Spiegelman said the city groups that plan building projects prefer to review each project separately.
But John Pitkin, who has spent years working on a plan to build the Center for Government and International Studies, said that the building-by-building approach will make it “very difficult” for the entire project to come together.
“What do residents need to do if they want a comprehensive plan?” asked Pitkin, to the applause of the audience.
The fractious tenor of the meeting marked the first real Cambridge controversy for Harvard’s new Vice President of Government, Community and Public Affairs Alan J. Stone.
Stone sat quietly at the front of the room throughout Spiegelman’s presentation, making just one remark at the beginning of the meeting.
“I’m glad to be here, I’m brand-new, just here to listen and learn tonight,” Stone said.
—Staff writer Lauren R. Dorgan can be reached at dorgan@fas.harvard.edu.