Vice Chair Passed Over for Top Planning Panel Seat

In a move some commissioners called politically motivated, the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission on Monday broke a long-standing tradition and passed over Vice Chairwoman Linda Parks for the commission’s top post.

Instead, commissioners voted 3 to 2 to make Forrest Frields the new chairman.

Frields, a former commission chairman who recently rejoined the group after five months on the county’s planning board, sought the position, saying he felt he was more experienced and more of a political moderate than Parks, often considered a proponent of slow growth.

“I saw a need for a more experienced individual, and I’d go so far as to say one with a more moderate viewpoint to development,” Frields said before Monday’s meeting. “I think I bring a lot of experience and strong-mindedness to it that the commission sorely needs right now.”

Traditionally, the vice chairperson is elected chairperson when the commission goes through its annual reorganization in January. Parks said the move showed the extent of political divisions on the commission.

“I’m really sorry to see it, because the Planning Commission has always been very congenial,” she said. “Obviously, I’m rubbing people the wrong way.”

Commissioner Marilyn Carpenter, who relinquished her role as chairwoman Monday night, also expressed disappointment with the move. “I think it’s always unfortunate when individuals use positions like the Planning Commission as a step up to the next rung,” she said. “I guess I believe in selfless service. I think you put the good of the group in front of the individual.”