| Item No. 1. | |
| MEETING DATE: April 24, 2023 |
|
| TO: | PLANNING COMMISSION |
| FROM: | SUSAN KIM, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT By: Sonya Lui, Planning Manager |
| SUBJECT: | ANNUAL REORGANIZATION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION |
CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA):
The action is not defined as a project under CEQA (Public Resources Code Section 21065, Section 15378 (b)(5) of the State CEQA Guidelines) because organizational or administrative actions of governments including the reorganization of the planning commission will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Planning Commission approve separate motions for the following positions:
A motion of the Planning Commission of the City of La Habra appointing Commissioner ____________________as Chair.
A motion of the Planning Commission of the City of La Habra appointing Commissioner ___________________ as Vice Chair.
A motion of the Planning Commission of the City of La Habra appointing Commissioner ____________________as Chair.
A motion of the Planning Commission of the City of La Habra appointing Commissioner ___________________ as Vice Chair.
DISCUSSION:
Pursuant to Section 2.24.040(C) of the La Habra Municipal Code, the Planning Commission is to select a Chair and Vice Chair for the coming year, typically at the first regular meeting in April. Traditionally, the positions of Chair and Vice Chair have been rotated equitably between the members of the Planning Commission. However, there is no Municipal Code or City Council policy that governs this process. The following table shows the Planning Commission appointment history for the past five years.
Recent Appointment History
| Year | Chair | Vice Chair |
| 2018-2019 | Jerry Powell | Michelle Bernier |
| 2019-2020 | Michelle Bernier | Ray Fernandez |
| 2020-2021 | Darren Nigsarian | Jason Manley |
| 2021-2022 | Jason Manley | Manuel Munoz |
| 2022-2023 | Manuel Munoz | Esther Rojas |
The Commission has a couple of options to consider:
Chair - It has been the Commission’s past practice to nominate the Vice Chair to fill the Chair. Under the current rotation, Commissioner Rojas would be the next Chair. The Commission may also choose to deviate from standard/past practice by nominating another Commissioner.
Vice Chair - It has also been the Commission’s past practice to nominate a fellow Commissioner to serve as the Vice Chair with the expectation that the following year this Commissioner would become the Chair. The positions of Chair and Vice Chair have been rotated equitably between the members of the Planning Commission in the past. If Commissioner Rojas is appointed as Chair, the next Planning Commissioner up for Vice Chair would be Commissioner Surich. Again, the Commission may also choose to deviate from standard/past practice by nominating another Commissioner for the Vice Chair position.
For reference here are the terms of the current Commissioners.
On March 20, 2023, the City Council reappointed Commissioner Manley and Commissioner Surich to four-year terms. The Council also appointed Commissioner Mahecha to fill the remainder of the term vacated by Manuel Munoz, which expires on March 31, 2024.
| Commissioner | Original Appointment | Last Appointment | Term Expires |
| Jason Manley | 04/05/19 | 03/20/23 | 03/31/27 |
| Carrie Surich | 04/04/22 | 03/20/23 | 03/31/27 |
| Michelle Bernier | 06/01/20 | 06/01/20 | 03/31/24 |
| Esther Rojas | 07/12/20 | 04/04/22 | 03/31/26 |
| Maria Mahecha | 03/20/23 | 03/20/23 | 03/31/24 |
It is suggested that the following process be implemented and allow the Planning Manager to facilitate the Commission’s nomination through the following process (generally from Robert’s Rules of Order):
- The Planning Manager will ask for nominations from the Commission for the Chair position (the same process would be subsequently used for the Vice Chair position as shown in parentheses).“Nominations are now open for the position of Chair (Vice Chair)”
- A Commissioner will nominate a Commissioner.“I nominate Commissioner X.”
- A Commissioner may Second the Nomination (optional but not needed)."I second Commissioner X."
- The Planning Manager will ask the Nominee to Accept or Decline the Nomination. "Do you accept the nomination?"“I accept/respectfully decline the nomination.”
- The Planning Manager will call for other Nominations and Steps 2-4 will be completed as necessary.“For Chair (Vice Chair), Commissioner X has been nominated. Are there any further nominations for Chair (Vice Chair)?”
- The Planning Manager will close the nominations. “If not…[pause], nominations are closed."
- The Planning Manager will direct the Secretary to hold either a roll call or electronic vote, as needed, on the nominations in the order that the nominations were received."Will the Commission please vote on a motion of the Planning Commission of the City of La Habra appointing Commissioner X as Chair (Vice-Chair)?"
- Once a Chair is selected, the process will be repeated for the Vice Chair.In order to reorganize the Planning Commission in an orderly fashion, consistent with previous reorganizations, staff recommends that the Chair direct the Planning Manager to follow the above process.
FISCAL IMPACT/SOURCE OF FUNDING:
This is an administrative action with no fiscal impact.
NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES):
This is an administrative action and not a project subject to NPDES requirements.
GENERAL PLAN RELEVANCE/CITY COUNCIL GOALS & OBJECTIVES:
This is an administrative action and not a project subject to a finding of relevance to any of the General Plan Goals, Policies and/or Objectives.