DATE: April 16, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: City Clerk's Office
TITLE: PLANNING COMMISSION APPLICANT INTERVIEWS/APPOINTMENTS
RECOMMENDATION
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It is recommended that the City Council interview candidates using the interview process in place, and appoint two Planning Commissioners to fill the terms ending on April 15, 2029.
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
In accordance with Council Policy 100-09, the City Council will “hold a non-televised workshop for Planning Commission selection interviews.” Based on this policy, applicants for the Planning Commission will be interviewed in person during this workshop, with subsequent appointments to be made.
There are two scheduled vacancies on the Planning Commission as of April 15, 2025. These vacancies are due to the expiration of two Commissioners terms. This workshop is for the purpose of interviewing applicants and appointing two Planning Commissioners to fill terms ending on April 15, 2029. Staff recommends that two appointments be made in order to maintain seven (7) voting members on the Planning Commission.
The vacancy notice was advertised on social media and posted at the City Clerk’s Office, both City Libraries, the Civic Center Plaza Kiosk, and in the Union Tribune. There are 30 applications on file with the City Clerk’s Office. Of those, 12 will be participating in the interview process. Their applications are attached to this report.
The interview process established by Council consists of individual interviews, with applicants to be seated in the Buena Vista Room until their turn to be interviewed. The order of interviews is determined by random drawing. The procedure that has been used for the interviews is as follows:
- Each applicant will make a three-minute presentation to Council.
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- Each Councilmember will ask one question. The applicants are given one minute to respond to each question. Each interview will last approximately eight minutes.
For Council’s reference, this staff report includes a copy of the applications of the candidates to be interviewed.
CITY ATTORNEY’S ANALYSIS
Oceanside City Code section 2.38 provides as follows: “The planning commission shall consist of seven (7) members all of whom shall be residents of the city. Planning commissioners shall be appointed by the majority vote of the city council. The term of appointment of a planning commissioner shall be four (4) years. Each member of the planning commission shall hold office until the expiration of their respective term and until a new member has been duly appointed. If a vacancy shall occur otherwise than by expiration of the term, it shall be filled by appointment by a majority vote of the city council for the unexpired portion of the term. The terms of the various planning commission offices shall be staggered according to the schedule established by ordinance code § 9212. Any member of the city council may nominate candidates for planning commissioner.” Furthermore, Section 2.38.1 states as follows: “The provisions of section 2.38 notwithstanding, a member of the planning commission may be removed, at any time, by a majority vote of the city council.”
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Reviewed by: Jonathan Borrego, City Manager
Submitted by: Zeb Navarro, City Clerk