Rancho P.V. Council Ousts Chief of the City Planning Commission

In yet another example of the bitter infighting among Rancho Palos Verdes council members, the council Tuesday ousted Planning Commissioner Luella Wike from her post. Wike’s second four-year term on the commission would have expired in 1991.

The three council members who opposed Wike did not elaborate on why they wanted her off the commission. Before the meeting, Mayor Mel Hughes said only that he believed Wike’s performance was not “in the best interests of the city.” During the meeting, Councilwoman Jacki Bacharach accused Wike of being a “little bit overzealous” as a commissioner.

Councilman John McTaggart, however, called Wike’s ouster “another example of power politics in Rancho Palos Verdes” by the council majority.

Wike, who was chairwoman of the commission, did not attend the meeting and could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Commissioners serve at the pleasure of the City Council. They decide development and zoning matters, but their decisions can be overturned by the council.

On Tuesday, the council needed to fill three vacancies on the five-member Planning Commission. It first voted to force Wike and the commission’s only other incumbent, Peter Von Hagen, to resign so the council could cast new ballots for all five commission members. McTaggart cast the only vote against the motion.

After the motion passed, Wike failed to receive enough votes to regain her seat when the council majority, made up of Hughes, Bacharach and Doug Hinchliffe, did not cast ballots for her.

Von Hagen regained his seat, although council allies McTaggart and Bob Ryan did not cast their ballots for him.

McTaggart and Ryan are frequently at odds with the council majority over development issues, which have come to dominate local political debate. The fate of at least five major building proposals, including two large hotels, is expected to be decided this year by planning commissioners and council members.

In past months, Ryan has accused Von Hagen, a developer, of attempting to influence city officials on a residential project. Von Hagen acted as the landowner’s agent for the project.

Von Hagen, who abstained from voting on the project, has denied any wrongdoing.

Besides Von Hagen, the council voted to appoint Susan Brooks and Charles Hotchkiss to regular four-year terms on the commission. Both have been serving in an interim capacity for the last six months.

The council also reappointed Robert McNulty, whose second term on the commission expired in December, and appointed new member Robert Katherman.