Lawrence.com

Posted by Joel Mathis February 26, 2003 at 4:12 p.m.

Can we build it?

Who's your favorite planning commissioner? Ok, ok, you probably don't have a favorite planning commissioner, unless you're a City Hall geek like me and hope they'll issue city advisory board trading cards someday. But among people who pay close attention to planning issues in Lawrence -- people who want to build a big box store, say, or people who don't want them built -- there are definite favorites. (Mine? Ron Durflinger. Not because I agree or disagree with his stands, but because he's so darn quotable. The man could say something memorable just ordering a salad off the menu.) So I asked the city commission candidates which planning commissioner they thought best fit their ideal. City commissioners, after all, help decide who is on the planning commission. And who is on the planning commission decides how easy it is to build in Lawrence. No surprises from the Progressive Lawrence Campaign slate. Mike Rundle, Dennis "Boog" Highberger and David Schauner favored the three planning commissioners who are most skeptical of big box and other controversial development proposals: David Burress, John Haase and Myles Schachter. The other three remaining candidates were centrist in their choices. Greg DiVilbiss named Jane Bateman as his favorite, followed by Tom Jennings. Bateman often votes in favor of controversial development proposals -- but she has joined the skeptics when she thinks the development has become too bloated to meet the city plans. Jennings votes more consistently in favor of development proposals. Lee Gerhard named Ernie Angino, "because he's a scientist (like Gerhard) although we don't agree on everything." Angino, like Bateman, tends to vote in favor of developments but has voted against the proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter. So you can list him as an independent. (True story about Angino and Burress. They once had an intense 10-minute debate about some issue -- I don't remember which -- during a planning commission meeting. Then they voted the same way on the issue.) Lynn Goodell chose Angino and Bateman, people he said "look out for the good of Lawrence." I have high hopes, by the way, that Ernie Angino will fill the "highly quotable" slot when Durflinger leaves the planning commission this spring.