To the editor:

It is startling to hear Tom Jennings and other allies of developers complain about a “lack of balance” on the current Planning Commission. They clearly long for the days when the Planning Commission was distinguished only by its eagerness to rubber-stamp any development pushed before it, no matter how inappropriate and ill-conceived. But when I think of “balance” for the Planning Commission, I think of a group of independent citizens who will help balance the outsized influence of the building industries against the interests of existing neighborhoods and the character of the city. Those of us who have spent countless hours before the commission are not eager to return to the old “balance” of appointing foxes to guard the henhouse.

Jeff Moran,

Lawrence