Planning Board Approves Shady Hill Zoning Change

Harvard has won the first battle in its campaign to obtain the zoning change needed to permit construction of 300 units of Faculty housing on the controversial Shady Hill site.

In a report made public yesterday, the Cambridge Planning Board recommended, by a three-to-two margin, that the City Council grant the University's request to rezone the five-and-a-half acre site from the present single-family residential classification to one of multi-family residential.

The request to rezone the site, which is located near the Divinity School, had sparked considerable controversy in a public hearing before the Planning Board last month. The dissension is expected to continue this Monday, when the City Council takes up the Shady Hill issue.

About 20 witnesses appeared at the Planning Board hearing to oppose Harvard's petition. Some argued that the 300 units would impose an undue strain on streets and other public facilities in the areas and destroy its sedate residential character. Others said that, in view of Cambridge's shortage of housing. Harvard should build more than 300 units there.

Planning Board's Report

In recommending approval of the request, the Planning Board's report said the 300 units "can be accommodated with out substantial detriment to the surrounding neighborhood." To increase the project's impact on the housing shortage, the report said Harvard should:

Attempt to lower the rents for the 300 units to bring them more within the budgets of graduate students. Current projections call for rents of $240 a month for one bedroom, $290 for two bedrooms, and $335 for three bedrooms.

Give highest priority for Shady Hill apartments to University personnel now living off-campus in Cambridge, and lowest priority to those living outside the City.

Skew the rental levels in the housing so that some apartments would rent for considerably less than the average rate.

Harvard officials expressed interest in these proposals. "They're all good ideas. I think they're things that we definitely ought to try to work on," said EdwardS. Gruson, assistant to the President for Community Affairs.

He did dispute, however, the Planning Board's contention that the projected rent levels were too high for graduate students to live in the apartments. Single graduate students could "double up" (live together in a multi-bedroom unit), and pay about the same amount of rent they now do when living off-campus, Gruson said.

When the Shady Hill issue comes before the City Council for action, Harvard will need affirmative votes from at least six of the nine city councillors in order to receive the zoning change.

If opponents of the change are able to gather the signatures of owners of 20 per cent of the property within 200 feet of the area to be re-zoned, the votes of seven councillors will probably be needed for approval of the re-zoning petition, although laws on the question are not entirely clear.

Opponents of the change are now collecting signatures against it, but last night they were unable to say whether they would have the necessary signatures by Monday, when their petition must be filed.

If Harvard receives the zoning change, construction of the 300 units is scheduled to begin during May, and be completed by 1972. Construction plans call for an 18 and a 20 story tower, as well as a lories townhouse and a 400-car parking garage on the site.