Did the 16 residents who protested the concept of mansionization, overbuilding, last evening at the otherwise pillow-soft City Council meeting make a dent in anyone’s resolve?
Council members just listened.
The homeowners want the City Council to impose a moratorium, which is months away — if it ever is going to happen. No cinch.
They were not handed encouragement or discouragement.
Residents were told that there likely will be a study session on the topic conducted in July by the advisory Planning Commission. The Commission will take its recommendations – perhaps to adjust the zoning ordinance — to the Council months after that.
Vice Mayor Andy Weissman says the Planning Commission, within its purview, can choose from numerous options.
“They could recommend we increase setbacks,” he said. “Presently there is a requirement that a building must be so-many-feet away from an adjacent building on the side, and it needs to be set back a certain number of feet from the sidewalk in the front, and there is a specific distance in the rear of the property, too.
“They could impose design standards so that instead of having a wall of a structure that goes up vertically, it would have to be articulated, angled or tiered so that it sets back from the property line and is not a solid partition separating.”
These distances could be widened, and there, said Mr. Weissman, are examples of adjustments the Planning Commission could urge.
