Ethics Panel Says Ex-City Planner May Have Violated Law, but Won’t Open Formal Proceedings

The Los Angeles Ethics Commission says a former city planner may have violated the city’s year-old ethics law by appearing before a committee handing out a lucrative city contract and has ordered the Planning Department to “avoid such conduct in the future.” But commissioners decided against opening formal proceedings that could lead to sanctions because the ethics law is new and the city is still learning to adapt.

Ethics Commission Executive Officer Benjamin Bycel ruled in the case of Gary A. Morris, who was the zoning administrator overseeing subdivisions when he left the city in July, 1990. Less than a year later, Morris represented a private contractor, BTC Inc. of Sherman Oaks, in its bid to win a contract worth $7 million to mail out hearing notices for the Planning Department.

A new ethics code passed by city voters in June, 1990, states that high-ranking employees should not lobby their former agencies for at least a year after leaving city service. Morris appeared before the Planning Department selection committee nine months after his departure. Bycel noted that Morris apparently was a minor participant in an April meeting with the committee that was recommending the contractor. Bycel also said that Morris had later expressed regrets over attending the meeting.