Council Debates Plan to Revamp Central Sq.

Supporters of a five-year plan to revamp Central Square say it will turn a gritty stretch of Mass. Ave into an attractive shopping area--but several local residents testified Monday night that the plan could change their neighborhood for the worse.

The Cambridge City Council put off voting Monday night on the Central Square Action Plan after hearing testimony from its authors. Compiled by a team of city officials and neighborhood representatives, the project is meant to make the square more attractive to shoppers by controlling the types of businesses that settle there, making the streets cleaner and safer, and creating more mixed-income housing.

The final version of the plan was published in November after two years of research. It now needs only the final approval of the Council before it can take effect.

Mayor Alfred E. Vellucci said the authors of the plan were "on the right road" but added that they "have a lot of questions to ask."

"Do you know that Central Square is choked up because of all these shopping centers? We're in the middle of shopping centers," Vellucci said, citing Watertown's Arsenal Mall, the Fresh Pond Mall, and Harvard Square as some of the areas that compete with Central Square.

"What is left in Central Square?" Vellucci asked. "Everything's disappeared, everything's folded up and left. So what are you going to do with it?"

The plan drew criticism from several Councillors, among them Alice K. Wolf and David E. Sullivan, who said zoning changes in the plan would encourage local developers to build high-rises close to the street.

Wolf and Sullivan both said the zoning changes ought to put stricter limits on the sizes of buildings relative to the dimensions of their lots. Like several of their colleagues, they support a system of "incentive zoning." The system, which is applied most notably in New York City, starts with unusually tight restrictions, and then grants exceptions for developers who agree to include various forms of public improvements in their plans.

"I agree that mixed-income housing is something we want to promote in Central Square," David Sullivan said. But he added, "I think the proper philosophy here is to give developers incentives from downzoning, [then] allow them to go back to present limits if they provide low to moderate income housing."

Councillor Francis H. Duehay '55 said the plan should do more for housing development and the needs of current residents.

"What we are trying to do is to keep Central Square as a basic neighborhood community and shopping center which will serve the surrounding neighborhoods," Duehay said.

"To some extent, that purpose has come into question over the last 10 to 15 years," Duehay added. "It seems that the licensing policy has been permissive and included a torrent of [restaurant and entertainment licenses] that go far beyond the need of the surrounding neighborhoods."

Residents of the area asked how the provisions in the action plan could change existing problems.

"Much of this action plan is filled with pious wishes, in my mind," said Robert O. Edbrooke, a Prescott Street resident who said he relies on Central Square for shopping because Harvard Square is too expensive.

"Central Square does not exist in a vacuum," Edbrooke said, adding that he believes the city takes a "piecemeal approach" to neighborhood revitalization that ends up doing more harm than good.

"We don't have to have high buildings," said Central Square resident Muriel Brown. "We need nice places where you can meet your neighbors."

According to the Central Square committee's report, the plan would limit the number of convenience stores, bars, and fast food restaurants in Central Square, increase police surveillance, create a diverse "retail mix" of stores, preserve historical areas, and increase the overall cleanliness and security of the Square.