Council dissolves planning board

<p>In what opponents call a "naked power grab," the new environmental majority on the Petaluma City Council has voted to disband its current Planning Commission and design review committee and appoint all-new members to a reconfigured panel.</p><!-- Nothing to do. The paragraph has already been output --><p>Supporters of the change, including Mayor Pam Torliatt, said the goal was to streamline the development process, which required projects to go before two separate bodies, and reduce administrative costs in the wake of recent downsizing at City Hall.</p><p>But political rivals, such as Councilman Mike Healy, said it was merely an attempt to remove commissioners appointed by a previous council before their terms expired. He called the dissolution an end-run around city rules that would stack the commission with the majority's hand-picked group.</p><p>"You add all those things together and what you really have are all hallmarks of a naked power grab," Healy said. "It's very sad and very unprecedented."</p><p>The change follows years of complaints from developers about an approval process that had them bouncing between the commission and the so-called Site Plan and Architectural Review Committee. The dual-committee system is used in other cities, including Santa Rosa.</p><p>The two panels weigh different aspects of projects and can require multiple hearings. Appeals go to the council.</p><p>It also comes after drastic cuts earlier this year that all but eliminated the city planning department. Now, the city uses contract planners who do not provide support for two panels, supporters of the measure said.</p><p>So, on a 4-3 vote late Monday, the council agreed to disband the commission and the committee, dismissing all sitting members effective in August.</p><p>In the meantime, the council will consider new appointments for a reconstituted seven-member Planning Commission that will assume the functions of design committee as well. Applications, which will be received until June 28, will be voted on by the council as a whole.</p><p>Also, the council now will be the final authority for major commercial and residential proposals -- something it didn't automatically do before.</p><p>"We are just trying to, again, facilitate a more upfront process for people and applicants to go through," Torliatt said. "I think that is where this whole idea is generating from."</p><p>Developers were suspicious of the move, which they said believe is motivated by a slow-growth sentiment. They asked the council to delay the decision until an advisory panel of "stakeholders" could weigh in.</p><p>Two controversial big-box proposals, one on North McDowell Boulevard and another on East Washington Street, would go before the new commission.</p><p>"After five years, we've sort of gone through some anxiety over this," said Bruce Qualls, who is seeking approval for a Target-anchored shopping center on East Washington. "There is concern that this is something else that may take longer to get put together."</p><p>Healy said the dissolutions are a major departure from the way past councils dealt with appointed commissions.</p><p>When liberals took the majority in 1996, they allowed people appointed by their more conservative predecessors to complete their terms. When a pro-business bloc ascended four years later, they kept conservation-oriented appointees on the panels, he said.</p><p>"I think people need to tread very carefully with this," Healy said. "I would encourage caution."</p><p>But Councilman David Glass, a supporter of the proposal, shrugged off any criticism, saying there was already a "diverse pool of applicants," including some existing members, lining up for the spots.</p><p>Glass said it was ironic developers wanted to delay a decision, considering the frequent complaints about delays. And he chafed at the notion politics were behind the change, comparing opponents' rhetoric to remarks from Rush Limbaugh.</p><p>"This is an efficiency grab, Mr. Healy, not a power grab," Glass said. "I'm willing to have the courage to say there's got to be a better way. What we've got is clearly broken."</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 762-7297 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com.</p>