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The Cambridge City Council will soon weigh contentious proposals to raise the allowed height of buildings on Massachusetts Avenue and Cambridge Street — potentially one of the last major actions that councilors will take as their term draws to a close.

The Council’s Ordinance Committee voted to send the petitions to the full Council in a Tuesday meeting. Councilors, who have less than one month remaining in office, must vote on the proposals by Dec. 22 or punt the decision to the next Council.

The Mass. Ave. petition would allow developments up to 12 stories, nearly doubling the current limit along the corridor and allowing up to 18 stories in Porter Sq. through a special permit. The Cambridge Street proposal would allow residential buildings to reach eight stories in most areas, but up to 15 stories in major squares.

The proposals — targeting two of the highest-traffic corridors — aim to mitigate the city’s housing crisis while shepherding commercial development back to Cambridge.

Brick-and-mortar storefronts across the city have shuttered as a shift towards online retail has made keeping the doors open a major challenge. But as businesses slowly return to Cambridge, the city has pivoted to look for ways to incentivize both housing and commercial development.

Both proposals would allow mixed-use developments — properties that combine commercial and residential units — to reach taller heights than those that only include residential units to incentivize developers.

“Active Use” spaces, which are often retail stores, restaurants, or community centers, would be required for buildings taller than six stories on Cambridge Street and eight stories on Mass. Ave.

The Committee amended the proposals in the Tuesday meeting to also require buildings that are taller than eight stories to include “publicly beneficial” space, open space that is accessible to nonresidents of a building. The city’s current open space requirements allow developers to count private balconies and green roofs — a point residents have been quick to criticize.

The Cambridge Planning Board, though lacking the power to vote on the proposals themselves, is charged with making recommendations to the Council. The Planning Board — after listening residents in public comment in an October hearing — supported the petitions but criticized existing open space requirements.

The Ordinance Committee issued a favorable recommendation on the Mass. Ave. proposal, urging the full Council to adopt it in the Tuesday meeting. They issued a neutral recommendation on the Cambridge Street proposal.

The proposals will come in front of the Council next Monday, but are not eligible to be voted on until Dec. 22 — the Council’s last meeting of their term. If they do not come to a vote, the next Council will either choose to revisit them in January or allow the proposals to expire without voting.

—Staff writer Summer E. Rose can be reached at summer.rose@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @summerellenrose.