by Courtney H. Naliboff

A long-time community member has become a vocal opponent of a proposed housing development at 56 and 61 Clyde Street that exceeds local zoning restrictions.

“We’re not against somebody developing here as long as they co-exist with the neighborhood,” said Ralph P. Russo, who lives near the proposed developments and opposes the current plans. “We don’t want it to sound like we’re antisocial to everybody. That’s not so at all. The people here want to see some beautification, but they’re not going to get destroyed.”

Ward 5 Alderman Sean O’Donovan said the developers, KSS Realty Partners Inc., a Boston-based firm run partly by Stephen E. Smith Jr., former president John F. Kennedy’s nephew, presented a 250-300 unit condominium proposal.

“They had a bunch of different schematics, but that was basically the number,” he said.

“We’re waiting for the developer to come back with some new plans in September because they came in with something that the neighborhood rejected. It was too dense,” he said. “They want something that fits with the contour and style of the neighborhood—similar height, not an eyesore.”

Russo said the developers want to bypass zoning regulations. “The zoning regulations are very simple: it’s to co-exist with the neighborhood with one, two and three family houses, and they want to put up a subdivision in violation of the zoning,” he said.

Alderman-at-Large Bruce Desmond said he told KSS that they would not get his support unless they got the development under 200 units and provided an affordable space for Windsor House, an elderly daycare program with which Desmond has worked for the last few years.

In addition to problems with overcrowding, traffic flow is also an issue with the proposed development, said O’Donovan.

“People want something where the traffic isn’t going to be so terrible,” he said. “They don’t want traffic congestion in their neighborhood.”

“Whoever is the purchaser is going to be responsible for another egress besides Clyde Street,” said Desmond.

Russo, who said he’s lived in the area for 69 years, said he believed the Lowell Street Bridge, which has been closed for six or seven years, would be reopened upon developments in the area.

“They’re waiting for these people to get their development to fix the bridge—that’s politics and the Massachusetts Highway Department and all that stuff,” said Russo.

Two corporations currently control the five acres of land, said Russo, some of which was occupied by the Somerville Charter School at 61 Clyde Street.

“Before it was a school, it was a Max Pack. They had a contract with General Mills, I think,” said Russo. ‘You come home from work and find a box of cornflakes hanging on your door—they made that up.

“There were three or four other companies before Max Pack. Agar Paper, International Paper, then Max Pack, then the school,” he said.

The Somerville Charter School was housed in a former industrial building contaminated with lead and PCBs, according to www.childproofing.org, a Center for Health, Environment and Justice Web site.

“I think current ownership should be forced to clean it up,” said Donovan. “I think it should have been done already by the educational company that used to run the school at the site. They’ve been a horrible neighbor.”

“Instead of these owners cleaning up their property and then putting it up for sale, they ran to this deep-pocket construction company,” said Russo. “They said, ‘We’ll buy it and clean it up for you, if we get what we want.’”