Planning call gets 17 hits

Lolita Harper

City officials report that 17 applications have been received for

the Planning Commission’s five spots.

City Manager Alan Roeder released the number of applicants on

Tuesday, but would not release the names until the staff reports on

the subject were delivered to the City Council.

“It’s really a matter of protocol,” Roeder said. “We like to make

them available to the appointing body before we release them to the

public.”

Names of applicants will be available to the public first thing

Thursday morning, he said.

“People can come by the city clerks’ office if they like, and we

will get the information on the Web site as soon as possible,” Roeder

said.

The number of applicants is high compared to years past. Some

officials blame that on the demise of four-year staggered terms. This

is the first time since the council changed the terms to two-year

coinciding tenures that the entire commission will be up for

reappointment.

The terms expire in March. All five of the current commissioners

-- Chairwoman Katrina Foley, Walt Davenport, Bill Perkins, Eleanor

Egan and Bruce Garlich -- said they have reapplied.

Mayor Karen Robinson said she was pleased with the enthusiastic

response.

“I think it is great that we have that much interest from the

community in serving on such an important commission,” Robinson said.

The five-member Planning Commission has the power to act upon or

recommend regulation of growth, development and beautification of the

city.

Since the application period closed last Wednesday, curiosity has

been mounting about who is seeking a spot.

While some view the high rate of participation as a good sign,

many developers, city hall insiders and sitting commissioners are on

pins and needles as to what the future might hold for the commission.

A politically charged atmosphere left over from the November

elections combined with the established unpredictability of the Costa

Mesa City Council has many guessing who will reign over second-story

additions and conditional use permits.

The bad blood between Planning Commission Chairwoman Katrina

Foley, who lost her bid for the City Council, and Councilmen Gary

Monahan and Allan Mansoor, whom she ran against, has left many

wondering if Foley has the three votes necessary to return to the

commission she currently heads.

Beyond that political smoldering, Robinson and Mansoor opposed the

contentious Home Ranch development, which won unanimous endorsement

from the Planning Commission last year, and have voiced disagreement

with commissioners’ opinions on that venture.

Although Councilman Chris Steel supported the monumental

Segerstrom project, many of his supporters criticized him for it, and

Steel has been on the losing end of recent planning votes that call

for increased development.

Veteran Planning Commissioner Walt Davenport, who has made

planning decisions from the dais for more than 22 years, said his

confidence in being reappointed depends on the make-up of the

council.

“This year, I find it a little more difficult to predict the

outcome than I have in the past,” Davenport said.

Roeder said his office has received calls from various members of

the public, including Planning Commission applicants asking for other

applicants’ information, but again, the information is being withheld

until the council members receive their staff reports.

A few of the residents who call themselves improvers have

expressed interest in a seat on the commission, and because that

group played a significant role in electing Mansoor in November and

Steel in 2000, it is likely at least one of those applicants will win

their favor.

Planning Commissioner Bill Perkins said he doesn’t care to know

who is vying for his seat.

“All I care is that I can count to three,” Perkins said. “All that

I really care about is getting three votes.”

City officials received six applications for the parks and

recreation committee, which is also very important but not

historically as political. Those names will also be available

Thursday morning.

* LOLITA HARPER covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at [email protected].