Hickey Ousts County Planning Director

Walter C. Ladwig has been removed after four years as county planning director, as part of Chief Administrative Officer Norman Hickey’s overhaul of county government.

Hickey announced Tuesday that Ladwig will be reassigned to work on special projects such as jail overcrowding and border development for six months before leaving the payroll.

“This had been coming on for quite some time,” Hickey said. “There was a perception that the department had bogged down, and it became necessary to transition Walter into a new assignment.

“We want a better direction, particularly in code enforcement. We also want to eliminate some of the friction involving the director.”

Ladwig, 58, who is paid $66,000 a year to direct the county Department of Planning and Land Use, came to the county in July, 1983, after five years as deputy planning director for San Bernardino County. He succeeded Paul Zucker, who had served five years and resigned under fire.

Under the county charter, the decision to remove a planning director and to hire a new one rests with the chief administrative officer. The ouster of Ladwig apparently did not displease the Board of Supervisors.

“I think it’s a decision that has needed to be made for some time,” Supervisor Susan Golding said. “The planning director had lost the confidence of members of the board. We have been displeased with the way the planning department dealt with a number of complex issues, such as the staff work on ‘clustering.’

“There was a general feeling that the planning department seemed to set its own policies regardless of what the board wanted. We felt the department was suffering from a lack of control and needed strong leadership.”

In the clustering issue, supervisors cracked down on regulations allowing developers to build more units per acre in exchange for providing open space. The planning department steadfastly recommended that golf courses and other private recreation areas be considered open space, a recommendation that angered supervisors.

Developers have criticized the department for being slow to process paper work and inconsistent in enforcing regulations. The handling of several land-use projects in East County has also concerned supervisors.

Ladwig said Tuesday that he is pleased with his years as director.

“I think we’ve accomplished a lot under some difficult circumstances,” he said. “We established a growth-management task force and set up a new Community Plan updating process that includes a moratorium on development while a plan is being updated. I think those kind of things are a true benefit to the county.”

Asked whether he was being treated fairly, Ladwig said, “That’s between me and Mr. Hickey.”

“The life of a county planning director, historically, is about four years in this county, and these were my four years,” he said. “In planning, whatever you do, you make someone unhappy because land use is so controversial.”

Last year, a study ordered by the chief administrative officer--and conducted by seven administrative analysts from other departments--concluded that Ladwig’s department was slow and inefficient and suffered what one county official called a “negative attitude” toward taking orders. Ladwig hotly disputed the findings in a 37-page response.

Hickey said he hopes to choose Ladwig’s successor in August. In the interim, Randall L. Hurlburt, deputy director of the codes division, will be acting director of the department, which has an annual budget of $9 million and more than 200 employees.

The planning department oversees development in unincorporated areas, implements the county’s General Plan and enforces building codes.

Since becoming chief administrative officer in January, 1986, Hickey has named a new chief pathologist for the beleaguered coroner’s office, a new health director and a new registrar of voters.

He said Tuesday that more changes among department directors may be in the offing.