A proposal to change the way Oceanside Planning Commission members are appointed was voted down Wednesday by a majority of the Oceanside City Council.
If approved, the change would have allowed each council member to appoint one commissioner and the mayor to appoint three, all without the approval of other council members.
Under the present system, any council member can nominate a Planning Commission candidate, and someone is appointed with a majority vote of the City Council. Terms are four years, unless someone is appointed to fill a partial term left by a departure.
“I think what we have now works best,” said Mayor Esther Sanchez.
A motion by Councilmember Eric Joyce to have city staffers prepare details to implement the plan failed, with Sanchez and Councilmembers Peter Weiss and Rick Robinson opposed.
Joyce proposed the change with the backing of Councilmember Jimmy Figueroa. Joyce said the changes would improve diversity and experience on the commission, which serves as a sort of gatekeeper for the City Council, advising the council and in many cases deciding important land-use issues.
Several of the Planning Commission’s seven current members attended the council meeting, where they said the current system works well and asked why it should be changed.
Commissioner Tom Rosales, a member for 15 years, said he was surprised no one had asked the current commissioners for input on the idea.
“The Planning Commission is a great group of really qualified folks,” Rosales said, “It’s doing really well today.”
Also briefly discussed was a proposal to shorten the commission terms from four years to two, which Rosales said “makes no sense.”
“It takes at least four years to learn how to do this job,” he said. The position requires a basic understanding of many complicated government policies, procedures and documents such as the city’s general plan.
“With all of the challenges facing Oceanside today, why focus on changing the Planning Commission,” asked Commissioner Tom Morrissey. “If it’s not broken … why fix it?”
