Harvard Strikes Historic Deal On Riverside

The Cambridge City Council unanimously adopted a landmark agreement between Harvard and the city over the University’s development of the Riverside neighborhood last night, receiving a standing ovation from a group of residents and accolades from Harvard officials.

Although some residents said they felt rushed during the marathon last-minute negotiations, they largely threw their support behind the plan last night and expressed hope that it would signal the start of better relations between Harvard and a neighborhood that has historically fought the University’s expansion.

“I do see this as setting a precedent,” said resident Alan Joslin. “We hope we can keep a dialogue open so the fragile trust that we’re hoping can be brought from this agreement can be maintained.”

According to the terms of the agreement, several Harvard-owned properties in Riverside—the neighborhood along the Charles that extends from Harvard Square to Central Square—will be placed under new zoning regulations that will allow the University to construct taller buildings than residents had originally wanted.

In return, the neighborhood will receive benefits worth about $15 million, including a 34,000-square foot public park along the river, 30-34 units of affordable housing for city residents, and a $50,000 donation to community organizations.

“It has been a long and winding road, but I think the destination we’ve arrived at is one we can all be proud of,” said City Councillor Brian P. Murphy ’86-’87, one of the leaders of the negotiations with Harvard.

Kathy A. Spiegelman, the University’s top planner, said the agreement would allow Harvard to meet its goal of constructing housing for graduate students and faculty in the neighborhood.

“The team from Harvard feels very good about it,” Spiegelman said after the meeting. “We’re very proud of the package.”

The council’s vote came after a two-hour recess of their regular council meeting, as Riverside residents met behind closed doors with councillors to discuss the agreement while Harvard officials huddled in the hallway.

The councillors were under time pressure to hammer out the fine points of the deal before tomorrow night, the expiration date of a neighborhood-developed rezoning petition for the Riverside area.

The neighborhood’s petition, known as the Carlson petition, would have set stringent height limits on Harvard’s property, and Councillors Murphy and David P. Maher frequently met with Harvard officials this fall to try to strike an alternative deal.

According to Murphy, going to the negotiating table with Harvard made it possible for the community to receive benefits from the University—including the park and affordable housing—that zoning alone could not have provided.

After spending the entirety of yesterday working on the agreement, several residents told the council during public comment period that they felt it was a good compromise.

“We’ve got something to feel good about today. We have struck the best deal possible,” said Lawrence Adkins, president of the Riverside Neighborhood Association, adding that he felt positive “even though I’ve been here since 8 a.m. this morning and I’m sure I look like it.”

The broad outline of the agreement is similar to a draft the community received last Thursday.

On one of the key Harvard-owned sites in Riverside—the plot of land on Memorial Drive currently occupied by Mahoney’s Garden Center—the University will be limited to heights of 65 feet along the river and 35 feet at the neighborhood’s edge.

In the Kerry Corner area near Mather House, Harvard will be allowed to construct a 55-foot-high housing complex on Cowperthwaite St., with a height limit of 35 feet on its other sites in the area.

The neighborhood negotiated with Harvard for lower buildings on a site on Blackstone St., reducing the maximum height to 65 feet after last week’s draft agreement had called for 85 feet. Most areas of this site will be capped at 45 feet.

Cob Carlson, the first signer and one of the most vocal advocates of the neighborhood-developed petition that bore his name, said he felt the allowed heights on the Mahoney’s site were too high under the new agreement.

“The neighborhood is effectively walled off from the river,” he told the council last night.

But other neighborhood residents said they were willing to accept the terms of the deal.

“I’m not thrilled by it, but I think Harvard is probably not thrilled by it either,” said Alec Wysoker ’84. “It brings a lot of benefit to the city and the neighborhood.”

Residents urged the council to carefully oversee the agreement’s implementation.

The plan includes fallback zoning regulations—so called “base” zoning—to be followed only if either Harvard or the city does not live up to its end of the bargain.

Both sides said that the base zoning is undesirable, and after the meeting Murphy explained that the base zoning was purposefully constructed to keep both sides in line with the negotiated deal.

Although they said they liked the final product, several residents said last night that they were unhappy with the rushed, last-minute process leading up to the deal. (See timeline, below.)

Harvard representatives sat on the neighborhood study committee three years ago that developed the Carlson petition, and residents questioned why the benefits they are providing now were not offered years earlier, instead of now that the deadline for the petition’s expiration is looming.

“I think we got some of the things that were very high on the neighborhood’s list,” resident Phyllis Baumann said, but she added, “We all have some reservations about the substance of the agreement and a great deal of reservations about the process.”

Mary H. Power, Harvard’s senior director of community relations, said the process was “long and arduous” but necessary to arrive at an outcome everyone could agree to.

“It’s absolutely a win-win and the beginning of a much more constructive relationship after decades of tension,” she said after the vote. “I think as a result of that long process we’ll have a stronger relationship going forward.”

Councillor Marjorie C. Decker said at last night’s meeting that she would always be “suspicious of the University’s motives,” but she said the deal in Riverside was an encouraging sign.

“This has given me hope that there is an opportunity to do more work. We are laying the seeds of trust here,” she said, addressing Harvard’s representatives. “You have given me hope that I don’t think I’ve ever experienced working [with you].”

Decker and Councillor Anthony D. Galluccio took an active role in meeting with residents in recent weeks, and Galluccio said they played the role of the “bullpen coming in to give it a little push.”

Before the vote last night, each of the councillors thanked the residents, their colleagues and the city’s legal and community development staff for their long hours putting together the deal, and several of them thanked Harvard officials for coming to the table.

Calling it a “historic day in Cambridge,” Maher said the final deal reflected the earlier concerns that the neighbors had raised about Harvard’s development.

“This petition that we’re voting tonight really has gone a long way to address many, many of the issues we have heard,” he said.

“We should savor the victory,” said Mayor Michael A. Sullivan.

Timeline: A Tale of Three Zoning Petitions

Early 2000: The University unveils plans to build a new modern art museum on the site along the Charles River currently occupied by Mahoney’s Garden Center. The neighborhood residents strongly oppose this idea. At the time, the site’s zoning allowed buildings of up to 120 feet tall.

Fall of 2000: The residents obtain a building moratorium from the City Council to block all construction in the area. The city manager appoints the Riverside Study Committee, made up of residents and a representative from Harvard, to create a new zoning plan for the entire neighborhood.

Spring 2002: The study committee wraps up its work, deciding to cut the maximum allowed height for buildings on the Mahoney’s site from 120 feet to 24 feet.

Summer 2002: The Planning Board begins its review of the study committee’s results. Neighbors say they fear the board will undo their work.

September 2002: In a effort to circumvent the planning board’s version, the study committee submites its zoning petition—dubbed the Carlson petition after its first signger, Cob Carlson—directly to the City Council.

January 2003: The city planning board submits an alternate petition allowing heights of up to 45 feet and leaving room for the University to obtain special permits for taller buildings.

June 2003: Both petitions expire and are re-filed with the Ordinance Committee, requiring another round of public hearings.

August 2003: After hearing testimony from 50 neighborhood residents in support of the Carlson petition, the Ordinance Committee votes to send both petitions on to the City Council for a vote. Harvard, Riverside’s largest land owner, submits written opposition to both petitions, which means that either one would require seven out of nine votes of the council members to be enacted.

Fall 2003: Harvard officials and city councillors begin meeting to discuss a compromise before the Oct. 28 deadline for the council to act on the two petitions. Harvard presents plans in September that the community criticize as being excessive.

Oct. 23, 2003: Community residents receive copies of a draft agreement between Harvard and the city. The Council holds a special meeting the following day to discuss the Riverside zoning but adjourns after less than five minutes after residents and councillors say they need more time to work out the details.

Oct. 27, 2003: The council unanimously adopts an agreement with Harvard after many neighborhood residents voice their support of the compromise.

Oct. 28, 2003: Both the Carlson petition and the planning board petition would have expired.

Nov 4, 2003: Election day. All nine city councillors are up for reelection.

—Staff writer Jessica R. Rubin-Wills can be reached at rubinwil@fas.harvard.edu.