These are just some of the municipal meetings and civic events for the coming week. More are on the City Calendar and in the city’s Open Meetings Portal.
359 Broadway play spaces
Open house, 2 to 7 p.m. Monday. The outdoor play areas at 359 Broadway, the old Longfellow School building, is being redesigned for construction that’s expected to begin in 2027. Residents are invited to explore plans and give feedback while enjoying free food and festivities. In-person at 359 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge.
Changes target Airbnb abuse
Ordinance Committee, 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesday. This committee run by city councillors Marc McGovern and Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler considers updates to city laws about short-term rentals such as Airbnbs and Vrbos, which have sometimes been run illegally and disrupted neighborhoods. These changes do such things as impose more registration requirements and time restrictions and add enforcement mechanisms. The committee meets at City Hall, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Televised and watchable online and by Zoom videoconferencing.
Harvard’s 7th Street Burger
Harvard Square Advisory Committee, 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday. A chain called 7th Street Burger wants permission to open at 37 Brattle St., a 954-square-foot space that’s hosted the Marine Layer clothing store. The chain does made-to-order smash burgers in more than 40 shops nationwide, including two in Massachusetts, in Boston and South Boston. It needs permission to come in as a “formula business” with trademarked branding in an area where zoning is supposed to favor nonchain businesses. The committee also intends to finalize a draft of its guidance for businesses like 7th Street Burger that will have to go next to the Board of Zoning Appeal for a special permit. Watchable by Zoom videoconferencing.
