Posted by I don't get it, a resident of the Atherton: Lindenwood neighborhood, on Nov 19, 2010 at 1:20 pm

It is my understanding that that only one or two residents out of 30 or more wanted this rezoning so my question is why wasn't this issue resolved by the option of simply requesting a variance for the one or two residents who made all the fuss instead of rewriting the entire ordinance to permanently effect the whole neighborhood?

Apparently to apply for a variance from the Planning commission you would need to already have invested some time and money in drawing up plans to present to them for consideration. If reluctance over the investment of money was the reason Ms Anderson did not want to use the normal application process, then how will she finance the same project now, with this complete rule change?

Was the plan to customize a house, or the entire town by setting this precedent? I thought Atherton had already established that you can build whatever you want and then threaten to sue the town to keep it. Are custom rule changes supposed to be an improvement on doing whatever you want anyway? What's the point really? I feel badly for the planning commissioners who must feel that their whole mission has been turned into a joke.