Council to Appoint New Planning Panel

After dismantling its widely criticized Land Use Advisors panel last month, Oxnard’s City Council is scheduled today to appoint five community members to a new Planning Commission.

Oxnard abolished its original Planning Commission last year and replaced it with the special panel. The action drew fire from residents, who said the new arrangement reduced public input in the planning process.

All five members of the Land Use Advisors panel plan to apply for seats on the new Planning Commission. In addition, 10 other city residents have applied for seats on the panel.

Under the new procedure, Oxnard Mayor Manuel Lopez will appoint planning commissioners. A majority of the five-member City Council must ratify each appointment.

When the city created the Land Use Advisors panel last year, residents objected to the appointment of a non-elected city official as a hearing officer who had the power to approve environmental reports and make other planning decisions.

Rules for the Planning Commission still call for decisions to be made by a city hearing officer, but the employee will no longer have the power to approve environmental reports. Under the new arrangement, approval by a majority of the full commission will be required to certify environmental studies, which generally allow developments to move forward in the planning process.

But city planning official Richard Maggio will retain many of his current duties, such as approving alcoholic beverage permits and parcel maps, which can determine the location of property lines and, in some cases, roads, sewer lines and water pipes.

City officials say the hearing officer retains only minor duties, giving the Planning Commission time to work on larger issues.

However, critics disagree. The hearing officer “sets conditions on every development that comes to the city,” said Jane Tolmach, a former Oxnard mayor. “They may say he doesn’t do much, but they have delegated all these powers to him.”