Somerville is no stranger to greedy developers running through its neighborhoods grabbing all the cash and land they can. That is why residents and elected officials should always approach developments that affect our neighborhoods carefully and with a healthy dose of skepticism, maybe even paranoia.

But the dispute on College Avenue between Dr. Mouhab Rizkallah and his West Somerville neighbors does not fit the profile of some moneyed intruder here to make a buck and ruin the property value of all abutters.

Rizkallah must build a stairwell and an elevator by law to satisfy the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. By law. That means he has to. Get it? And because his property is zoned for commercial use he can. By law. That means he can. In fact he could build another multi-story building there if he wanted to. But he’s not. Just a stairwell.

The neighbors have some good points too. It’s true, 46 of them were never properly notified and if you learn for the first time that your neighbor is starting a significant construction by hearing the ground break on day one, you can’t be blamed for ratcheting up the outrage levels.

And although Rizkallah is required and allowed by law to build a new entrance he is not required to build a third floor. He’s doing that for the money. And 50-year residents of the neighborhood should not lose their view of the sun because he wants to pocket a little more cash to offset his expenses.

Let Rizkallah build his elevator and stairwell. And let the neighborhood keep a view of the sun. Is that so unreasonable?