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The Referendum: Gauging City Sentiment

"The anti-nuclear struggle is not going to be won by apocalyptic victories," he adds.

Members of the Harvard-Radcliffe Anti-nuclear Alliance leafletted all of Fresh Pond (Ward 11) last week and plan to work at polling sites near the University on election day, Charles E. Lewis '82, the alliance's University organizer, says.

The manager of sales and service at Cambridge Electric Light Company, Joseph H. Smith, says that while he supports increased efficiency to reduce energy costs slowly, implementation of the referendum's anti-nuclear "curveball" would raise costs sharply.

"However, people are going to read about saving money through conservation and just naturally vote yes," Smith says. He adds that the city has a 52-per-cent "dependence on the nukes."

A private sutdy in 1977 estimated that increasing home insulation could save city residents tens of millions of dollars in energy costs over 10 years. Dick Bell, co-director of the Boston Energy Policy information center, says.

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Expansion

Question 4. Shall the City Council seek authority from the General Court to enable the city to use zoning to regulate tax-exempt institutions in their uses of land in residentially zoned portions of the City of Cambridge.

City Councilor Mary Ellen Preusser says Question 4 may help Cambridge to restrict Harvard's expansion.

"This is very important to get a sense of city support in numbers to show that we really mean, business," she says.

"All I hear is praise that at last someone is doing something about this," she adds.

The state legislature passed a home-rule petition last August allowing the City of Cam- bridge to restrict tax-exempt groups such as religious and educational organizations within residentially zoned areas. However, the state constitution already exempts Harvard.

At that time the city gave the Community Development Committee 90 days to draw up the regulations.

Preusser says that if the courts uphold Harvard's exemption under the constitution, she and State Rep. Barney Frank '62 will start the constitutional amendment process.

But Elsie P. Mitchell, acting director of the Cambridge Buddhist Association (CBA), says new zoning regulations could affect the religious character of the city.

The city council "is going to boot the CBA out of town and then go after Harvard," she adds. "Apparently this makes them very popular."

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