Rent control, the hardy perennial of Cambridge political issues, was the subject of a special City Council meeting last night that began with improvisational comedy and proceeded to a small property owner warning that violence would ensue unless changes were made in the city's rent control system.

Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves '72 said he intended the meeting to be a "new journey to another type of discussion of rent control." For the 23 years that rent control has been in place, it has been the city's most divisive political issue, and discussion of it has been mired in acrimony.

Councillor Jonathan S. Myers, who suggested the special meeting, said, "We can and should have a productive discussion on housing issues in this city."

The well-intentioned effort was troubled from the start, however.

"Guilty Children," a Cambridge improvisational comedy group, began the meeting with a theatrical presentation debating a subway fare increase. The issues involved with pricing MBTA tokens were supposed to be somehow related to the issues involved in pricing housing.

Reeves hoped the dramatic group would "lighten things up." But the audience in the council chambers didn't laugh, and sound problems (the young comedians weren't speaking into microphones) brought dozens of angry calls from people trying to watch the meeting at home on public access cable television. The audience grew impatient as the comedy group exceeded the 17 minutes they were allotted.

Denise Jillson, chair of the Small Property Owner's Association, which opposes rent control, later blasted the theatrical opening of the meeting as "government by fantasy," and said her organization was "insulted by the form to which this hearing has degenerated."

For a while, the meeting actually focused on the issue it was supposed to address: how to maintain the habitability and affordability of Cambridge's rent controlled housing stock.

A video prepared by the city rent control board showed four rent-controlled properties in East Cambridge, described their needs for renovation, and explored whether passing on the costs of renovation to the tenants would be prohibitively expensive or difficult for the landlord or for the tenant.

David Flood of the Cambridge Tenant's Union said, "There is an irresponsible group of landlords...who neglect their properties." Flood said the city should force such landlords who have irresponsibly deferred needed repairs to renovate the housing and pay for it themselves.

Flood also called for the city to setup a revolving loan fund for landlords with limited income to use to repair their property.

Jillson proposed an alternate solution: either doing away with rent control entirely, or removing two units from rent control for every one unit that is reserved for the needy. This, she said, would fund housing rehabilitation while making sure that rent controlled apartments go to the people who really need them.

While Reeves and the councillors seemed to want to foster new discussion, there was a palpable sense of frustration and cynicism among the gathered tenants and owners.

"We have meeting after meeting, we have proposal after proposal, and nothing ever gets done," said council candidate Jim McGrail.

Julia Gregory of Eviction Free Zone, an organization that works with low income tenants, said, "I, for one, am tired of words... I challenge the council to come up with an action plan."

"We feel abused, we feel exploited," said John Natale, a small property owner. Natale said that he's heard the phrase, "If I only had a gun..." used seriously by rent control opponents, and he warned, "We're on the brink of someone getting hurt."

The mayor responded by reminding Natale that June 6 to 12 had been Violence Prevention Week.

Even some of the councillors acknowledged that the present situation was frustrating.

"We've been in a stalemate for a long time," said Councillor Sheila T. Russell. "With the present rent control system, not too many people are happy.