Cambridge planning board pauses petition to treat religious uses like recent housing zoning changes, asks city solicitor for legal opinion

The Cambridge Planning Board on May 20 heard a citizen petition asking the city to amend multiple sections of the zoning ordinance to expand exemptions and dimensional allowances for religious uses so they match recent changes made for residential development.

The petitioners — represented by attorney Ben Tymon and pro bono counsel Yehuda Buckweitz — asked the board to add “religious purpose uses” to the same GFA/FAR exemptions, prior-nonconforming expansion rules, and dimensional allowances (including six‑story/74‑foot height allowances) the city recently adopted for housing. Yehuda Buckweitz told the board that “RLUOPA protects religious rights in 3 ways,” and argued the changes would reduce the risk that local zoning decisions violate the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).

Why the board paused the petition

The hearing included focused presentations from the petitioners, followed by nine public commenters who opposed the change and cited concerns about neighborhood scale, loss of housing, notification, and the Dover Amendment. Opponents argued the petition would let religious institutions build larger, higher, and more intensive uses across residential neighborhoods without inclusionary-housing requirements or neighbor notice. Alan Jocelyn, a Bank Street resident, said he and hundreds of neighbors…