Dear Neighbor, Joint Agassiz & N9 MEETING - Friday December 4th at 7 pm The Planning Board and City Council will both be holding, early next week, hearings on a local citizens re-zoning petition applying to Mass Avenue between Porter Square and the Cambridge Common (abbreviated as ³MA-PO-CO²). See the attachment here for full details. So we can all learn first-hand about what this very important petition requests, this is a special, earlier-than-usual meeting of the Agassiz Neighborhood Council to which Neighborhood 9 residents, and other interested parties have been invited. They will meet this Friday, December 4th, at 7:00 pm in the Baldwin School cafeteria. (Maria Baldwin School is located at the S.W. corner of Oxford and Sacramento Streets. Enter through the Sacramento Street door.) Here are some highlights of the zoning-petition requests: 1. Pedestrian-friendly ground-level uses, such as retail, will be required of all new construction. 2. Ground-level parking will be prohibited unless behind a retail store (no above ground exposed parking lots). 3. Smaller, more-affordable retail storefronts will be encouraged, to promote a variety of local merchants and restaurants over national chains (which usually require more space). 4. Any fast-food establishments will require a variance for suitability in each instance. 5. There will be new incentives to developers to build more than the one-parking-space-per-dwelling-unit required by current zoning, so that any surplus can be used by local merchants and service providers (most of whom lack resident parking stickers), thus helping hard-pressed local merchants in a reasonable way, as well as protecting on our side streets from further congestion. 6. New buildings near historic structures shall be of compatible size and contextual style. 7. Various technical adjustments are included, requiring more building setback and wider sidewalks. The local citizens who have presented this petition will be there to answer all your questions. Local developers and City Councilors are expected to come as well. It should be a very informative and lively discussion. The meeting will start at 7:00 sharp and adjourn no later than 9:00 pm. on Friday. Sincerely, Ruth __________________ Ruth Ryals 115 Upland Rd. Cambridge, MA 02140 617-547-6453 617-834-4007 (c)