Council Rebuffs Historic Districts

The Cambridge City Council argued about the long-discussed Historic Districts Plan for an hour Monday, but the plan to preserve the City's historic shrines ended up being recommitted to he Ordinance Committee.

The historic districts plan, drawn up after several months of exhaustive study by a committee of Cambridge citizens was submitted to the Council for final approval early this year.

The plan calls for the designation of four areas in the City as "historic districts." Within these districts, no building can be constructed and no change can be made in an existing structure which is "obviously incongruous to the neighborhood.

Councillor Walter J. Sullivan objected at Monday meeting to the inclusion of one of the four districts in the report the Cambridge Common. Sullivan argued that this historic area requires further study "because some buildings near the Common require renovation while others may be slated for construction."

It has been widely reported that developer John Briston Sullivan is against designation of the Common as a historic district because he still hopes to construct an office building on stilts near the Square. Any such building might not be allowed in a historic district.

Because of the opposition of Sullivan and other councillors, the entire plan stood in danger of being permanently defeated. But after the plan had actually failed of passage, Councillor Alfred E. Vellucci moved reconsideration, and the motion was sent back to the Ordinance Committee.