Council Fails to Change Cambridgeport Zoning

After months of behind-the-scenes manuevering and hours of heated debate in their list two meetings, the Cambridge City Council failed Monday to approve new zoning ordinances for the last large tract of underdeveloped land in the city, leaving the 130-acreplotopen to almost unrestricted development.

The councillors succeeded in substituting a compromise zoning plan prepared by the city's Community Development Department (CCD) for a more restrictive petition submitted by the Simplex Steering Committee, a neighborhood group, but were unable to rally the seven votes required by state law to change existing zoning.

"The zoning is status quo," said Councillor David E. Sullivan yesterday. "The land probably won't be in a few months, unfortunately."

Both proposals sought to end a more than two-and-one-half-year debate on what type of development should be allowed in the Cambridgeport Industrial District, located in the southern tip of the city.

Several councillors and some neighborhood groups have stated that the present zoning will allow developers to concentrate on highly profitable office complexes, which would not provide job opportunities for the largely blue collar population. In addition, the housing constructed along with the offices will be liminted and accessible only to white-collar workers, serving to gentrify the Cambridgeport neighborhood.

Frustrated by the inability of the council to act on the zoning. MIT--the largest land-owner in Cambridgeport--moved last year to begin to take steps toward developing the former site of the Simplex Cable and Wire factory 27 acres in the north of the industrial district Last week, the university designated forest City, a Cleveland, Ohio-bsed firm, as the developer for the project.

Because zoning changes require a three-quarters majority for passage, the council's three conservative Independent members were able to block the proposed changes. In interviews after the meeting, they said they opposed passing anything in the short course of two weeks.

"Let's get MIT in here and see what their plans are before we rush into something," said Independent Councillor Leonard J. Russell. In haste, we accomplish nothing."

My neighbors are telling me that Cambridgeport has had its share of problems and troubles and they want to move very, very slowly, said Independent Daniel J. Clinton, the only Councillor who lives in the area.

Despite concerns raised by several of the council's liberal members that the failure to pass any new zoning gives MIT and other developers a free hand in Cambridgeport, Clinton said that "even people working on the Simples petition know nothing is going to happen for a year.

Both the CDD prepared plan and, to an even greater extent the neighborhood group sizoning petition would have promoted light industry in the tract by limiting the developed and the percentage of each building used for office space. In addition. both proposals would have required new housing construction, with a certain number of units reserved for low and moderate-income residents.

This housing requirement was a principal point of contention in Monday's debate. In two roll-call votes, the three Independents voted down an attempt by Councillor Saundra Graham to raise the number of low and moderate-income units required to 300 and a subsequent move by Mayor Alfred E. Vellucci to raise the figure to 70.

Clinton said that his neighborhood already had the largest percentage of public housing of any section in Cambridge, adding that his constituents have expressed concern about adding more. "Let everyone accept a little bit in the spirit of doing things together," he said.

Simplex Steering Committee members repeated their concerns about unrestricted development after the Monday session, and called the councillor's move to substitute a compromise plan for their own petition "a slap in the face.