THOUSAND OAKS : Frields Returns to City Planning Panel

Five months after leaving the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission, former Commissioner Forrest Frields will return to his old post Monday, at least on a temporary basis.

Frields will rejoin the panel as an interim commissioner, filling the spot Joseph Gibson vacated last week. Gibson, who has diabetes, resigned after missing several meetings this fall because of health problems.

Councilwoman Judy Lazar, who appointed Gibson, announced her selection of Frields in Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

Lazar told the council she would continue to review applications for the post until Dec. 26. She said she may end up sticking with Frields, however, if she doesn’t find someone she prefers.

Originally appointed by then-Mayor Frank Schillo, Frields served on the commission 4 1/2 years. Since August, he has been a member of the county’s planning board.

State law forbids him from holding both positions at the same time, according to the city attorney’s office, so following today’s board meeting, Frields will resign from his county post.

Although Frields said he enjoyed his brief stint with the county, he jumped at the chance to return to his old job, submitting an application last Friday.

“I guess my heart really is in Thousand Oaks more so than elsewhere,” he said. “If I’m going to be serving a community, I’d like it to be Thousand Oaks.”

Frields said he hoped that once Lazar considered all candidates, she would select him to finish out Gibson’s term, which runs until November 1998.