Mayor Urged to Appoint Activists to 2 Valley Planning Commissions

More than 60 people have applied for positions on regional planning commissions being created in the San Fernando Valley and elsewhere, and several local homeowner groups are calling on Mayor Richard Riordan to make sure their ranks are represented.

Riordan, who has been criticized for stacking city commissions with pro-development executives and attorneys in the past, is facing mounting pressure to appoint a large number of neighborhood activists to seven planning commissions recently approved by the City Council.

The calls from San Fernando Valley homeowner association leaders and even some close allies of the mayor come at a time when Riordan must appoint 39 new commissioners by July 1, including at least 10 Valley residents to two Valley planning commissions.

The new commissions, which will have the power to make decisions on local planning matters and provide advice on citywide developments, were created by Los Angeles voters as part of a package of charter reforms adopted last year.

Under the reforms, the present Planning Commission will be expanded from five to nine members and will continue to have power over developments of citywide interest, including expansions of airports and construction of sports arenas and jails.

Riordan has already received a flood of more than 60 resumes and recommendations for the new planning commission seats, according to Gaye Williams, who coordinates the appointments for the mayor.

“A lot of people have expressed interest,” Williams said. “The mayor is looking at having a nice cross-section of people who represent these communities.”

Council members Cindy Miscikowski and Hal Bernson are both backing Valley neighborhood activists to serve on the panels, and among those groups still putting together lists of recommendations is the Studio City Homeowners Assn., which plans to suggest half a dozen people involved with the group.

“These are community planning commissions so the idea is to get people from the community who have to live with the impacts of the development that occurs,” said Richard Close, president of the Studio City group.

The current citywide Planning Commission consists of three attorneys and two executives, one of whom is Riordan’s neighbor in Brentwood.

One of the commissioners, Woodland Hills attorney Robert Scott, is a leader of the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn., while another West Valley resident, Jorge Jackson, was a vice president for GTE who is now an official working on the U.S. Census.

Gordon Murley, who appears frequently before the panel as head of the San Fernando Valley Federation, said the current panel is pro-development and mostly insensitive to the needs of neighborhoods.

“The decisions are based on ‘how is the most money to be made,’ not whether the development fits into the neighborhood,” Murley said.

Close, who is also chairman of the secession group Valley VOTE, described the current commission as “pro-development” and lacking representation from homeowner groups.

Riordan’s new appointments will show his level of commitment to fulfilling the intent of the new area planning commissions--to better involve local residents in decisions affecting their communities--Close said.

“Who he appoints is a key indicator of the direction of these commissions, whether they are just going to be rubber-stamps, or whether they will play a role in improving the quality of life of neighborhoods,” Close said.

Studio City attorney David Fleming, a close advisor to Riordan, said he would also urge the mayor to include homeowner activists on the new panels.

Fleming said serving on the citywide Planning Commission requires expertise and special skills that attorneys and business executives have been able to provide.

However, Fleming said he plans to advise Riordan to also reach out to neighborhood groups for appointments to the new area commissions.’

“I think area planning commissions should more reflect a cross-section of the communities they serve,” said Fleming, who, with Riordan, co-wrote the ballot measure that sparked charter reform and creation of the new commissions.

“It should include homeowner groups, business groups and educators,” Fleming added.

Business leaders are also calling on the mayor to make sure their interests are considered so the new panels are not dominated by a Not-In-My-Backyard attitude.

“That is a big concern,” said J. Richard Leyner, chairman of the United Chambers of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley. “There has to be balance.”