King Weighs Bill Limiting Expansion

A bill that will give the city power for the first time in its history to regulate Harvard expansion into surrounding areas of Cambridge survived a procedural challenge in the state legislature yesterday and appears likely to become law this weekend.

Rick Stanton, chief legislative aide to Gov. Edward J. King, said late last night it "would be premature" to say if the governor would sign the bill but added "nobody is going to be disappointed, if you get my drift."

The bill, which has been on the governor's desk for eight days, almost died a bureaucratic death yesterday afternoon when a recall petition threatened to return the measure to the Senate, where it seemed likely to get lost as the legislature rushed towards adjournment in the next few days.

But pressure from Cambridge's state legislature delegation and from local officials apparently revived the bill, which will subject the University to city zoning codes and give Cambridge more leverage in its dealings with Harvard.

Mea Non Culpa

The recall petition was "scuttled" after State "Sen. McCann and I expressed our displeasure," State Sen. Michael LoPresti said last night. LoPresti and Francis McCann are the two Cambridge representatives to the state Senate.

King can either sign or veto the measure. If he does neither the statute will become law without his signature if the legislature is still in session Saturday night at midnight, when the time limit on the bill expires. But if the legislature "proroges" or adjourns before Saturday night, King could pocket veto the bill by not acting on it.

"The Governor's office seems to think there may be constitutional problems with the bill," LoPresti said last night. But sources inside the governor's office said it was very likely King would sign the legislation if the Senate failed to recall it.

If passed, the bill would subject Harvard to all Cambridge zoning regulations for the first time in history. Every other college and university in the city falls under municipal zoning, but Harvard, thanks to an antiquated passage in the state constitution, has remained protected.

Harvard spokesmen said yesterday the bill will not affect University operations, adding that Harvard has always abided city zoning codes.

But several local leaders charged yesterday that Harvard might have lobbied to have the bill recalled.

"I have my suspicions--I suspect someone connected with the Harvard University administration might have had something to do with it," city councilor David Sullivan, who was instrumental in drafting the bill, said yesterday.

Two Harvard officials, Robin Schmidt, vice president for government and community affairs, and Lewis Armistead, Schmidt's assistant, denied that Harvard had done anything to influence legislators or the governor.

"We haven't done any lobbying on it, and we won't," Armistead said yesterday.

Schmidt said he thought the bill had already been signed.

If enacted, the legislation would allow Cambridge planners to include the University, among the city's largest landholders, in institutional zoning codes currently being drawn up.

Until those codes are approved by the City Council, Harvard, like every other educational institution in the city, would be barred from converting residential property to other uses.

City leaders say they hope the legislation will give them more leverage in dealing with the University