The History of Exclusionary Zoning
Before 1924, Cambridge property owners were free to choose how to develop and use their land. Earlier, New York City adopted what is considered the first zoning ordinance for urban development. The main purpose was to control the heights of buildings and types of land uses in different parts of the city.
But cities also began to use zoning for other purposes such as to enforce racial segregation.
Exclusionary zoning and minimum lot sizes were introduced into Cambridge zoning laws in 1943. Thereafter, the city's zoning regulations became increasingly complex, making it extremely expensive to build anything other than single family homes. These restrictive zoning laws led to many years in which Cambridge lost housing units instead of gaining them.
In 2021, A Better Cambridge and Sunrise Boston filed a zoning petition, Missing Middle Housing, proposing three-deckers and townhouses throughout the city. HLS Professor Niko Bowie, as an Associate member of the Cambridge Planning Board, spoke eloquently on why the Board should approve this Missing Middle petition. Unfortunately, the Board did not recommend the petition and it died.
In the 2023 city elections, ABC IEPAC again helped elect a pro-housing super majority to the City Council. These pro-housing super stars led the complicated effort to bring close to all the City Councilors to the negotiating table and on FEB 10, 2025, the City Council ended the 1943 exclusionary zoning with an 8-1 vote. We now allow up to 6 stories citywide by right, positioning the city as a national leader in efforts to address the national housing crisis. According to Bloomberg, Cambridge’s landmark zoning reform is “the most comprehensive citywide rezoning” in the entire US!
What The Boston Globe is Saying
Eliminating exclusionary zoning could result in more than 3,500 new housing units by 2040.
The six-story policy is perhaps the broadest YIMBY policy passed in a US city to date.
“For too long, exclusionary zoning has put up barriers, barriers that have kept people out, that have restricted growth, that have made it harder for families to put down roots,” Mayor Denise Simmons said ahead of the vote Monday. “And so tonight, we have the chance to take down some of those barriers and make good on the commitment of being a welcoming and accessible city.”
Boston Globe “Bravo to Cambridge for ending single-family-only zoning”
Boston Globe “In dramatic overhaul, Cambridge becomes one of the first cities in Mass. to eliminate single-family zoning”
Boston Globe “The YIMBY movement has a major win in Cambridge, even as many neighbors cry foul”
What are others saying?
The Real Deal: “The change could lead to a massive influx in housing units for the city. In the next 15 years, the city was expected to add 350 units under the old zoning rules, according to estimates from the Community Development Department. The zoning change could lead to more than 4,800 units added over that same timeframe.”
Boston.com: “The zoning reform, championed by Councilors Burhan Azeem and Sumbul Siddiqui, is one of the most ambitious changes to any city’s zoning in decades.”
Cambridge Day: “The zoning change is projected to add 3,590 homes, including 660 affordable homes, by 2040, according to the Community Development Department.”
Harvard Crimson: “…capping off more than a year of laborious dealmaking between activist residents, experts, and councilors in an landmark attempt to face the city’s housing crisis.”
Boston Agent Magazine: “I can’t believe it — after years of advocacy, exclusionary zoning has ended in Cambridge,” City Councilor Burhan Azeem posted on X Monday night. “We just passed the single most comprehensive rezoning in the US — legalizing multifamily housing up to 6 stories citywide in a Paris style.”
Building Design +Construction: “The Cambridge City Council recently passed a dramatic overhaul of the city’s land-use rules, eliminating single-family zoning citywide.”
BizNow: “Cambridge has passed one of the most ambitious multifamily zoning laws in the country.”
Boston’s Rock 92.9: “To put it in perspective, this city of 50,000 homes only added five new places to live in early 2023.”
NBC10 Boston: “It is expected to add more than 3500 homes over the next 15 years, but it took a lot of compromise to get there.”
Bloomberg: “Where progressive bids by other cities have made it possible to build six to 12 units on an average-sized lot, Cambridge just legalized buildings that will accommodate close to four dozen households.”
The Harbus: “Cambridge’s comprehensive approach sets a precedent for other municipalities grappling with similar challenges, signaling a shift toward more flexible and inclusive urban planning strategies. “
Abundant Housing MA: “Because of all of you, Cambridge is taking a historic step forward in tackling its housing crisis,” said Dan Phillips, co-chair of A Better Cambridge. “It’s amazing how far we’ve come. Just four years ago, a less ambitious petition to allow up to 3-story apartments died in committee. Today, we legalized four stories by a vote 8 to 1. That’s a testament to years of volunteers’ hard work building the pro-housing movement.”
The Saporter Report: “The city has more of a small-town feeling than Boston; people were really worried about what they call ‘Manhattanization,'” Azeem said. “Our goal with the six stories was to say there’s another path to development, which is how European cities end up being very dense and having a lot of housing, but also end up not having high rises and instead have a broad base floor; instead of us doing our squares and corridors for 20, 40, 60 stories, let’s just do six stories city-wide — but it has to be city-wide.”
WGBH: “The vote came after a year of negotiating between supporters who sought to address housing and affordability issues and opponents who sought to preserve the look and feel of the neighborhoods they fell in love with.”