At least partly cloudy is the forecast for Monday evening in Council Chambers when the advisory Planning Commission and the City Council will sit together in a rare pairing, at 7 o’clock, and listen to community opinions on the phenomenon known as residential mansionization or excessive building.
“Neighborhood complaints” may be a more accurate concept. The majority of objections seems to emanate from the mid-town Carlson Park neighborhood.
It is not clear what course the evening will follow.
“I haven’t any idea what will happen,” says Kevin Lachoff, Planning Commission chair. “I expect we will do as much listening as we can. The staff and the Commission will look to the Council to see what questions they might have of us as well as what the community might present.”
There is a groundswell of support among residents for a moratorium, but the outcome is not expected immediately.
Meghan Sahli-Wells may be the best friend the anti-mansionization crowd has on the City Council. The positions of her colleagues are not as transparent.
After a noisy community meeting in June, Ms. Sahli-Wells gazed into the future.
“People became emotional because they have a lot they want to talk about,” she said. “This is an important issue, and I am convinced it is not going away anytime soon.”
Hi Ari,
I would not characterize the moratorium call as a “ground-swell” as much as a few people on a particular street banding together. These folks do not represent Carlson Park, but only a small portion of that large neighborhood.
This is indeed an important issue, and decisions will affect thousands of current and future home-owners, as well as our schools and entire city.
I look forward to hearing thoughtful and factual discussions on Monday.