if not all, of our city council members as well as the city manager himself have been actively involved with a very passionate citizenry regarding the fate of the commercial buildings and the retail and office businesses housed within them in Harvard Square. Unprecedented national and international interest by developers has raised the stakes beyond anything previously thought possible regarding the values for those properties. Consequently, we are already seeing huge increases in the rents being charged for the retail spaces in Harvard Square. The only effective action that we as city caretakers and leaders can take to limit the impact of these building prices is by revisions to our zoning ordinance. Harvard Square is an internationally known magnet for globally recognized retailers seeking to promote their brands by leasing space and displaying their logos on our treasured historically protected buildings. Just to name a few, Adidas, Abercrombie and Fitch, Pacific Sun, Pinkberry and now Liquiteria (and new Starbucks brand) have come and gone, no longer able to justify the outlandish costs. In the meantime highly valued local operators have been denied access or forced out due to this disproportionate and unrealistic competition for the space. With the coming Regency development of the Abbott building and the former Corcoran’s building as well as the coming sale of 1 - 8 and 17-49 Brattle Street, this will get much worse and most of what we love about Harvard Square could be destroyed forever. We are not opposed to development, but we are strongly in favor of controlled development that will restrict occupancies by formula businesses (as already described in our zoning ordinance) and more financial institutions. While formula businesses should be allowed, they should be required to adapt their appearances to integrate with and strengthen the historical character of the Harvard Square Conservation District. Moreover, we should be encouraging developers to court locally owned independent entrepreneurs with proven concepts like Cardullo’s and Bob Slate and Curious George and innovative and creative ideas like Crema Café and Black Ink. The Kroon petition is aimed at this by rewarding developers for building smaller spaces and waiving fast food permit requirements for local owners. Additionally, we support the Kroon Petition’s recommendations regarding the makeup of the Harvard Square Advisory Committee. We very much appreciate your efforts to manage and improve the city’s retailing crisis through the recently completed Retail Strategy Study and the recent council committee meetings gathering community input. A big step in a positive direction will be to enact the Kroon Petition.