Changes Proposed to Boost Panel’s Image

The Oxnard City Council has pledged to take steps to improve the image of Oxnard’s Land Use Advisors panel, criticized by many residents as a rubber-stamp committee for developers that has reduced the public’s role in Oxnard’s planning process.

Council members voted last January to abolish the five-member Planning Commission and replace it with the five advisors plus a city official serving as hearing officer. The new arrangement caused a public outcry, spurring a citizens’ group to launch a failed petition drive to reinstate the commission.

During a joint meeting of the City Council and the Land Use Advisors on Tuesday, officials defended the panel’s work, saying it has not opened the floodgates to rampant development. In fact, three panel members are former planning commissioners.

Nevertheless, officials admitted the new panel has not managed to shake its critics. As a result, they decided to make several changes, including move hearings on environmental reports from 2 p.m. to the evening, when more members of the public can attend.

The City Council also decided to change procedures for a one-year trial period, requiring the Land Use Advisors to certify environmental impact reports along with the hearing officer. Previously, only the hearing officer--Richard Maggio, Oxnard’s community development director--performed the certification.

The City Council directed staff to study other proposed changes, including increasing membership on the panel to seven.