Ex-Advisors Named to New Commission

The Oxnard City Council appointed four members of the city’s defunct Land Use Advisors panel to a new five-person Planning Commission on Tuesday, signaling support for the advisors’ handling of development matters.

Council members abolished the original Planning Commission last year and replaced it with five land use advisors in a move city officials said would help streamline the planning process.

But the move was heavily criticized by many Oxnard residents, who argued the arrangement was an effort to speed up development and reduce public participation in planning decisions.

Last month, the council voted to disband the land use panel and replace it with a new Planning Commission.

Choosing from a field of 17 applicants, the City Council appointed former land use advisors Albert Duff, an engineer for the county public works agency; Ray Tafoya, a Navy computer specialist; Dale Dean, a resident with an engineering background; and Michael D. Clarke, a business executive.

Former land use advisor Sonny H. Okada, an Oxnard chiropractor, was not chosen. Instead, council members appointed Joseph E. Burdullis, a small-business owner who said in his application that he wanted to balance growth in the city with preserving Oxnard’s agricultural base.

The new five-member commission still calls for a hearing officer--the main target of critics who organized a petition drive to dissolve the advisors panel.