In Kerry Corner—where Harvard owns several small properties and has recently floated the idea of building a 65-foot dorm for grad students on Cowperthwaite Street—both Joslin and Bankerd say the residents are concerned about the proposed building’s height.

“I think they’re going to try to push the envelope, try to get a little bit more than the Carlson petition, and we wouldn’t be happy with that,” Joslin says.

He added that the neighborhood had already compromised by allowing dormitories on the site instead of small-scale housing.

“We’re really not in the mood to go any further than what we’ve already done,” he says.

Bankerd and Joslin say discussions about the other Kerry Corner site under consideration, on Grant Street, do not seem to be as contentious. Harvard has agreed to limit heights to 35 feet, which the neighbors support.

“I think everyone, all the stakeholders, are interested in arriving at resolution,” Power says of the entire rezoning process. “It is clearly a very difficult task but I think Harvard has brought to the table a willingness to work with the council and the community to land in the right place.”

Jockeying for Votes

The council’s decision on zoning will come just weeks before Election Day, and residents have made no secret of the fact that they will only support councillors who represent their interests.

“I can’t imagine the councillors putting forth something that the community couldn’t support,” Joslin says. “It would seem like it would be political suicide.”

Several councillors have already expressed support of the Carlson petition—including Marjorie C. Decker, Kenneth E. Reeves ’72, E. Denise Simmons, and Timothy J. Toomey—according to the residents.

Simmons says she would be willing to vote for a compromise, but is still in favor of the Carlson petition if an agreement can’t be reached.

“My inclination would be voting for something that is close to the neighborhood’s desire,” she says. “We’re the ones who are going to have to live with it.”

Carlson says he thinks many of the other councillors are also waiting to see what will happen with the discussions.

“The councillors who haven’t come out in support of the Carlson petition are waiting to see how this negotiation will go, and I think that will be the determining factor,” Carlson says. “I think if they find that Harvard isn’t willing to compromise, then they’ll pass the Carlson petition.”

Some residents have said they are afraid the councillors may be influenced by the possibility that Harvard could sue the city if the zoning requirements are too restrictive under a state law called the Dover Amendment, which forbids city zoning that prevents institutions from fulfilling their missions.