HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3113        FILED ON: 2/18/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4166

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Marjorie C. Decker

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act authorizing the city of Cambridge to provide police, fire, emergency and other municipal services to certain properties in the city of Somerville and the city of Boston.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3113        FILED ON: 2/18/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4166

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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An Act authorizing the city of Cambridge to provide police, fire, emergency and other municipal services to certain properties in the city of Somerville and the city of Boston.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1.The general court hereby finds and declares that: 

(a) Cambridge Crossing (also known as North Point) is a mixed-use, smart growth master plan development containing 20 separate and distinct building parcels and comprised of approximately 45.37 acres of land, situated in the Cities of Cambridge, Boston, and Somerville (the “Development”) or (“Cambridge Crossing”);

(b) The majority of the Development, (approximately 38.77 acres), is situated in the City of Cambridge, with the balance of the land located in the City of Boston, (1.29 acres), and the City of Somerville, (5.28 acres), with the majority of the buildings constructed or to be constructed (with the exception of one building which is wholly situated in the City of Somerville) to be located in whole or in part in the City of Cambridge (collectively, the “Serviced Parcels”, and each individually, a “Serviced Parcel”);

(c) Emergency access to the Serviced Parcels is only feasible by public ways situated in the City of Cambridge and the City of Cambridge will be providing the water, sewer, and other municipal services to the entirety of Cambridge Crossing and neither the City of Boston nor the City of Somerville will be providing those municipal services to Cambridge Crossing;

(d) Pursuant to the terms of a Memorandum of Agreement between the City of Cambridge and the current owner of the Cambridge Crossing, the roadway network and municipal infrastructure being (or to be) constructed therein by the current owner, will be conveyed to the City of Cambridge and become part of the City of Cambridge municipal system; 

(e) The Cities of Cambridge, Somerville and Boston each desire to enter into mutual aid agreements with one another to have the City of Cambridge (i) provide police, fire and other emergency services, including but not limited to, emergency communication and ambulance services (“Emergency Services”), and (ii) offer and provide such other municipal services to the Serviced Parcels as may be reasonably required and/or requested from time to time as a result of the Serviced Parcels being accessible solely from roadways situated in the City of Cambridge and the utilities owned, or to be owned, by the City of Cambridge located therein, including, without limitation, the provision of water, storm sewer and sanitary sewer (and the ability to charge normal and customary fees associated therewith) and services provided by the fire department (such services, “Other Municipal Services”); 

(f) The Cities of Cambridge, Somerville and Boston agree that having Cambridge provide the above services to the entirety of Cambridge Crossing will enable increased efficiency in, and the expeditious delivery of, public safety responses; 

(g) The Cities of Cambridge, Somerville and Boston agree that the City of Cambridge should receive ongoing payments to defray the cost of the services to be provided by the City of Cambridge to the Serviced Parcels. Specifically, the Cities seek authority to allow the City of Cambridge enter into mutual aid agreements with the Cities of Boston and Somerville to receive from the Cities of Boston and Somerville payments for the (a)  services provided by Cambridge that are attributable to (i) a Serviced Parcel situated partially in the City of Cambridge and (ii) the Serviced Parcel situated entirely in the City of Somerville; and 

(h) The purposes of this Act are to: (i) authorize the City of Cambridge: (1) to provide Emergency Services within the Serviced Parcels as if such parcels were entirely situated within the City of Cambridge; (2) through mutual aid agreements with Boston and Somerville, to receive payments from Boston and Somerville to reimburse the City of Cambridge for the provision of such services to such Serviced Parcel, as to the portion of such Serviced Parcel situated in the City of Cambridge; (3) through a mutual aid agreement, to receive payments from Somerville for the Serviced Parcel situated entirely in the City of Somerville to reimburse the City of Cambridge for the provisions of such services to such Serviced Parcel; and (4) to offer and provide the Other Municipal Services as if the same were situated entirety within the City of Cambridge; and (ii) authorize the City of Somerville and the City of Boston to delegate the Emergency Services and Other Municipal Services related to the Serviced Parcels to the City of Cambridge.

SECTION 2.The City of Cambridge is hereby authorized to provide the Emergency Services to the Serviced Parcels, specifically including, but not limited to, authorizing Cambridge Police Officers with full arrest powers, as if those parcels were wholly located in the City of Cambridge.

SECTION 3.The City of Cambridge shall have the right to provide such Other Municipal Services as are reasonably necessary to be provided to the Serviced Parcels and as are otherwise agreed to with any other municipality in which a particular Serviced Parcel is located.

SECTION 4.The City of Cambridge, the City of Somerville and the City of Boston are each hereby authorized to enter into agreements with one another, to the extent such Cities deem such agreements to be necessary and/or convenient, concerning Cambridge’s provision of Emergency Services and, to the extent applicable, Other Municipal Services to the Serviced Parcels, upon such terms and conditions as the Cities may agree.  In the event that the Cities fail to or have not entered into an agreement and the provision of Emergency Services or Other Municipal Services are required by a Serviced Parcel, the City of Cambridge shall be permitted to provide the services in connection with specific Serviced Parcels.