San Gabriel : Ruling on Commissioners

The City Council decided Tuesday that appointed city commissioners who move out of town will lose their posts after 30 days if they don’t resign.

The action came two weeks after the council allowed a popular planning commissioner to serve the last month of his term even though he had moved to La Verne.

The commissioner, Robert Mattison, refused to give up his seat, saying he was miffed at the way he was asked to resign. He argued that the ordinance governing the residency of planning officials did not address commissioners who move.

Under a revised ordinance that won initial council approval by a 3-2 vote, commissioners who move out of town have 30 days to resign before their seats are declared vacant.

The new ordinance also applies to the Parks and Recreation and Civil Service commissions, which did not have residency requirements.

A city parks commissioner also moved out of town in recent months and a second resigned Sunday, saying he plans to leave town and wanted to avoid the embarrassment of being told to resign.