City Blocks Supermarket

A deadlocked City Council last night reversed the stance it took in August and blocked indefinitely a plan to allow Stop and Shop Inc. to create an ultra-modern supermarket.

For the second straight week, the council failed to approve a recommendation from City Solicitor Russell B. Higley that would allow the city to sell Riverside Rd. to Stop and Shop for $1 million. Instead, the council voted to table the matter and let City Manager Robert W. Healy negotiate further with the chain.

The terms of the council's August decision expire at the end of the week, and Healy told the council that if the agreement ran out, Stop and Shop might no longer agree to meet the city's $1 million sale price.

But several councillors said they were concerned that the supermarket company had not provided clear plans for the site. Last week, the council voted down Higley's proposal and asked the developers to appear and explain their intentions for the so-called "super Stop and Shop."

Stop and Shop attorney George A. McLaughlin, Jr. told the council that the chain definitely intends to build a new supermarket, barring "a general economic cataclysm." Although McLaughlin showed the council pictures of a similar Stop and Shop in Connecticut, he said the company did not have concrete plans for the Riverside Rd. site.

Several councillors said they wanted to make the terms of the sale conditional on its future use as a a supermarket.

"Once we let it go, it is gone and we have no control over it," said Councillor Alice K. Wolf.

"They intend to build something-like I intend to hit the lottery next week," said Mayor Alfred E. Vellucci. "But I never do."

At its August 7 meeting, the council approved the sale on the condition that the developers consult a neighborhood advisory commitee and a traffic expert before beginning construction. Higley's proposal would have made those conditions part of the initial purchase and sale agreement between the city and the developer, rather than the final transfer of property.

In August, the council decided to sell the road by an 8-0 vote, with Wolf abstaining. But in the absence of Councillor Walter J. Sullivan, who is recuperating from a mild heart-attack, Higley's proposal to go ahead with the sale has garnered only four votes in its support.

A spokesperson for the supermarket chain said that the council was subjecting the proposal to undue scrutiny.

"I fail to understand why we're under such a cloud of suspicion," said Stop and Shop Vice President Charles Richards, adding that the supermarket company has owned its current building for more than 40 years.

"So has Harvard, and Harvard's owned land for hundreds of years," replied Councillor Saundra Graham. "Right in my neighborhood, and all they built was high-rises."

City Councillor William H. Walsh suggested that one way around the difficulty might be to specify that the city could buy the property back if Stop and Shop should decide not to build a supermarket.

"All we're basically doing is suggesting a buy-back if you never use it," Walsh said. Under such an arrangement, he said, "Both sides win. The neighborhood wins, the city wins, and Stop and Shop wins."

Councillor David E. Sullivan said he agreed with the idea of a buy-back clause. But McLaughlin said he was unable to agree to such a condition.

Vellucci expressed concern that the delays in the sale might delay the allocation of $350,000 for renovations at the nearby Morse School. In August, the council agreed to use part of the sale price of Riverside Rd. to fund the renovations.

But a council order passed later in the evening appropriated the $350,000 from other city funds.

A further order, sponsored by Wolf, requested that the city's Traffic department prepare a report on the Stop and Shop project.