2 Newcomers Are Appointed to Thousand Oaks Planning Board : Government: An environmental consultant and a stockbroker are picked. Council also reappoints Marilyn Carpenter.

An environmental consultant expert in municipal planning and a Thousand Oaks stockbroker who heads a homeowners’ association were appointed Tuesday to the Planning Commission by the Thousand Oaks City Council.

The two newcomers and Commissioner Marilyn Carpenter, who was reappointed Tuesday, will join Linda Parks and Forrest Frields on a planning board that will rule on several major development projects during the coming year.

Commissioners generally serve four-year terms. Their decisions on commercial and residential developments are final unless appealed to the City Council, as is often the case.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, Councilwoman Judy Lazar nominated Joseph G. Gibson, who has worked as an environmental consultant for private developers and several Southern California cities for nearly a decade.

Those familiar with Gibson’s work said he will bring to the commission unique knowledge of intricate legal issues that cities face when considering projects.

Lazar, herself a former commissioner, said she expects the commission to benefit greatly from Gibson’s professional background.

“I think he will be a great asset to the commission,” Lazar told the council.

Councilman Andy Fox nominated stockbroker Ronald S. Polanski, who said he is excited about serving on the commission because of his deep sense of commitment to the city.

“This town is very important to me,” said Polanski, a past president of the local chapter of the Kiwanis Club and president of the Fairgreen Homeowners Assn. “Where I live I am surrounded by the Wildwood Open Space, and I love the area. This was a chance to be involved in the city’s future.”

Councilwoman Elois Zeanah selected Carpenter to her second commission term. Carpenter’s first term was as an appointee of Lazar, a Zeanah rival.

Both Lazar and Carpenter said that during the first term it became evident they had developed differing views on the way the city should look in the future.

Carpenter was a strong voice for land preservation, rarely approving projects that varied even slightly from the goals set forth in the city’s General Plan.

Carpenter has vast planning experience, having also served on the Ventura County Planning Commission and on the board that helped draft Thousand Oaks’ original General Plan in the 1970s.

Leaving the commission are business consultant Irving Wasserman and mortgage broker Mervyn Kopp, both of whom served one term.

Parks is in the middle of her four-year term and Frields is serving as an interim commissioner until the June special election to fill the City Council’s vacant fifth seat. At that time, the new council member will appoint a planning commissioner.

Parks said she is excited that the commission, widely seen as a nonpolitical sounding board for the council, will be infused with new viewpoints and perspectives.

“I’m glad to see a representative from a homeowners’ group,” Parks said. “I think we will continue to have the congenial environment on the commission that we have had, despite our opposing viewpoints.”

Word of Gibson’s selection was also well-received by those who have followed development in the city.

Eric Taylor, vice president of VTN West Inc., a consulting firm that has represented the developer of Dos Vientos, said Gibson is neither pro-growth nor anti-growth, but a true moderate.

And he said Gibson’s career in environmental consulting makes him a valuable addition to the board.

“He will be a tremendous asset to the city for technical support,” Taylor said.

“His most valuable contribution will be that he knows the planning process in California,” Taylor said. “That’s something that any city sorely needs, because what comes before them is so complex and technical.”