Council Tables Downzoning, Asks Mass Ave Compromise

Mid-Cambridge residents and potential developers will meet this week in an attempt to hammer out an acceptable zoning proposal for the strip of Mass Ave between Harvard and Central Squares.

The City Council tabled the issue last night, after it appeared neither the developers, who favor a zoning proposal to allow greater height, nor the local residents, who fear a "canyon of buildings," had enough votes to win a council fight.

"I can count, and the way I count you may come up with nothing from us. Some of you want three-and-a-half stories, some of you want six stories, maybe you can work out a compromise," councilor Alfred E. Vellucci told the audience that crowded into City Hall for last night's public hearing.

Proponents of height-limiting "downzoning" along Mass Ave and adjoining side streets told the council they feared that without it large-scale development would soon destroy old residential neighborhoods.

"The current zoning is completely inappropriate for the location, Robert La Tremouille, who drafted the downzoning plan, told the council. "The zoning in the area is the highest and the densest in the city," he added.

Traffic and parking problems along the six-block stretch would worsen were large-scale development permitted, area resident Richard Dell predicted. "The developments are simply too intense for the surrounding neighborhoods," Dell said.

Opponents of the downzoning, however, said it would make development along the street all but impossible, reducing potential gains in the city's tax base.

"Four-to-six story buildings are what developers need to operate. We're not talking about skyscrapers," Ralph Hoagland, who owns the Orson Welles complex, said.

"That is a size that will allow building to develop and pay taxes--and everyone in the city realizes that we need more tax money," Hoagland added.

City Councilor David Wylie, however, said gains in the city's tax base would be minor compared with potential damage from unchecked development. "There is no reason for us to turn mid-Cambridge into a downtown center," Wylie said.

Developers have already announced plans to build several large-scale buildings along the strip, which separates the mid-Cambridge and Riverside neighborhoods