Neighbors to a historic church in Cambridge are suing Lesley University and the City of Cambridge over new zoning laws that could enable the school to relocate the Art Institute of Boston to the church?s lot in Porter Square.
The zoning laws, passed last year by the Cambridge City Council, would make it possible for Lesley to move the North Prospect Church to the south side of its Massachusetts Avenue property to make way for a new 4-story building that would house the Art Institute.
Lesley purchased the church in 2006 and argues moving the art school to the property will add vitality to the neighborhood, help preserve the 165-year-old church and give it new purpose as a library.
But in a lawsuit argued before the Massachusetts Land Court Monday, four neighbors to the church property at 1797-1803 Massachusetts Ave. claim the Cambridge City Council passed illegal zoning laws intended to make building requirements more lenient to Lesley?s properties. The zoning change extended a business district to include the church property, which had been zoned in a residential district that is more restrictive to new development.
?It?s a classic case of spot zoning, which the courts in numerous cases have held as illegal,? said Thomas Bracken, the attorney representing the suing neighbors Peter Lang, Katherine Lapierre, Sarah Farrington and her brother John Farrington.
Mike Murray, an attorney for Lesley, said the zoning changes passed by the City Council followed an extensive review process in which the city and university held numerous public meetings. The city established a Lesley Working Group that included area residents to examine the school?s plans, and Murray said the rezoning will provide a public benefit by enhancing the business district in Porter Square.
Assistant City Solicitor Vali Buland, who represented Cambridge in Land Court Monday, declined comment about the lawsuit.
The church was built in 1845 on the site of what is now Harvard University?s Littauer Hall. It was moved about a mile north to Porter Square in 1867 by a team of oxen, according to Charles Sullivan, executive director of the Cambridge Historical Commission.
Lesley plans to use a hydraulic jack and wheels to move the church from its present perch to a new foundation on the property.
University spokesman Bill Doncaster said the school will then erect a four-story building to house gallery, studio, and classroom space for the Art Institute, which has been part of Lesley University since 1999. A two-story atrium would also be built to connect the new building to the church.
?It?s been there a very long time, but with a use like this it?s going to be there a very long time,? Doncaster said of the church.
Lesley hopes to move the Art Institute into the new home in two to three years, and sell the institute?s current building on Beacon Street in Boston?s Kenmore Square, Doncaster said.
But Lesley will need a special permit from Cambridge for the new building, as well as the approval from the Historical Commission for its plans to move and renovate the church. The commission will discuss the project June 3.
Simeon Bruner, of Bruner/Cott Associates, the architectural firm hired for the project, said the basement built for the church when it was moved in 1867 will be demolished. Lesley will repair the church?s stained glass windows and restore the steeple and belfry, which were struck by lightning in the 1960s.
?It has not been well maintained over the years,? Bruner said.
But Lang said Lesley?s plan would move the church to within about eight feet of his property on Frost Terrace. He said the university could build a facility for the Art Institute behind Lesley?s University Hall in Porter Square without having to disturb the historic church.
?We are not at all objecting to the idea of a vibrant arts college in the neighborhood,? Lang said. ?Our objections come from taking away of green space and putting in a massive structure.?
The neighbors who filed the suit, along with the city and the university have asked the Land Court for a summary judgment to settle the zoning dispute. Land Court Judge Alexander Sands did not make an immediate ruling Monday.
