The battle has been going on for some time between those who favor new development, including the housing that the area so desperately needs, and activists who push back against the higher density that they say stresses city services and creates congestion, noise and more air pollution.
A few years ago, things came to a head when opponents of high-density development managed to get a measure on the March 2017 ballot that would have put a moratorium on the zoning changes necessary for such projects to move forward.
