Disputed Swiss House Opens in Cambridge

A pack of disgruntled Cambridge residents braved last night's biting wind to protest the inauguration of a research center owned by the Swiss government.

A mere 10-minute walk from Harvard Square, the Swiss House for Advanced Research and Education held its grand opening yesterday--complete with champagne and Swiss dignitaries.

The Swiss House, an unassuming one-story brick building, sits on the corner of Broadway and Ellery Street in a residential area near Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School.

For the Swiss dignitaries who arrived last night, the opening was a legal victory.

When members of the mid-Cambridge Neighborhood Association learned last year that the empty building--which previously housed Sage's grocery store and a laundromat--would become a meeting place for Swiss and American scientists, the association members promptly filed a suit against the Swiss government.

"They took away my convenience store," says next-door neighbor William F. Schreiber. "The people who live here deserve some consideration, and we didn't get it."

He said he remembered walking next door to Sage's last winter, when his back problems kept him from walking long distances. Now, the nearest grocery store is the Broadway Market--a 15-minute walk away, he said.

The area was zoned for residential use, Schreiber said. He said the law should be interpreted as saying that the only exception to this zoning law should be for commercial operations that would benefit residents, but that those standards were not upheld in this case.

In an effort to keep the consulate from moving in next door, Schreiber and four other residents went to court last year to appeal the zoning board's grant of a permit to the Swiss House.

The five plaintiffs lost the first round in court. After beginning the appeal process, they realized that they could not compete with the Swiss government in legal expenses, Schreiber said.

The residents agreed to withdraw their lawsuit and were paid $5,000 by the Swiss government.

"We've done everything we can for them," said Consul of Switzerland Xavier Comtesse. " If they refuse to be happy, it's their choice."

Comtesse called the new development "a center for information," saying it was "the first consulate dedicated to scientific education."

"It's a consulate with a special purpose," he explained.

But neighborhood residents said they did not anticipate that the Swiss House would come in handy.

"This has nothing to do with mid-Cambridge," said resident Mikki Ansin.

Zoning laws should have been able to keep the Swiss government out of a residential area, Schreiber said, as he held up a sign reading "Swiss House Does Not Belong Here."

"We can't understand why they would want it at this place," Schreiber said. "It's a crazy location."

Any building occupying the site should serve the neighborhood in some way, Schreiber said.

On top of it all, residents said they felt they were kept in the dark about the new tenant.

"We had no idea what was happening, and all of a sudden we were told that it would be a home for scientists to go back and forth," Ansin said. "I don't like it at all. I must say, it gives me a bad feeling toward the Swiss consulate."

Schreiber said he worried that Swiss House will worsen the parking problems that currently plague the area.

While Swiss House employees promised the zoning board that they would only need two parking spaces, Schreiber said he suspects they will use more.

"The claim that visitors will not drive and end up parking is far-fetched," he said.

The protesters' crusade isn't over, said Mid-Cambridge Neighborhood Association President John Pitkin.

His goal now, he said, is to make sure this doesn't happen in another Cambridge neighborhood.

"We need to educate our local leadership and let them know that we have a problem," Pitkin said. "The government of Switzerland should also know that this is not a very good way to behave."

But Comtesse said he promises that the Swiss government will be a responsible neighbor.

"We're happy to be here, and we'll be nice," Comtesse said, "If they just never give up, it's their choice to fight, not mine."