Ethics Panel Investigates Ex-Planner’s Role in Pact : Inquiry: Former official says he merely acted as a liaison during application for contract, not as a lobbyist, which would violate year-old law.

The Los Angeles Ethics Commission is investigating whether a former city planning official violated restrictions on lobbying by ex-government workers when he represented a firm seeking a lucrative city contract.

Officials said they are examining the actions of Gary A. Morris, who was the zoning administrator overseeing subdivisions when he left city employment in July, 1990.

Less than a year later, Morris appeared before a city Planning Department committee that was selecting a private firm to mail out notices for development hearings.

The company represented by Morris, BTC Inc. of Sherman Oaks, eventually won the contract, which is worth an estimated $7 million or more over three years. It is expected to go before the City Council within weeks for ratification.

The city municipal code prohibits high-ranking employees such as Morris from lobbying their city agencies within a year of leaving city government.

Morris denied any wrongdoing, saying that he did not lobby anyone. He said his only purpose in attending the meeting was to explain city procedures to other BTC officials.

“Now that you bring it up, I’m kind of sorry I went to the meeting,” said Morris, who had served more than 25 years with the Planning Department. “I was just there to respond to any questions that might come up.”

City planning officials recently referred the matter to the Ethics Commission after an inquiry by The Times. On May 24, Director of Planning Melanie Fallon asked the commission to “advise us, or take appropriate action, as necessary.”

Commission Executive Director Benjamin Bycel said last week, “We are looking at it.”

The commission is expected to determine whether Morris’ activities constituted lobbying in violation of an ethics law passed by Los Angeles voters last June.

The inquiry comes amid a wider controversy surrounding the contract. Some competing firms complained that BTC used City Hall connections to win the contract.

“I was surprised they were selected because they don’t have the personnel, experience, or knowledge,” said applicant Lee Ambers of California Property Consultants in Van Nuys.

Top planning officials defended the contract award to BTC, saying that the firm was the best qualified and exerted no improper influence.

Franklin Eberhard, chief deputy director for the city Planning Department, said he does not believe that Morris’ activities constituted lobbying, but said that he is troubled by the possible appearance of impropriety.

“I recognize there is that appearance,” Eberhard said. “In retrospect, it would have been much better had he not been present” during the selection process.

Alan Shuman, president of BTC, denied that his firm got any special treatment because of Morris’ involvement. “I actually came up with something good for the city,” he said.

BTC was formed in 1986. Several of BTC’s officials are employed by Engineering Technology Inc. of Sherman Oaks. Shuman is a partner in ETI, a leading city consulting and lobbying firm.

ETI--along with its officers and a political action committee called Taxpayers for Responsible Government that drew most of its money from ETI--has contributed about $150,000 to local political campaigns since 1983, according to computerized records. The company has represented real estate developers and worked on the Porter Ranch project in the San Fernando Valley.

The contract is an outgrowth of the Planning Department’s decision in 1990 to change the way neighborhood residents are notified about pending developments. Instead of mailing notices to all landowners within 300 feet of a proposed project, the city extended the range to 500 feet and included occupants as well as owners.

The result, according to one planning official, was a “tenfold increase” in the number of mailings by the city. The staff was swamped with work, but the city’s budget problems precluded hiring more mail workers. The city began looking for a way out.

Eberhard said several people, including representatives of ETI, contacted the city with the idea of hiring an outside contractor to do the work.

Steve Besser, a lawyer for the city attorney’s office, said Eberhard asked if the contract could be handled on a sole-source basis, bypassing the competitive bidding process. Besser said planning officials were concerned that the city was falling behind in its mailing and wanted to quickly find someone to do the work.

Eberhard said he did not have anyone specifically in mind for the contract. Jane Benefield, a deputy to Eberhard, said that ETI--or BTC--was one of the firms considered for the sole-source contract.

The city attorney’s office eventually determined that the contract had to be put out to competitive bid under city contracting rules.

Nine firms bid on the contract, and three finalists were selected by a committee comprised of Eberhard, Benefield, Besser and three other planning officials. In addition to BTC, the finalists were Quality Mapping Service and J.P.L. Zoning Services, both of Van Nuys.

The finalists were interviewed in early April--about nine months after Morris left city service. When the committee met with BTC, Morris, whom Eberhard described as a “longtime acquaintance,” was present. Bid documents describe Morris as “liaison” between the company and the Planning Department.

Critics also alleged that BTC had too little experience in the work covered by the contract, compared to some competitors. But city officials said the main element of the contract--mailing out hearing notices--had always been done by the city, so none of the firms had experience in it.

They said that although BTC had the financial backing and know-how to do a competent job, the two other finalists had problems with their proposals.

Officials said J.P.L. would have to borrow money and find a new building to house the mailing business. Selection committee members said they also had concerns about division of responsibility between Quality Mapping and a subcontractor, Promotional Services Inc. of Van Nuys, which specializes in mass mailings.

BTC’s bid of $1.29 for each of an estimated 2 million mailings each year was not the lowest of the nine submitted, but was lower than the other two finalists.