Plan Panel Shift Reflects Political Change : Developers No Longer Wield the Clout They Once Enjoyed--nor Should They

Times have changed in Orange County, and there’s no more telling sign than a recent shift on the county Planning Commission. Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder removed pro-development Commissioner Roger D. Slates as her appointee to the five-person panel and put in his stead Haydee V. Tillotson, a Huntington Beach businesswoman.

Wieder had several reasons for this move, including the fact that Tillotson is a close political ally she wants to position to succeed her. But it was also a strong signal that, while developers remain big players in the political process, they won’t wield quite as much influence as they once did. Nor should they. In the 1990s, growth must give way to growth management. There can be no more automatic green lights.

Removing Slates is partially an indication of Wieder’s unhappiness with his reaction to the board’s recent reconfiguration of the planning process in Orange County. The board removed routine planning matters, such as permits for additions to houses, from the commission and gave these decisions to a zoning administrator. The board made it clear it wanted the commission to focus more on regional planning issues.

But Slates’ departure also points to an even more dramatic change. Slates, a semi-retired realtor, was a symbol of Orange County’s boom development days. Like Will Rogers with people, Slates seemed never to meet a development he didn’t like. Nor was he shy about voicing his support, and he was not reluctant to use his considerable political skills to advance particular development projects. In this, for that matter, he was not unlike the Board of Supervisors itself.

That may have worked in the days when developers ruled the roost. But now much of the developable land is either already built out or is within the boundaries of Orange County’s growing number of cities. Added to that is the recession. Chapman University’s Center for Economic Research reports that residential building permits in the county, which numbered nearly 25,000 in 1987, dropped to just over 6,000 last year.

That’s quite a slide. But it also gives the county a breather in which to better plan its growth. The reconstituted Planning Commission is uniquely positioned to coordinate this by working with cities to devise overall strategies.

That will take cooperation from everyone. But, done well, it could help Orange County retain the qualities that have made it such a good place to live, work and raise families.