The public will be prevented from reviewing or even knowing about alternative development plans submitted for Cambridge Harbor, under terms of a revised contract that Cambridge City Council passed on Monday.
The original agreement to transfer city property to Cambridge Waterfront Development Incorporated required CWDI to publicly post every plan that developers offered and allow comments for 30 days.
The revised contract was written by CWDI's lawyers and approved by the city council unanimously. It eliminates the public's right to see summaries of any plans other than those that CWDI chooses to present.
During their deliberations, council members said they wanted to promote transparency between CWDI and the public. However their discussion focused on how much notice should be provided before the public can review and comment on CWDI’s choice before it is officially contracted.
None of the council members made note of the fact that the revision wiped out the requirement that CWDI had to present all developers’ plans for public review. The revised agreement also reduces the information CWDI is required to present to the public. Before, CWDI had to present plan summaries. Now, only a description.
City leaders at the time of the original contract in 2021 said they wanted it to counter a tendency with CWDI to disparage developers, withhold information, and control all aspects of Cambridge Harbor.
Andrew Bradshaw, mayor at that time, said he insisted on the public disclosure in the covenant.
"One of the big concerns I had with the process at the time was a lack of transparency," Bradshaw said. "One of the things I wanted to ensure is that the public was aware what would be both the project that was selected but the alternatives that were turned away."
Bradshaw said the council’s decision Monday was disappointing.
"My initial feeling is concern because now what is written into the amended covenant is that there will be a review period for the single selected proposal but that doesn't give the public an ability to have an understanding of what was turned away, what other ideas, what other developers that have come forward and what they see as the future of the project."
Former Ward 1 council member Laurel Atkiss spent weeks negotiating a settlement with CWDI after the city sued the board two years ago.
"I bellieve that CWDI has the responsibility to be transparent to everyone, all partners whether it's state, county or city, with all the bids that have come in."
In interviews and at CWDI meetings, its members have said they are not interested in any concept plan other than the one that they paid consultants to draw up. To date, no private development companies have been contracted for the Cambridge Harbor project.
CWDI hired a broker in December to recruit developers for Cambridge Harbor. However, CWDI has not given the broker a green light to get developer bids until CWDI finishes instructions and requirements.