THOUSAND OAKS : Delay in Choosing Planners Approved

Hoping to keep consideration of the Seventh-day Adventist project consistent, the Thousand Oaks City Council on Tuesday agreed to delay selecting new Planning Commission members for at least a month.

Council members said Tuesday that since the planning body is likely to undergo a drastic reorganization, a change now would only prolong debate over the $100-million Newbury Park development. The change will come as new council members select commissioners, and existing council members may opt to replace appointees.

New panelists would have to review the tapes from prior sessions and become quickly familiar with both the project and the workings of the commission, Councilwoman Judy Lazar said.

Some commissioners said they agreed that selecting new members would be unwise given the time that the commission had already invested in reviewing the proposed shopping mall and school campus.

The planners have had three full sessions of testimony about the Seventh-day Adventist project and will need at least one more session for another public hearing.

“At this point, I think it would be unfair to switch commissions midstream,” Commissioner Forrest Frields said. “We’ve spent months becoming familiar with the project, and that process would have to start over from scratch.”

In addition, Lazar said some council members are still interviewing candidates for the five-member appointed board, which reviews development projects for the city.

She said there was no specific city regulation directing the council when to select new commissioners.

However, commissioners said it would be unusual to have those who were chosen by former Councilmen Alex Fiore and Frank Schillo because they have left.

“Certainly that’s not the norm,” Commission Chairman Irving Wasserman said. “But I think everyone agrees that it would be silly to bring in a new group after all that’s been done on the (Seventh-day project) already.”