County Advisory Board’s Philosophical Course Questioned : Chairman of Growth Panel Quits

The chairman of a citizens committee charged with recommending growth management policies to the Board of Supervisors resigned unexpectedly Thursday.

Leonard Shane, who also is chairman of Mercury Savings, said the committee “has been broadening the scope of its interests and certainly the length of its tenure beyond my original expectations.”

Shane announced his resignation at a meeting of the 11-member committee in the County Hall of Administration. He had submitted a letter to Board of Supervisors Chairman Harriett M. Wieder an hour earlier.

Wieder aide Rod Speer said the board chairman had no comment on the resignation. Speer said he did not know who would be appointed to replace Shane.

Shane proposed during Thursday’s meeting that slow-growth advocate Norm Grossman, now vice chairman of the committee, be named acting chairman.

In a separate letter to committee members, Shane appeared to be worried about the panel’s philosophical direction.

Shane said in his letter that he sees himself as a national spokesman for the dream of home ownership and that he believes some committee members are subordinating that dream to narrower perspectives.

He also said he believes that some panel members have an overly ambitious view of the committee’s “mission.”

Asked later to elaborate, Shane declined further comment.

Last week, committee members indicated they will not be able to meet the Board of Supervisors’ May 18 deadline for producing a set of growth management recommendations.

The committee has indicated it may not complete its recommendations until September. However, county staff members are attempting to persuade panel members to at least come up with a list of community goals in June.

At least one other committee member, developer Kathryn Thompson, said at the meeting Thursday that she is unwilling to serve until September and urged an expedited schedule.

The panel was appointed in March after petitions signed by more than 95,000 people qualified the controversial slow-growth initiative for the June 7 countywide ballot.

In response, the supervisors asked the new committee to consider a so-called safety net proposal that would take effect if the initiative is defeated or declared invalid by the courts after the election.

The safety net proposal closely resembles the Foothill Circulation Phasing Plan, which requires more than $235 million in road improvements before several new housing developments can be built in the foothill area north and east of Tustin, El Toro and Mission Viejo.

The committee voted Thursday to begin evaluating the safety net proposal in the next few weeks.