SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Planning Official Quits, Cites Projects
City Planning Commissioner Carolyn Nash resigned Monday after accusing the city manager and some City Council members of giving special treatment to certain city projects.
Nash, a seven-year member of the commission and wife of former Mayor Doug Nash, announced her resignation in a nearly three-page letter to Mayor Gary L. Hausdorfer and the City Council. Her resignation is effective immediately.
Nash, who did not return phone calls Monday, did not mention council members by name nor the projects that she believes received preferential treatment. Her letter, however, stated that City Manager Stephen B. Julian and some council members had given verbal approvals to projects before any official review processes.
She also called the city staff “demoralized,” citing the fact that four of five department heads had recently stepped down and several staff planners had left the city.
Julian, who has been city manager for nine years, said he was “somewhat surprised” by the resignation.
The city is in the midst of a controversial redevelopment of the historic downtown area surrounding the 214-year-old Mission San Juan Capistrano.
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