City Council to Decide on Proposal Urging Kendall Sq. Blue-Collar Jobs

The Cambridge City Council is expected to vote tonight on a resolution aimed at insuring that the establishment of the "maximum number of blue collar jobs for Cambridge residents" will be a goal in developing the controversial Kendall Square Urban Renewal Area.

Adoption of the resolution would force the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority to offer a new plan for the development of the 24 acres in question.

Transients vs. Residents

The CRA two months ago recommended to the City Council that Cambridge use the area for a 400-room motel, 1 million square feet of office space, 400 apartments and townhouses, and a 2800-car garage.

Its proposal was a revision of an earlier recommendation that the area be used primarily for new, housing.

Since the CRA made its second proposal, community groups have protested that the recommended development would leave too few blue collar jobs for the nearby working-class neighborhood after the initial construction envisioned in the CRA's plan was completed.

CRA planners and consultants have contended that development centering on the construction of luxury housing and offices would bring more tax revenue into Cambridge, at the same time creating large numbers of white collar, professional, and technical jobs.

After public hearings in May, the Joint Subcommittee on Economic Development and Manpower and Housing and Land Use recommended that the Council adopt an order giving blue collar jobs top priority in Kendall Square development.

That resolution, which the Council expects to vote on tonight, also calls for "responsible participation by affected neighborhoods and institutions" in planning the urban renewal project.

At a public hearing of the Joint Subcommittee held last Thursday, representatives of several East Cambridge groups also urged that the Council give jobs primary consideration in its resolution.

A spokesman for the Cambridge Tenants Organizing Committee said, however, that he did not think the group would join a proposed task force of neighborhood groups if the City Manager appointed the task force.

Furthermore, the Joint Subcommittee's inclusion of "non-professional white-collar jobs" in its definition of "blue-collar jobs" may allow the CRA to continue to recommend luxury housing, he said.