SAN CLEMENTE : Vote on Subdivisions Spurs Investigation

The Orange County district attorney’s office said Thursday that it is investigating a possible conflict of interest involving a planning commissioner who voted to allow the building of subdivisions while reportedly holding a financial interest in the development firm.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Donna Crandall confirmed Thursday that her office is looking into Harold Joseph’s connection to Dallas-based Centex Development Corp., but declined to comment further.

Joseph owns a San Clemente real estate firm with his wife.

In a telephone interview with The Times last Friday, Joseph conceded he owned $10,000 in Centex stock in November when he voted in favor of allowing the firm to build subdivisions to include 476 single-family homes.

Joseph said he wasn’t aware that his action was a potential violation of state law, which prohibits public officials from voting on issues in which they hold a financial interest.

On Friday, when he acknowledged the financial tie, Joseph said: “I wasn’t trying to do anything illegal.”

He said he sold the stock last month when City Clerk Myrna Erway pointed out that his ownership might be a conflict of interest.

At least two City Council members said this week that they are pushing for Joseph’s resignation. But Joseph said he will not make any decisions on his future, including his position on the commission when his two-year term expires in June, until he returns from vacation later this month.

The matter came to the attention of the district attorney’s office last August when resident Simon Zervos, a retired Coast Guard officer, filed a complaint over a finder’s fee that Joseph received last year for leading Centex to purchase land in east San Clemente where the developer is now building 398 homes.

City Atty. Jeffrey M. Oderman ruled last year that the commissioner had done nothing wrong because Joseph received the money from the property’s previous owner, Estrella Properties Ltd. Councilman Brian J. Rice said he will seek to introduce legislation at the council’s May 2 meeting calling for the planning commissioner to be removed from the his post.