Conflict-of-Interest Standards Urged

Concerned that members of the city’s Planning Commission may be voting on issues involving people they do business with, Councilwoman Linda Parks wants the City Council to develop conflict-of-interest standards for members of city boards.

Parks said she will ask the council Tuesday to establish specific standards and definitions on what constitutes conflict of interest for city commission and committee members.

Her aim is to have the City Council direct members of city boards to recuse themselves any time an issue comes before them involving someone with whom they have a contractual or business relationship.

Thousand Oaks already requires members of most city boards and commissions, including the Planning Commission, to adhere to conflict-of-interest laws as outlined by the state Fair Political Practices Commission, according to city officials.

Prospective board members are notified about conflict-of-interest rules when they apply to serve on a city panel, and they are given a set of state ethics guidelines. Moreover, members of city boards and commissions are required to file conflict-of-interest forms detailing their sources of income and property holdings and update them, city officials said.

Parks said she came up with the proposal after learning that Planning Commissioner Forrest Frields was going to vote on a development project involving Moshe Silagi, the landlord of the office building where Frields has a photo studio.

“He’s said he is going to sit in on his landlord’s project, and I think that at least creates the appearance of a conflict of interest,” Parks said. “In these cases, you want to be conservative. You want everyone to know that everything is above board and relationships are not going to affect votes.”

Frields said Friday he has never voted on projects involving Silagi. Because a development proposal involving Silagi is scheduled to come before the commission next month, he said he asked the city attorney’s office to clarify whether it was appropriate for him to vote on the issue.

The answer, Frields said, was that it was not a conflict.

“She’s meddling in other people’s business,” said Frields, who added he was angry Parks had tried to make an issue of his landlord/tenant relationship. “It’s pretty hard to insult me, but Linda doesn’t know what she’s doing.”

Parks has also questioned whether Commissioner Ronald Polanski, a local stockbroker, should be allowed to vote on issues involving his clients.

Polanski said he has also discussed the matter with the city attorney’s office and plans to excuse himself any time there is even a perceived conflict. He accused Parks of trying to generate publicity.

“First of all, I have no respect for anyone who makes barnyard noises at city meetings,” he said, referring to a council meeting last month during which Parks taunted some of her colleagues off-mike with chicken sounds. “That’s what Linda Parks does, raise frivolous issues.”

Parks said she is only trying to prevent ethical questions from ever arising.

“It’s a gray area, and I just want to keep things black and white,” she said.

Bustillo is a Times staff writer, and Chi is a Times correspondent.