Cypress Voters Likely to Decide Whether to Revive Planning Panel

Voters are likely to decide in November whether the Planning Commission should be re-established.

The City Council voted this week to rule in April on whether to let the voters decide on re-establishing the commission, which was dissolved by the council in 1978.

Councilman Walter Bowman said the City Council election in November was a major factor in this week’s 3-2 vote.

Council members Bowman and Margaret M. Arnold are up for reelection and John Kanel is not eligible to run. Therefore, some appointments to the commission could be made by council members who may not hold their positions after the November election.

The council’s decision was made “out of fairness to the community,” Bowman said.

Cypress is only one of three cities in Orange County that does not have a planning commission. The other two, Villa Park and La Palma, have design review committees which perform many of the planning functions.

Bowman argues that the commission will make the City Council agendas more manageable and also give the community an added opportunity to be heard.

However, Mayor Cecilia L. Age and Councilwoman Gail H. Kerry oppose the proposal. “The planning commission is not accountable,” Kerry said. “We are elected officials, they are not.”

Both Kerry and Age said they are concerned about the cost of a commission. Although an exact amount has not been determined, estimates gathered from other cities range from $20,000 to $95,000 a year.

The council will hold a public hearing in April and then decide whether to place the matter on the ballot.