SANTA PAULA : 2 Named to Serve on City Planning Panel

The Santa Paula City Council on Tuesday appointed a local builder and reappointed a former police officer to serve on the city Planning Commission.

The council voted 3-to-2 to appoint William Huff, who owns a local construction company, and reappoint current Commissioner Richard Cook, to serve four-year terms on the panel, effective immediately.

A native of Santa Paula and a retired local police officer, Cook, 45, was appointed to an unexpired term 18 months ago and renamed to the seat Tuesday.

Huff, 55, who was raised in Ventura, has been a builder for the past 30 years. The appointment is his first to a public office.

“I think Santa Paula is a fabulous city and I’m excited about being on the Planning Commission,” said Huff, who moved to Santa Paula in 1989. “It’s a great place to live.”

Both candidates were selected from a pool of 13 applicants. Mayor Alfonso Urias and Councilwoman Laura Espinosa reviewed the candidates’ applications and recommended Huff and Cook to the City Council.

“I was really impressed with the qualifications of the candidates,” Espinosa said. “And it was a tough decision to pick two.”

Councilmen Don Johnson and John Melton voted against the appointments, arguing they wanted incumbent Scott Dunber to be reappointed.