- Sunnysider
urges thorough review
- of
appointed planning commission
SUNNYSIDE (Monday
1-18-99)---A Sunnyside resident has asked the City
Council to "scrutinize" the appointed city
Planning
Commission
for possible conflicts of
interest.
-
- City Mgr. Don
Hahnfeldt indicated his staff will follow up on the
request made by Sherry Street at this evening's
regular council meeting.
-
- Street was
involved in an earlier dispute with neighbors
John and Mischelle Booth, who intend to make a duplex
of their single family home at 634 Thompson
Dr.
-
- The council last week
okayed the Booths' request after a several-month
process involving the city's Board of Adjustment. Gary
and Sherry Street were against the measure, but it
passed by the council by a 3-2 vote.
-
- In a written
statement disseminated to councilmen this evening,
Street asked them to:
- "Review
commission membership for potential conflict of
interest--the type of work members perform for
personal monetary gain, and any service they may
provide, and the potential impacts of their influence
on decisions made" as a commission member.
- "Review
membership for duration of time served--to see if any
membership(s) has exceeded two four-year
terms.
- "Review members'
term expiration dates to see if any have exceeded
their terms."
- Members currently
include Larry Bennett, Norberto Espindola, Rick
Hernandez, Mary Lee Robinson, Stan Snow, Al Tebaldi,
and Terrie Williard. They meet at 7 p.m. each second
Wednesday at Sunnyside's Law and Justice
Center.
-
- If the council's
review shows any conflicts of interest, Street would
like them to put on hold two planned public
hearings:
- Feb. 10
discussion of amendments to R-2 and R-3 zoning and
repeal of the R1-M ordinance
- Discussion of
duplexes in R-1 zones
-
- Street asked the
council to conduct a public education and awareness
campaign to explain the roles and responsibilities of
commission members and impacts of their decisions on
the community. She suggested this as a Jan. 25 agenda
item.
-
- "We'd like the
public to know the process for moving development
projects through the city government system," Street
said.
-
- She said she
would like the campaign to include Sunnyside's
municipal codes with emphasis on area zoning
requirements. The campaign should be in both Spanish
and English, she said.
-
- Street urged the
council to search for potential commission candidates,
and to make sure members live in all zones, and work
at various kinds of jobs. She called for an agenda
item to introduce potential new candidates for
planning commission positions. She would like this to
happen before April.
-
- City Atty. Mark
Kunkler wasn't sure term limits exist in the municipal
codes, but said he would "check
it."
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