City Councillors Angered By Stop & Shop Proposal

A new plan by the Stop & Shop Corporation for the purchase and development of city land in North Cambridge took members of the City Council by surprise last night, as attorneys for the company appeared to address the council on issues of which they had not been informed.

The councillors, who expected only to vote on technical amendments to the sale of Riverside Rd., were shocked when the issue turned out to be a new plan to resolved the Stop & Shop construction stalemate.

The plan, brought forth by the lawyers, was presented without the customary report by City Manager Robert W. Healy and not accompanied by a specific construction plan, councillors said.

"This is not the way you dispose of public land," said Francis H. Duehay '55. "I cannot vote for this in the way its being presented."

Neither could anyone else. A motion introduced by Mayor Alfred E. Vellucci to table the proposal until next week passed unanimously, allowing the council to wait for a more detailed proposal from the company before taking action.

Almost one year ago, attorneys for Stop & Shop first approached the city, expressing an interest in purchasing Riverside Rd. in order to construct a Stop & Shop superstore. The company already owned a smaller store on adjacent land but needed extra space for its larger building.

Under the new offer, a subsidiary of Stop & Shop would pay the city $1 million for the road. To ensure that the company did not use it for other purposes, the city would have the option of buying back the land if the company did not build a grocery within 10 years.

But in addition to the purchase price, the city would have to pay the company prime-rate interest if it exercised its buy-back option. After 10 years, it would cost the city approximately $2 million to repurchase the land, Healy said.

Vellucci questioned the desirability of such an arrangement. He asked the company's attorney if he played craps. When the attorney replied that he did not, Vellucci said, "When you roll the dice, you don't get prime rate back when you lose."

Other councillors objected to the manner in which the plan was submitted.

But an attorney for the company said if an agreement were not reached soon, the current store would have to shut down within two years. The company would then sell the land to another developer, who might not be as restrained and responsible as Stop & Shop, he said.

"There really has been fleshed out everything but a final set of plans," the attorney said. "You know exactly what's going to be there. Sure, you don't have everything you want, but you're not in the dark. You're fully protected."

But councillors remained unconvinced. "I would like to vote for this. But it doesn't smell too good," said Vellucci.

"The people live in this city," said Duehay. "It's not just a place where business goes on. You can't get away with this. You're not going to get away with this."