The City Council barely passed a comprehensive rezoning plan for a large section of Cambridge last night, aimed at stimulating housing development and reducing traffic.

"This is the most significant piece of rezoning for many, many decades," said Vice Mayor David P. Maher, one of seven councillors who voted for the initiative--an amended version of the original Planning Board proposal--which he submitted along with Councillor Kathleen L. Born on Friday.

Citing their support for the Planning Board proposal, Councillors Henrietta Davis and Jim Braude voted against the petition, which provides for the creation of six new residential districts, Floor-Area Ratio (FAR) reductions across the city, restrictions on the density of new building projects, the introduction of parking garages to FAR regulations and a design review process for new building projects.

The revised proposal did not include the original plan's specific zoning restrictions on a section of the Alewife area in North Cambridge and, most controversially, East Cambridge.

"Sometimes compromise is necessary," Born said. "I have seen too many petitions before this council go down in flames. I made a commitment that I wasn't going to be an outsider on this process."

East Cambridge is currently governed by the Larkin Petition, an 18-month moratorium on development in the neighborhood that was approved by the council in Jan. 2000.

After last night's vote, the council unanimously passed a motion put forth by Councillor Timothy P. Toomey Jr. which requests that the city clerk refile the parts of the Planning Study plan that govern East Cambridge when the Larkin Petition expires in July.

Though East Cambridge--which currently has the most land available for development in the city--was not covered by last night's zoning plan, the council promised that it would reconsider a thorough rezoning plan for the neighborhood in the coming months.