Religious Group Awaits Tax Exemption and Permit

A recent decision by a Middlesex County court upholding the right of a Buddhist group to worship in a residential area ends another religious organization's struggle with the city.

The Rudrananda Ashram has been waiting since August for Cambridge to pass the group's petition for taxexempt status. The city, however, will not act until it decides later this week whether to appeal the ruling in the Cambridge Buddhist Association case, City Solicitor Russell Higley said yesterday.

About 15 members of the Ashram, a center devoted to the study and practice of spiritual discipline, live in a house at 11 Linnaean St., and about 40 more study with the group.

Group members began boarding in the house in 1976, and bought it two years later. They applied for an occupancy permit this summer, Thomas A. Fabrizio, primary teacher at the Ashram, said last week.

In the Upper Room

Fabrizio said the group still has the old boarding-house permit and may therefore live there legally while waiting for a new permit. "We are a spiritual group, holding religious services," he said.

The Ashram will wait until the city resolves the Buddhist case before pushing its own suit.

As soon as the Ashram bought the house it applied to Cambridge for taxexempt status as a religious organization. The city turned it down, saying only the group is "not eligible," Fabrizio said.

"The next step is the state tax appeals board on March 6. If we fail there, we'll go to court," he added.

Much Moolah

Fabrizio said taxes on the $145,000 house are more than $5000 per year. The Ashram is supported through members' fees and donations from the 30 official members.

He said many did not consider the neighbors signed a petition in June saying religious services would change the residential character of the neighborhood.

Fabrizio said that the Ashram could not possibly operate without a common dwelling place. The Ashram is like a seminary, although the two are not equivalent, he added.

Problems for the Cambridge Buddhist Association began when neighbors signed a petition saying religious services would change the residential character of the neighborhood.

Near the Ashram, however, the houses are designed for multiple families, and nearby residents said they were pleased with the group's occupancy.

The Ashram offers a rigorous meditation schedule, with meetings every morning and evening. It also holds a six-hour meditation on the first Sunday of each month, and takes periodic retreats.