Alewife Project Almost Clear

A Cambridge City Ordinance Committee vote last night should clear a hurdle for builders to develop a 370-acre region of the Alewife area.

The committee voted down an amendment to the Zoning Ordinances which would have placed a one-year restriction on any development larger than 10,000 square feet without a specific permit from the city Planning Board.

The vote followed a unanimous vote against the amendment by 12 citizens gathered at the meeting.

The committee then voted 4 to 3 against the amendment, which will go before the City Council for a final decision.

The meeting, intended as an open forum for people's views on the amendment, drew activists on only one side of the issue, as supporters of the amendment failed to appear.

Carol A. Hickey, a Belmont realtor with longtime Cambridge ties, argued against the amendment out of concern that a biomedical company would not lease land from them if the bill was passed.

"We can't understand, in this real estate climate, why you would entertain a moratorium," said Hickey. "We are going to be faced with vacant buildings around the Alewife area. This is the gateway of your city."

Although developers could still apply for a permit, she said the amendment sends bad signals in the market and "puts everything in a state of flux."

Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves '72 said Hickey should still go ahead and discuss the land with the prospective biomedical tenant.

Joseph P. Barrell, 29, the owner of a small plumbing and heating business in the Alewife area for the last four years, also spoke against the proposed amendment.

Barrell said the bill would "stifle my growth" in an area which is excellently situated for his business.

George A. Spartichino, president of the Highland Cambridge Neighborhood Association, also came out against the proposal. He represents the neighborhood association of the Alewife Steering Committee.

The Steering Committee has been working on a policy regarding the land for the past year and a half, Spartichino said. The amendment, would void all the committee's work he said.

Spartichino accused the Cambridge Citizens for Liveable Neighborhoods (CCLN) of supporting the amendment, which was brought forward by councilor Ed Cyr.

"Members of the city council are trying to undermine the good faith of residents of the city working with community development and [Cyr's] group is trying to undermine that process," Spartichino said. "The CCLN has gone over the edge."

No representative from the group or anyone else supporting the amendment spoke at last night's meeting.