HUNTINGTON BEACH : Planners to Get 2 New Commissioners

One slow-growth advocate has been appointed to the Huntington Beach Planning Commission, and a second is scheduled to be named to the commission in January, city officials said Friday.

Gary Gorman, executive director of the nonprofit Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy, was appointed to the Planning Commission this week by new Councilman Victor Leipzig.

Bob Biddle, former president of Huntington Beach Tomorrow, a slow-growth citizens’ group, will be appointed to the Planning Commission in January by new Councilman David Sullivan.

Sullivan, the current president of Huntington Beach Tomorrow, said: “Bob has served on the city’s General Plan Advisory Committee and the Growth Management Committee, and so he has quite a bit of experience. I think he’s going to make a very good planning commissioner.”

Biddle will be seated on the Planning Commission in early January, when changeovers to that appointive panel normally occur.

Gorman took his seat on the commission on Tuesday because he fills a vacancy created when Leipzig, the incumbent, was elected to the City Council Nov. 3.

Gorman, 47, has gained statewide recognition and honors for his volunteer work as a wetlands restorer. In the mid-1980s, Gorman and other residents became concerned about the degradation of wetlands near the intersection of Brookhurst Street and Pacific Coast Highway. They formed the Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy, and that organization raised money to obtain and restore the site. The wetlands, which cover about 25 acres, became functional again in 1989.

Gorman is a firefighter, with the rank of engineer, in the Long Beach Fire Department. He and his family live in Huntington Beach.

Gorman said Friday that his pro-environment views do not mean he automatically opposes business and development. “I want to be fair and equitable,” Gorman said.

Biddle, 39, is a store manager in downtown Huntington Beach and a lifelong resident of the city. Like Gorman, Biddle became active in environmental and slow-growth efforts in the city in the mid-1980s.

Biddle said he is very pro-business. “I work in a business myself, so I’d hardly be anti-business,” he said. “I think Huntington Beach needs more businesses because homes alone don’t provide the tax revenue needed to support the city.”