Engineer Exec Gets Coastal Panel Post

Gov. Pete Wilson on Friday appointed William B. Rick of San Diego, a longtime political associate with strong ties to developers, to the California Coastal Commission.

Rick, chairman and chief executive officer since 1955 of Rick Engineering, a prominent Mission Valley engineering firm, acknowledged in a telephone call Friday that his connections with developers might pose a conflict of interest at times.

But he added that he will “likely” refrain from voting on projects that directly affect his company or clients. In fact, Rick said he found out minutes after learning about his appointment that he already has a potential conflict: His firm is working on a tennis court along the San Diego coastline.

“There’s going to be a time that I won’t be able to vote, there’s no question about it,” said Rick, 64.

The Coastal Commission decides on proposed developments along the coast.

A San Diego Unified Port District commissioner from 1981-90, Rick helped lead the effort to pick a design and build the waterfront San Diego Convention Center. He said Friday that he applied for the Coastal Commission job because of a lifelong interest in the waterfront.

He said that interest began with his father, the late Glenn Rick, who was the city planning director who oversaw the development of Mission Bay.

“My father was the guy who developed Mission Bay for the city. . . . I had nine years on the port commission, and we accomplished some things there. We worked with the Coastal Commission,” he said. “To me, it (the appointment) is a natural progression.”

Rick said his approach to the issues of environment and development will be one of “balance” on the regulatory agency. He said he would also like to open up more of the coastline to the public.

“Coming out of the port commission, where my prime objective was to see we created public access to the waterfront, I don’t know at the moment why I would want to change my point of view,” he said.

Environmentalists expressed dismay Friday over his appointment.

“In the furthest stretch of our imagination, we couldn’t consider Bill Rick an environmentalist,” said Michael Shames, political chairman for the Sierra Club’s San Diego chapter. “He doesn’t like environmentalists.

“If this is (Wilson’s) attempt at appointing environmentalists, he’s off to an extremely rocky start.”

A staff member at the Coastal Commission, who asked that his name not be used, said environmental groups that had been pressuring the governor on four appointments to the commission will be disappointed that Rick is one of them. Wilson had made campaign promises to appoint environmentalists to the commission.

“Oh, no. Here we go again,” the staff member said. “Well, maybe we’ll get three out of four who believe in the Coastal Act.”

Although he has been helping developers all his life, Rick said he has tried to take into account environmental concerns as well.

“Bill Rick’s been trying to build things ever since he went to work, but once in a while maybe we can do it so people are pleased on both sides,” he said.

Rick’s firm was involved in the controversial La Jolla Valley development proposal in the mid-1980s to build a private Christian college in the city’s so-called future urbanizing zone.

The council’s vote to approve the project, calling for an exception to General Plan restrictions that prohibited construction in the area, touched off a backlash among environmentalists and prompted passage of a ballot measure that took such decisions away from the council.

Rick said he was on the Historical Site Board when Wilson was first elected mayor of San Diego.