Councilor Asks Seizure Of University Property

An irate Cambridge city councilor promised yesterday to introduce an order at next Monday's meeting asking the city manager to "confiscate" all of the University's lands because of the administration's "lack of cooperation" in solving the city's parking problems.

"Unless Harvard cooperates, we will use drastic action," threatened Councilor Alfred Vellucci, whose proposal to take University property and use it for contracting parking spaces was defeated by a 5-4 vote of the Council last Monday.

"We will cut all their trees and all their landscape," Vellucci said, "after confiscating their land by police force if necessary." The councilor will ask for reconsideration of an altered form of his motion Monday, substituting "confiscation" for "taking by eminent domain."

"President Pusey has said that the city showed little interest in urban renewal," Vellucci claimed, "but the University has shown the least interest as far as parking is concerned." He added, "I am going to fine every Harvard student who parks his car on the public street at night unless the University makes all its property available for public parking."

Councilor Charles A. Watson called Vellucci's original proposal a "bad idea." He argued, "Not even the state let alone the city can take land away from an educational institution whose corporate franchise is as old as Harvard's."