Robert Krause insists all he wants to do is serve world-class cuisine to no more than 30 people a night.

What he’s gotten himself into, though, is the equivalent of eating barbecue without a napkin – a mess.

The catch with Krause’s plan is that he wants to serve his upscale meals not in a traditional restaurant, but at his home, 917 Del., so he can work close to his wife, mother-in-law and two young daughters.

“It is a unique setting like nothing I’ve ever seen before,” Krause said of his 1870s home that has a modern addition designed by renowned architect Dan Rockhill. “We would be providing a dining experience that is not available in this area.”

But nobody other than Krause can seem to figure out whether it is a good idea.

The project during the course of the summer has garnered positive recommendations from the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission and a group of neighbors who are members of the East Lawrence Neighborhood Assn. But it comes with negative recommendations from the city’s planning staff, the city’s Historic Resources Commission and the board of directors of the East Lawrence Neighborhood Assn.

Tonight, city commissioners are scheduled to settle the issue once and for all at their weekly meeting, which begins at 6:35 p.m. at City Hall, Sixth and Massachusetts streets.

“The business he runs is pretty cool; you can’t deny that,” said Mark Kaplan, an East Lawrence resident who lives just a block south of the Krause home. “It is a nice concept, but what he would do to this neighborhood would not be nice.”

Kaplan is concerned that if the Krause home receives a commercial zoning – which would allow him to live at the home and operate the unique restaurant – it would open the door for other properties in the residential neighborhood to be rezoned to noisier, more obtrusive commercial uses.

“When you go home at night, you want to be able to have some peace and quiet and get ready for another tough day,” Kaplan said. “The working-class people who live in this neighborhood ought to have that same right like everyone else.”

Others, though, say the business would improve the neighborhood by increasing its diversity, adding a unique artistic endeavor to the neighborhood.

“What these people do is art,” said Scott Tichenor, an east Lawrence resident who has dined in Krause’s home about half a dozen times. “I’ve dined all over the world, and this is as good as it gets.

“Lawrence is the kind of community noted for being unique, and this would add to that reputation. It is a world-class experience, and the fact that you could have it in east Lawrence would be pretty amazing.”

Krause currently operates a catering business from the home, a use that does not require commercial zoning. Krause operated the restaurant at the home from about 2002 to last year when a city inspector notified him and his wife, Molly, that their business was not in compliance with zoning codes.

The new zoning he seeks, Krause said, would provide the neighborhood several assurances. It would come with specific conditions: The restaurant would operate no more than four nights per week; serve only an evening meal to no more than 30 people per night; and be reservation-only.

The zoning also would have a special condition placed on it that if the property were ever sold, it could only be used for a home or a quality, sit-down restaurant abiding by the same conditions.

Sandra Day, a planner with the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Department, said the ability to place such specific conditions on the zoning was new. The city’s new development code, effective July 1, allows the city to place reasonable conditions on zonings.