First of two parts. 

Pleasant as the prospect might have been, when the new chair of the Planning Commission glanced at the audience Wednesday night and saw virtually every chair occupied, he knew it was not a welcoming party for the first meeting he would lead.

In perhaps record numbers, residents aroused by the perceived creeping increase in so-called mansionization, or overbuilding, especially in mid-city, were there to protest.

Twenty-two persons spoke.

After digesting community opinions, the Planning Commission indicated to staff that it would like, as City Council had requested, to be continually apprised of the number of new building permit applications for houses over 3,000 square feet and to resist recommending a moratorium.

Once again, the most voluble voices may have come from Carlson Park, where this movement seems to have originated. Three-quarters of the residents were from Carlson Park.

“From what we heard from speakers,” Mr. Lachoff said, “there is room for improvement in the Zoning Code.”

But, he added, “the speakers represent a very small percentage of our community.”

Proceeding cautiously and reflectively, Mr. Lachoff said that “judging from what I heard from other commissioners, there are topics we will ask staff to look at further, and we will review (their findings) at the next meeting (Aug. 26). Staff took a lot of notes. They will bring back distilled ideas from our discussions.

“We will see where it goes from there.”

As for the positions of the Planning Commission members, Mr. Lachoff said that “all of us have varying degrees of understanding that we need to revisit zoning ordinances for R-1.”

(To be continued)