Harvard Chabad Seeks Zoning Amendments as Expansion Plans Move Forward

Harvard Chabad appeared before the Cambridge City Council on Tuesday as a part of an ongoing effort to advance zoning changes — supporting its plans for the expansion of its building on Banks Street.

The Jewish campus organization filed a petition last week that proposes amendments to the city’s zoning ordinance that would exempt religious uses from floor-to-area ratio and gross floor area requirements. The changes would also permit religious buildings to be constructed up to six stories in height.

The petition is the latest in a campaign by Chabad to get approval for an expansion, following a federal lawsuit the organization filed in September alleging that the Cambridge Board of Zoning Appeal had discriminated on religious grounds by denying a requested zoning variance.

That variance would have allowed Chabad to merge two of its three historic properties on Banks Street into a single expanded facility to accommodate religious services and community events for its growing membership.

The case is currently in mediation between Chabad and the BZA. If mediation fails, the dispute could proceed to trial.

The petition is a continuation of the one introduced to the City Council on March 17, seeking to modify city ordinances to exempt religious buildings from pre-existing requirements.

With these zoning exemptions, Chabad is pushing for dimensional changes made to land use and zoning legislation this year to be applied to religious properties.

The proposed amendments would remove restrictions on how large religious buildings can be and allow religious buildings to be built up to six stories tall in certain districts.

Chabad has pushed for religious buildings to be exempt from specific residential and housing requirements that the group argued are not relevant to structures with religious purposes. That includes consulting a non-binding Planning Board advisory process, which they argue could be susceptible to problems under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.

The hearing on Tuesday ended with a unanimous vote to request the city solicitor’s opinion on the issue.

“Our role as the planning board is not to pass or not pass the particular zoning petition. It’s simply to give wise and good advice from our perspective as people who think a lot about the physical form and the planning concerns of the city,” said Tom Sieniewcz, planning board member for the City of Cambridge. “In order to do that properly, I think we need to get some more clarity to the extent we can around the legal issues that have rightfully been brought before us tonight.”

The hearing allotted time for Cambridge residents to voice their opinions on the changes proposed by Chabad. All seven who spoke were in opposition.

“This is not a case of religious land use, but gross institutional entitlement,” Cambridge resident Marilee Meyer said. “It is the size of expansion, the flavor, and violation of existing reasonable zoning regulations.

“This is a far-reaching, city-wide issue, which is being manipulated solely for Chabad’s favor,” she added.

—Staff writer Julia A. Karabolli can be reached at julia.karabolli@thecrimson.com.