diff --git a/deployment/base/hg-deployment.yaml b/deployment/base/hg-deployment.yaml
index f9a6c9c68..4879cd0ef 100644
--- a/deployment/base/hg-deployment.yaml
+++ b/deployment/base/hg-deployment.yaml
@@ -52,9 +52,9 @@ spec:
         # https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/configuration/manage-resources-containers
         resources:
           requests:
-            memory: 260Mi
+            memory: 400Mi
           limits:
-            memory: 260Mi
+            memory: 400Mi
         env:
           - name: CUSTOM_PORT
             value: "8088"
@@ -65,6 +65,8 @@ spec:
               configMapKeyRef:
                 name: app-config
                 key: hg-otel-enabled
+          - name: ENABLE_DEMAND_IMPORT
+            value: "false"
         ports:
           - containerPort: 8088
 
diff --git a/hgweb/hg.conf b/hgweb/hg.conf
index d39d050c0..5df07b828 100644
--- a/hgweb/hg.conf
+++ b/hgweb/hg.conf
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 LoadModule wsgi_module /usr/lib/apache2/modules/mod_wsgi.so
 WSGIPythonOptimize 0
-WSGILazyInitialization Off
+WSGILazyInitialization On
 WSGISocketPrefix logs/wsgi
 LogLevel debug
 ServerName localhost
diff --git a/hgweb/hgweb.wsgi b/hgweb/hgweb.wsgi
index 876a55f3e..298d5aa2d 100644
--- a/hgweb/hgweb.wsgi
+++ b/hgweb/hgweb.wsgi
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+import os
+import sys
 # An example WSGI for use with mod_wsgi, edit as necessary
 # See https://mercurial-scm.org/wiki/modwsgi for more information
 # mod_wsgi docs: https://modwsgi.readthedocs.io/en/master/
@@ -13,7 +15,13 @@ config = b"/var/hg/hgweb.hgrc"
 #import cgitb; cgitb.enable()
 
 # enable demandloading to reduce startup time
-from mercurial import demandimport; demandimport.enable()
+from mercurial import demandimport;
+
+# enable demandloading to reduce startup time
+if os.getenv('ENABLE_DEMAND_IMPORT', 'false').lower() in ['1', 'true', 'yes']:
+    demandimport.enable()
+else:
+    demandimport.disable()
 
 from mercurial.hgweb import hgweb
 application = hgweb(config)