Council Approves Bridge Linking Draper Buildings

The Cambridge City Council last night voted five to three to allow Charles Stark Draper Laboratories to construct a 132 foot bridge over Broadway linking two of their buildings.

Fogg Postponed

At the same time, the Council postponed discussion on another proposed bridge over Broadway, this one joining the two buildings of Harvard's Fogg Art Museum.

"Draper has already gone through the process of notifying the neighborhood, and there's been no real objection," said Councilor Daniel J. Clinton, who voted for construction of the walkway.

However, three council members voted against the bridge in spite of the absence of overt controversy surrounding it.

"I don't like the bridge. I don't like bridges over streets, period," said Saundra Graham, explaining her 'no' vote.

However, many councilors appeared to harbor bad feelings against Draper for two reasons: the company's failure to make voluntary in-lieu-of tax payments, and its research on nuclear weapons.

The company came under fire at last week's meeting of the council, which voted to put a referendum banning nuclear arms research in Cambridge on the November ballot.

"This is one of the most difficult questions that's come in front of the council in a long time," said Councilor David A. Wylie.

"On one hand I believe with the whole fiber of my being that the work they're engaged in is detrimental to the entire human race," Wylie explained. "On the other hand I probably would vote for the bridge had it been proposed by any other firm, in the absence of any design advice to the contrary."

Wylie finally approved the bridge, saying," As much as I abhor what they're doing, I have to vote for the bridge."

In addition to the real estate assessment on the bridge, Draper will have to pay the city 27 cents per cubic foot, or close to $10,000 annually, to purchase an air rights license for the location over Broadway.

Censure

While the council did vote to allow construction of the bridge, it also censured Draper for using its technical non-profit status to avoid paying city taxes on the lab. "It's a strange type of non-profit to help defense contractors make money off the future deaths of millions of people," said Wylie.

"We should somehow make them pay their fair share," added Graham. "It's not right for non-profit companies who get millions of dollars in federal grants, which after all come from taxpayers' pockets, to get away with paying nothing in return."

The bridge vote will come up for reconsideration at next Monday's council meeting, because a motion to suspend reconsideration, which is otherwise required on any council vote, failed.