Vernon Jones put off his biggest test as DeKalb CEO last night.

Instead he stirred the pot of controversy at a County Commission meeting on Infill development, and let the commissioners take the heat without him.

The anti crowd was hoping for final passage of an ordinance from the DeKalb Infill Task Force, something like Decatur's new zoning amendments, limiting new homes in old subdivisions to 40% of their lots and 35 feet in height, measured from the surrounding ground.

Instead they heard readings of "compromise" ordinances that in effect let the building continue,. In public remarks those who were pro-passage became anti-, and those who had been anti-, pro-.

At issue is the current trend of housing construction in central and northern DeKalb, with developers putting up what the anti-folks called "McMansions" up to 50 feet high, which blot out the Sun from neighboring yards, and often feature two-story double-car garages and driveways which flood others' yards in a heavy rain. Some builders also work double-shifts, hammering through the night, or line up rows of cement trucks on weekend mornings.

The developers came with a box of yellow shirts, some of which supporters wore, others of which were placed over a shoulder. When one of their number spoke they all rose as one, then sat back down when anyone else talked. It was designed as a show of force.

Not all those on the developers' side of the aisle were developers. Some were property owners, who feared new regulations cut the value of their land when they wanted to sell, reduced the expansions they themselves might want to build, or who noted how their neighborhoods were already filled with McMansions and it would be foolish to fight the trend.

Commissioner Gale Walldorf, whose Infill regulations had been hijacked by "amendments" that in effect wiped most of them out, echoed the feelings of other anti-Infill people, but there was little passion in her voice. This was because the evening was all theater. Nothing really happened. After each ordinance was read and discussed, the staff suggested the motions be tabled, and everyone voted "aye" on their electronic voting machines, with Jones marked "absent" on a screen detailing the results.

The effect was to put off consideration of any ordinance until January 11, although what language might be on the table at that point is anyone's guess. Once the infill questions were done, the yellow group dropped off their shirts and filed out, leaving questions of streets and specific rezoning requests to the individuals affected.

If Vernon Jones was looking for a compromise here, he didn't get it. It's unlikely that one exists. He must come down on one side or the other at some point, possibly next month, probably bringing a majority of commissioners with him. Failure to decide is to side with the developers.

The result will either anger a lot of voters who are losing their peace or anger a lot of developers who are losing their profits. Jones must choose which side to anger most.