Whittier : Council to Decide Cases When Planners Can’t Vote

The Whittier City Council has approved an ordinance to handle cases in which the Planning Commission is unable to vote because it lacks a quorum.

The ordinance came about after a recent Planning Commission meeting in which three of five commissioners disqualified themselves because of a potential conflict of interest. The disqualifications came when the commission was scheduled to vote on a controversial proposal to limit apartment construction north of the Uptown Village business district. The commissioners who disqualified themselves own property in or near the area that would be affected by the proposal.

Under the new ordinance, the planning director will report the lack of a quorum to the city manager, who will then refer the matter to the City Council for a vote. The City Council is scheduled to vote on the apartment construction issue Tuesday.