Cambridge, MA

Cambridge Code Section 10.08.010 bars leaving a car, truck or motorcycle on any public or private way, or on any property, for more than 72 hours without the owner's or lessee's…

Cambridge's Zoning Ordinance treats publicly-accessible, privately-owned electric vehicle charging as a listed accessory use, permitted by right in every zoning district except the…

Cambridge's Zoning Ordinance requires enclosed loading bays near residential districts for night-operating businesses and bars trucks of 2.5 tons or more from most city streets between…

Cambridge's Zoning Ordinance bars on-grade open parking from a lot's required front yard setback and forces every parking surface to be graded and paved, not left as bare dirt or…

Massachusetts caps what a tow company can charge you after a nonconsensual tow. Under 220 CMR 272.03(1) the maximum charge for towing a passenger automobile up to five miles is $132.00…

MA has no broad cottage food exemption. Under MGL c.94 s.305B and 105 CMR 500, Cambridge home food producers must get a Residential Kitchen license from the ISD Health Division.

Cambridge lets residents run home occupations as an accessory use under Zoning Ordinance Section 4.21.d, but only specific professions and craftspeople qualify: resident physicians…

Massachusetts preempts local zoning of family child care for up to six children under MGL c.28A and c.40A §3, requiring state EEC licensing and treating licensed homes as residential…

Massachusetts has no microenterprise home kitchen permit and no home restaurant category. The one route to serving cooked meals out of a private kitchen is the bed-and-breakfast branch…

Cambridge enforces strict smoke and carbon monoxide detector rules under MGL c.148 s.26F and 527 CMR 1.00. Cambridge Fire Department inspects every home at point of sale and issues a…

Cambridge bans burning leaves and other refuse outright. Section 8.24.150 of the Municipal Code states the burning of leaves and other refuse is strictly prohibited, with no permit…

Massachusetts prohibits the sale, possession, and use of all consumer fireworks by private individuals, including sparklers, with no municipal opt-out permitted.

Massachusetts requires a state fire marshal license and local fire chief permit to store flammable gases including propane above specified threshold quantities.

Massachusetts bans any open-air fire statewide unless the local forest warden or fire chief issues a permit good for no more than two days. Violators face a fine up to $500 plus the…

Massachusetts law requires STR operators to carry at least 1 million dollars in liability insurance covering each rental, either directly or through the hosting platform.

Cambridge caps each short-term rental operator at one operator-occupied unit, with no more than three individual bedrooms rented out, plus at most one separate owner-adjacent unit…

Every Cambridge short-term rental operator must register with Inspectional Services and obtain a certificate of registration before hosting, backed by a mandatory pre-issuance…

Cambridge lets residents run operator-occupied short-term rentals only while the operator actually lives there. If the host leaves the unit for more than seven straight days, the…

Cambridge short-term rental operators must remit all city and state taxes and fees on their rental income, on top of the registration fees charged for the Inspectional Services…

Cambridge only permits operator-occupied short-term rentals in a unit that is the operator's actual primary residence, and operators must prove that status with a tax-exemption…

Cambridge allows accessory dwelling units by right under the 2024 MA Affordable Homes Act and MGL c.40A s.3A, the statewide ADU mandate. Most residential districts now permit one ADU…

In Cambridge's Residence C-1 zoning district, an accessory building such as a shed or garage cannot sit closer to any lot line than the district's minimum setback, and in Residence C-1…

Pool barriers in Cambridge must be at least 4 feet tall with self-closing and self-latching gates per the Massachusetts State Building Code and International Swimming Pool and Spa Code.

Cambridge prohibits barbed wire and razor wire in residential zones; historic districts restrict materials to wood, wrought iron, and period-appropriate options subject to Commission…

Within Cambridge's Parkway Overlay District, land the ordinance designates near arterial parkways such as the Fresh Pond Reservation, Zoning Ordinance Section 20.65 caps any front- or…

Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 49 establishes a statewide spite fence statute treating fences over six feet erected maliciously to annoy a neighbor as a private nuisance subject to…

Cambridge prohibits traditional livestock (cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, horses) in all zoning districts; only urban hens and bees are allowed as agricultural animals.

Cambridge pet shops cannot sell commercially-bred dogs, cats or other animals; Municipal Code § 6.20.020 lets them offer only animals sourced from an animal care facility, a rescue…

Cambridge's Zoning Ordinance treats a vet clinic as an "Animal Services Facility," a category of Retail or Consumer Service Establishment. Section 4.30's Table of Use Regulations bars…

Cambridge bars dogs from running at large off their owner's property, and any dog off the owner's or a consenting neighbor's premises must be controlled on a chain, rope or cord no…

Cambridge allows backyard beekeeping as a zoning accessory use, but keepers need a Cambridge Public Health Department permit, hives are capped at 20 cubic feet and 6 feet tall, and…

Cambridge does not impose breed-specific restrictions; Massachusetts General Law Chapter 140 Section 157A prohibits cities from regulating dogs based on breed.

Massachusetts prohibits private possession of most exotic and wild animals statewide. MassWildlife regulates permits, and the list of prohibited species is uniform across the…

Animal cruelty including hoarding is criminalized statewide under M.G.L. Chapter 272 Section 77. Hoarding triggers welfare investigations and felony charges in severe cases.

Cambridge caps outdoor noise by zoning district under Municipal Code Chapter 8.16. Residential lot lines can't exceed 60 dB(A) by day and 50 dB(A) at night, commercial areas top out at…

Cambridge bars outdoor power tools, loading and unloading, and construction between roughly 6 p.m. and 7 a.m., with domestic power tools like saws and lawn equipment specifically…

A Cambridge owner violates the Noise Control Ordinance if a dog, bird or other animal howls, barks or squawks loudly enough to be plainly audible 50 feet from the lot line, or at all…

Playing a radio, phonograph, loudspeaker or public address system in Cambridge is a noise violation if it's plainly audible 50 feet from the building, vehicle or dwelling unit where…

Cambridge bars audible construction, drilling or demolition noise on weekdays from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m., and from 6 p.m. Saturday to 9 a.m. Monday-adjacent weekends and holidays, under…

Cambridge bans unreasonably loud vehicle horns and signalling devices, and bars repairing, rebuilding or testing a motor vehicle, motorcycle or motorboat when plainly audible 50 feet…

Cambridge bans gas-powered leaf blowers outright and limits all leaf blowers, gas or electric, to two seasonal windows: March 15 to June 15 and September 15 to December 31. Use is…

Massachusetts regulates aircraft noise statewide through 740 CMR 24.00, the Logan Airport Noise Abatement rule enforced by the Massachusetts Port Authority. It bars new, noisier…

Under a drought declaration, Cambridge Municipal Code § 13.08.090 imposes four escalating watering-day tiers: Level 1 limits outdoor watering to one day a week before 9 a.m. or after 5…

Cutting down a 'Significant Tree,' anything six inches or more in trunk diameter on a Cambridge lot, needs a permit from the City Arborist first. The Arborist logs the tree's size, the…

Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 87 establishes statewide rules governing the trimming, pruning, and care of public shade trees, requiring a tree warden's authorization for cutting…

Cambridge Code § 8.24.040(B)(2) requires every owner or occupant of private property to cut and dispose of weeds in any yard area or vacant lot, or around adjoining public or private…

Cambridge property owners must clear sidewalk snow within twelve hours of a daytime snowfall, or by 1 p.m. after an overnight fall, and remove ice within six hours of it forming, under…

Under MGL c.40A s.3, Massachusetts protects solar access by prohibiting zoning or private restrictions that unreasonably prevent solar installation, though reasonable condo and HOA…

Cambridge treats solar arrays as a permitted accessory system under a standard building permit, but zoning protection only kicks in once the system is added to the city's public solar…

Cambridge Department of Public Works collects residential trash once per week on a zone-based schedule. Carts must be placed curbside by 6 AM on collection day and removed by the…

Cambridge residents may schedule up to two bulk items per week for curbside pickup by appointment through DPW. Mattresses and box springs require mandatory recycling under state law.

Cambridge Code § 8.24.070 makes recycling mandatory, not optional, for every building in the city. Owners and occupants must separate designated recyclable materials from trash whether…

Cambridge bars anyone from dumping carcasses, filth, rubbish, or earth on any common or public ground without the Commissioner of Public Works' permission, under Municipal Code §…

Any dumpster or roll-off in Cambridge, including construction-site containers, needs an annual license from the Commissioner of Inspectional Services under Chapter 8.25. The license…

Cambridge requires leaves and yard waste to be bagged in paper leaf bags or set out in owner-supplied barrels marked with City-approved labels during the leaf and yard waste collection…

Cambridge caps how long trash and recycling receptacles can sit at the curb: Section 8.24.090 bars setting them out before six p.m. the night before pickup and requires removal by six…

Cambridge allows residents to post No Soliciting or No Trespassing signs that legally bar commercial solicitors. Ignoring such signs can result in trespass enforcement under MGL c.266…

Before selling anything on a Cambridge sidewalk or public way, or leaving goods there more than ten minutes, a vendor needs a fifty-cent permit from the Superintendent of Streets…

Residence C-1 lots in Cambridge must keep a 10-foot front yard and a 5-foot side or rear yard under the Zoning Ordinance's dimensional table. A dwelling need not set back further than…

Cambridge caps residential buildings in the Residence C-1 district at 4 stories and 45 feet under the Zoning Ordinance's Table of Dimensional Requirements. A bonus path allows up to 6…

Massachusetts condos levy common expense assessments under MGL c.183A s.6, and unpaid fees create a super-lien that takes priority over most mortgages for up to 6 months of charges.

M.G.L. c. 183A, § 10(c) requires a Massachusetts condominium to keep a defined set of records up to date within the Commonwealth and to make them available for reasonable inspection by…

Massachusetts overrides some HOA and condo restrictions by statute. M.G.L. c. 184 § 23C voids deed covenants and condo-document provisions that forbid or unreasonably restrict solar…

Massachusetts gives owners an affirmative right to install electric vehicle supply equipment in their own unit or in a parking area they hold exclusive use of, and M.G.L. c. 183A, §…

Massachusetts gives a condominium's organization of unit owners express statutory power to levy fines, and attaches almost no conditions to it. M.G.L. c. 183A, § 10(b)(5) authorizes…

Massachusetts is not a UCIOA state, and its condominium lien rules sit in a home-grown statute, G.L. c. 183A, § 6. The lien attaches automatically when an assessment falls due and is…

Massachusetts runs the opposite way from states that cap association leasing bans. M.G.L. c. 64G, § 15 provides that nothing in the short-term rental chapter confers a right to lease…

Cambridge permits licensed recreational and medical cannabis dispensaries under the city cannabis ordinance and zoning, with buffer zones from schools and a Host Community Agreement…

Cambridge bars a Cannabis Retail Store or Production Facility from locating within 300 feet of a pre-existing school or public playground, and keeps competing retail stores 1,800 feet…

Massachusetts preempts local bans on personal cannabis cultivation under MGL c.94G §7, allowing adults 21+ to grow up to six plants per person and twelve per household statewide.

Cambridge participates in the National Flood Insurance Program and enforces a Flood Plain Overlay District covering FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas along the Charles River and Alewife…

In Cambridge's Open Space District, boat docks are not allowed by right. The Zoning Ordinance's Table of Use Regulations permits them only as a Commercial Recreation use approved by…

Cambridge doesn't write its own idling clock into the General Code: state law already caps unnecessary engine idling at five minutes. Municipal Code Section 10.17.100, part of the…

No one may excavate, connect to, alter or otherwise use Cambridge's wastewater or stormwater drainage system without a written permit from the Commissioner of Public Works, per…

Cambridge builds to its own forward-looking flood standard instead of just FEMA's historical base flood elevation. The City Engineer sets parcel-by-parcel Long-Term Flood Elevations…

Massachusetts regulates all tidelands and coastal development statewide under Chapter 91 (MGL c.91) and 310 CMR 9.00, requiring state licenses for structures and fill in tidelands…

Cambridge treats automatic license plate readers as regulated Surveillance Technology under Municipal Code Chapter 2.128. Before police or any city department acquires, funds, or…

Cambridge outright bans city staff, including police, from obtaining, retaining, requesting, accessing, or using Face Recognition Technology or any information derived from it. The…

Cambridge designates individual landmarks under Code of Ordinances Chapter 2.78, Article III, protecting properties tied to the city's cultural, political or architectural history. The…

Cambridge charges permit fees for all plumbing and gas fitting work under City Code Chapter 15.12, with new plumbing installs starting at $50.00 for up to five fixtures. Starting work…

Cambridge requires an electrical permit before work starts, and starting first triples the fee under Municipal Code § 15.08.010. The itemized fee schedule at § 15.08.030 sets a $25…

Cambridge's Inspectional Services Department follows a fixed repair-and-reinspection cycle for State Sanitary Code violations, with escalating fines starting at $100 or $10 per day…

Cambridge requires large development projects to meet a certified green building standard before they can get a permit. Projects of 25,000 square feet or larger must hit LEED Gold, or…

Cambridge's Welcoming Community Ordinance, Municipal Code Chapter 2.129, bars police from arresting or detaining anyone solely on an ICE detainer or administrative warrant and blocks…

A car alarm in Cambridge must shut off within 10 minutes and not sound again within the hour, or the owner faces a $100 fine per violation under Municipal Code § 8.16.080.J.3, and…

A Cambridge bar or club violates the Noise Control Ordinance if its music or sound system is plainly audible 50 feet from the venue, or at all inside a marked noise sensitive zone…

Cambridge's Noise Control Ordinance bans loading and unloading of boxes, crates, containers, and garbage cans between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. on weekdays, and between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m…

Cambridge Code Section 9.04.080 prohibits skateboarding anywhere on city property except in city-owned skateboard parks or other areas the City specifically designates. Police officers…

Cambridge Code Section 9.08.020 bars drinking any alcoholic beverage, as defined in G.L. c. 138, Section 1, on public ways, in parks and playgrounds, or on private property without the…

Cambridge Code Section 9.08.060 bars loitering or sauntering in a street in a way that obstructs or endangers travelers or risks a breach of the peace, while expressly protecting…

Cambridge bans smoking in any 'public park restricted area,' meaning fenced tot lots and public outdoor parks under 15,000 square feet, plus every municipal vehicle, under Section…

Cambridge Code Chapter 8.70 bars food establishments, including school cafeterias, from dispensing prepared food in disposable containers made of polystyrene foam. The rule covers…

Cambridge retailers cannot hand out thin single-use plastic checkout bags. Under the Bring Your Own Bag Ordinance, any bag given at checkout must be a recyclable paper bag or a…

Cambridge requires a Recreation Commission permit before Sunday sports or games run on any public park or playground, under Municipal Code § 12.20.030. Permits fix the exact hours of…

Cambridge bars standing or loitering on a sidewalk or street in a way that blocks free passage, or lingering near a building to annoy passersby, once a police officer directs you to…

Any sign, awning, marquee, clock or similar structure projecting more than six inches over a Cambridge public way needs a City Council-authorized encroachment permit under Municipal…

Cambridge keeps sidewalks in repair at City expense by default under Municipal Code Section 12.16.050, but shifts the cost onto the abutting owner or occupant whenever the damage is…

Cambridge backs up the state Sanitary Code with its own fine schedule for landlords who ignore repair orders. Inspectional Services issues an administrative citation alongside every…

For nonpayment of rent, Massachusetts requires a 14-day notice to quit under M.G.L. c. 186 § 11 (leases) or § 12 (tenancies at will). After the notice expires, the landlord must bring…

MGL Chapter 239 sets uniform statewide summary process eviction procedures for residential tenancies, establishing notice requirements, court process, and tenant defenses applicable in…

Massachusetts has no general statute requiring advance notice before a landlord enters. M.G.L. c. 186 § 15B(1)(a) instead limits when a lease may permit entry, to inspect, make…

Massachusetts strictly limits late fees. Under M.G.L. c. 186 § 15B(1)(c), no lease or rental agreement may impose any interest or penalty for late rent until the rent is at least 30…

To end a tenancy at will (month-to-month), Massachusetts requires written notice equal to one full rental period or 30 days, whichever is longer, under M.G.L. c. 186 § 12. Fixed-term…

Massachusetts prohibits rent control statewide. Voters abolished it through a 1994 ballot referendum codified as Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 40P, the Massachusetts Rent Control Prohibition…

Massachusetts has one of the nation's strictest security deposit laws. A landlord may collect no more than one month's rent as a security deposit, must hold it in a separate…

Massachusetts requires 20 years of continuous adverse possession to claim title to land. Under M.G.L. c. 260 § 21, an action to recover land must be brought within 20 years after the…

Cambridge owners and occupants must fix a defective service pipe or fixture within three days of it becoming defective, or stop water running to waste, under Municipal Code §…

Cambridge's Inspectional Services Department must physically reinspect a rental unit after ordering repairs under the State Sanitary Code: within five days for standard violations, and…

Cambridge's Tree Protection Ordinance singles out 'Exceptional Trees,' meaning any protected tree thirty inches or more in trunk diameter, for extra-strength safeguards. Removing one…

Anyone in Cambridge with running bamboo must keep it from spreading onto a neighbor's land or city property. The Running Bamboo Ordinance requires a specific underground barrier…

Cambridge lets only city residents hawk meats, butter, cheese, fish and fresh fruit or vegetables on the street, and only after the Board of License Commissioners issues a ten-dollar…

Cambridge bans hawking, peddling or giving away goods within a large downtown loop bounded by Memorial Drive, Mount Auburn Street, Harvard Square and the surrounding streets, unless…

Every dumpster licensed in Cambridge must stay in good enough condition to keep rodents out and stay covered and secured except while being filled or emptied. Section 8.25.080 lets the…

Selling tobacco products anywhere in Cambridge requires a tobacco sales permit from the Inspectional Services Department under Section 8.28.030(C). Permits are renewed every July 1, a…

Cambridge pawnbrokers operate under a Board of License Commissioners license issued per state pawnbroking law, plus a city-set hours rule. Chapter 5.32 confines business to eight a.m…

Cambridge requires anyone who deals in junk, old metals, secondhand goods or rags to hold an annual license from the Board of License Commissioners before buying, storing or selling…

Cambridge bans selling any flavored tobacco product to consumers under Section 8.28.030(K), covering characterizing flavors like fruit, candy, and dessert tastes. The only carve-out is…

Massachusetts requires purchasers of tobacco and vape products to be at least 21 years of age under MGL Chapter 270 Section 6, predating the 2019 federal Tobacco 21 law.

Cambridge exempts political signs from a sign permit as a temporary noncommercial sign, but caps them at 20 square feet under the Zoning Ordinance. A separate 10-square-foot cap…

In Residence C-1 districts, Cambridge's Zoning Ordinance bars outdoor floodlighting or decorative lighting outright, but carves out temporary holiday lighting used no longer than four…

Cambridge's zoning ordinance requires new outdoor light fixtures in Affordable Housing Overlay (AHO) developments to be fully shielded and aimed away from neighboring residential lots…

Cambridge's zoning ordinance requires the Harvard Square Advisory Committee and permit-granting authorities to judge new development in the Harvard Square Overlay District against the…

Cambridge lets Inclusionary Housing Projects build 30% more gross floor area or dwelling units than the district otherwise allows, as-of-right, plus extra height in Residence C-1, in…

Cambridge zoning recognizes urban farming, community gardens and related agricultural uses under Article 23.000, but growers must still follow the city's Noise Control Ordinance…

Massachusetts protects farms from nuisance lawsuits under M.G.L. c. 243 § 6: a farm operating more than one year using generally accepted agricultural practices cannot be found a…

Massachusetts has no statewide omnibus drone statute, so recreational flying follows federal FAA rules. But across the roughly 450,000 acres the Department of Conservation and…

Massachusetts sets a statewide minimum wage of $15.00 per hour under MGL Chapter 151, and generally preempts cities from adopting higher local minimum wages.

Massachusetts provides paid family and medical leave through the PFML program under MGL Chapter 175M, plus paid sick time under the Earned Sick Time Law for most employees.

Massachusetts requires a License to Carry under MGL Chapter 140 Section 131 to carry concealed handguns, with applications processed by local police chiefs subject to suitability…

Massachusetts requires a valid License to Carry under MGL Chapter 140 Section 131 to transport loaded handguns in a vehicle, with strict storage rules applying to long guns and…

Beyond frost depth and snow load, the Massachusetts design criteria table sets weathering, termite risk, ice barrier, flood and air freezing index values that apply to every home built…

Massachusetts sets one frost line depth for the whole state: 48 inches. Footings must bear below that depth anywhere in the Commonwealth, and cities and towns do not set their own…

Massachusetts publishes a ground snow load for every one of its 351 cities and towns in a single state table, ranging from 25 psf on the Cape and Islands to 60 psf in the hill towns.

Massachusetts lists a minimum flat roof snow load for every city and town, and requires designers to use whichever is larger: that listed floor or the load calculated from the local…

The Expanded Gaming Act divides Massachusetts into three casino license regions and caps category 1 licenses at one per region. A resort casino can open only in a city or town that…

Massachusetts law bans commercial gambling but carves out G.L. c. 271 § 7A for nonprofit raffles and bazaars: veterans', religious, fraternal, educational, and civic groups that have…

Massachusetts bans gaming for money only in a public conveyance or public place, or in a private place where the player is trespassing. G.L. c. 271, § 2 does not reach cards, dice, or…

Massachusetts legalized sports wagering under G.L. c. 23N, with retail betting live January 31, 2023 and mobile apps following March 10, 2023. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission…

The Massachusetts General Laws contain no sobriety checkpoint statute. A full-text search returns nothing for roadblock, roadblocks or sobriety checkpoint, and the single hit for…

Massachusetts has no statute granting a right to record police. It has G.L. c. 272, section 99, one of the strictest wiretap laws in the country, and the operative word in it is…

Massachusetts has no general stop-and-identify law reaching people on foot. The duty at G.L. c. 90, section 25 attaches only to a person operating or in charge of a motor vehicle, and…

Massachusetts has no clause saying lawful cannabis possession is not grounds for a search, unlike Michigan or Maryland. What it has instead is G.L. c. 276, section 1, which narrows…

Massachusetts treats a golf cart and a low-speed vehicle as different machines with different rights. A true golf cart may be driven on a public way only under one narrow carve-out in…

Massachusetts bars any vehicle from mounting or displaying a flashing, rotating or oscillating light in any direction except under G.L. c. 90, section 7E, and section 7E hands out red…

Massachusetts has no dash camera statute, but G.L. c. 90, section 13B expressly permits a device to be mounted on or affixed to a vehicle windshield, dashboard or centre console so…

Lane splitting is illegal in Massachusetts. G.L. c. 89, § 4A tells the operator of a motorcycle that he shall not pass any other motor vehicle within the same lane, and the ban carries…

Massachusetts bans plate covers by naming the device rather than by regulating tint or reflectivity. G.L. c. 90, § 6 says number plates shall be kept clean with the numbers legible and…

Nothing in the Massachusetts General Laws prohibits a radar detector in a private car. A full-text search of the General Laws returns no hit at all for radar detector, speed measuring…

Massachusetts writes its studded tire rule as a ban on the warm half of the year rather than as a permission for winter. G.L. c. 90, § 16 makes it unlawful to operate a motor vehicle…

Massachusetts lets you put aftermarket film on the front side windows, the rear side windows and the rear window only if it transmits at least 35 per cent of visible light and reflects…