Portola Valley: Easy reappointment to commissions may end Portola Valley: Easy reappointment to commissions may end (November 09, 2005)

** Council split 3-2 on re-interviewing incumbents.

By David Boyce

Almanac Staff Writer

Incumbents on Portola Valley's planning and architectural review commissions have had a pretty good deal when seeking another term: if the Town Council liked a commissioner's performance, he or she did not have to face competition for the seat and was simply reappointed without the town publishing a notice that the term was ending.

That arrangement will change if a majority on the five-member council follows up on an October 26 proposal initiated by Councilman Steve Toben to inject competition into the process by inviting town residents to apply for seats even if incumbents want to retain them. The council would interview all candidates, including the incumbent.

The process of publicly seeking candidates for commissions when terms expire is a standard practice in other local towns.

Incumbents should not be insulated from a challenge when their terms expire, said Mr. Toben. "I just see it as a matter of good government that is healthy," he added. "It's in the interest of keeping fresh air (in the process)."

Supporting Mr. Toben were Councilman Ted Driscoll and Mayor Ed Davis, who added that he would like to see incumbents have a leg up during the interviews.

Public notices inviting residents to apply for seats on the commissions should appear -- typically on the town's Web site, in Town Hall, in shopping centers and in the newspaper -- 30 to 60 days before a term ends, said Mr. Toben.

Not so fast, said councilmen George Comstock and Richard Merk.

"When we have volunteers doing a good job, we shouldn't put them through additional hoops," said Mr. Merk. "It's not the way things are done in Portola Valley.

"At the end of a term, if a person has been doing a good job, it's historical (practice) to let them continue," he said.

If a problem with an incumbent commissioner should arise, that should be addressed either by the council member serving as a liaison or by the mayor, he said.

At the October 26 meeting, all five council members agreed on lengthening terms of Architectural & Site Control Commission members from the current one year to four years.

As with the Planning Commission, the expiration dates of ASCC commissioners would be staggered, probably in a pattern of three in one year and two in another, said Planning Manager Leslie Lambert.
Vacancies are noticed

In the 14 years Ms. Lambert has worked for the town, she said she could not recall advertising the end of a term on the Planning Commission or the ASCC.

"I call (the incumbent commissioner) and say 'Your term is up, write a letter to the council if you want to continue,'" she said, adding that the council would then reappoint the commissioner after receiving the letter.

Vacancies have been rare, with not more than three or four on each commission during Ms. Lambert's tenure, she said.

When longtime Planning Commissioner Craig Breon resigned in February 2004, she said, she posted notices on the town's Web site and in Town Hall and shopping centers and advertised the vacancy in the newspaper. The council interviewed three candidates and appointed Nate McKitterick.
WHAT THEY DO

** The Planning Commission addresses land-use and development policies, grants and oversees conditional use permits, reviews variance applications, receives appeals of ordinances having to do with zoning and subdivisions, and advises the Town Council on general plan issues. Its decisions may be appealed to the Town Council. ** The Architectural & Site Control Commission's mission is to act as a design gatekeeper on proposed structures and additions or alterations to existing structures so as to maintain the town's visual character, land values, public safety and general welfare. Its decisions may be appealed to the Planning Commission.

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