OXNARD : Staffer on Panel May Be Removed

Members of the Oxnard City Council said on Tuesday that they wanted to remove a city staff member serving on the new Land Use Advisory Committee, because he had taken too much criticism from residents.

Councilman Andres Herrera said that Community Development Director Richard Maggio had been unfairly criticized by residents who said that his serving on the panel was a conflict of interest.

“That really is so far from fact that it doesn’t make any sense. But I’m worried about the perception,” Herrera said.

Maggio is in charge of the agency that oversees all land development in Oxnard and often writes the reports that the Land Use Advisory Committee considers in making its rulings. As the fifth board member, Maggio would be called upon to vote on his own staff’s recommendations.

Created in January to replace the city’s Planning Commission, the board has four citizen members and Maggio, who served as the hearing officer--a position that would have allowed him to independently approve smaller land use issues.

The council said it would look at several alternatives and bring the matter back for a vote in a few weeks.