Residents cry foul over mayor's decision to change planning commission
By Daniel Wolowicz camarillo@theacorn.com

Camarillo Mayor Jan McDonald's decision not to recommend Roy Villa, her longtime nominee to the city's planning commission, upset a number of residents who attended last week's City Council meeting to voice their frustration with the mayor.

Although McDonald listed several reasons for the decision, Villa said he believes he was not chosen for reelection because of a disagreement he had with the mayor over the Camarillo Arts Council nearly two years ago.

"That's furthest from the truth," McDonald said. "I did not have a disagreement with Roy. It wasn't so much what he did to me, but that he offended other members of the arts council. . . . He and I never had words over the subject."

McDonald and Villa would not comment further on the issue.

The council voted 32 to replace Villa, who served on the commission for the past eight years, with retired real estate executive Joe Hemmens.

Along with McDonald, Councilmembers Don Waunch and Charlotte Craven voted to appoint Hemmens to the commission. Councilmembers Mike Morgan and Kevin Kildee voted against him.

Nearly 30 residents attended the meeting to show their confidence in Villa, and a handful spoke in support of him.

"I've been in Camarillo for about 10 years, and I've known Roy Villa most of that time, and I've never heard him complain about how the planning commission affects his job," Val Lerma said.

"I think the important thing that people have to understand is that (Villa) is not being removed from the planning commission," McDonald said. "His term had been completed."

Each City Council member nominates one person to the panel, which advises the council on land use issues such as changes to the General Plan, permits and subdivisions. The five commission members serve their terms concurrently with the council member who nominated them.

McDonald was reelected to a third term in office in November. She had nominated Villa to serve on the commission during her first two terms on the City Council.

McDonald said she didn't choose Villa this time because she had not heard from him in the days before the commission was set to be reorganized, although she had sent him a letter notifying him she planned to move forward in selecting a new candidate.

Villa said McDonald implied at the council meeting that her letter was an invitation to rejoin the commission. However, Villa said he believed it was a letter of termination and that she had no intention of reappointing him to the commission.

In the letter dated Jan. 5, about a week before McDonald first asked the council to approve her decision not to reelect Villa during a City Council meeting Jan. 10, the mayor wrote, "I will be appointing a new planning commissioner for the 2006-10 term in office."

The decision not to reelect Villa was tabled and readdressed at last week's meeting.

Because he felt the letter had closed the door on his chance for reelection, Villa said he didn't directly contact the mayor. Instead, he emailed each of his fellow commission members. Word of McDonald's decision eventually made its way to the other council members.

"I didn't know he (Villa) had called all the other council members because they can't tell me that under the Brown Act; we can't discuss it," McDonald said. "I think the fact that he would call all the other council members and not me, that perhaps he has the issue."

The mayor also said she was concerned Villa would not be able to vote on the Camarillo Commons project because of a conflict of interest he faced due to his work as a real estate appraiser.

The Camarillo Commons is a large-scale plan to redevelop 55 acres of land at the city's heart into a mixed-use neighborhood of shops, business offices and multiunit housing.

City officials have said it will be one of the biggest developments built in Camarillo during the next four years.

"I know for a fact," McDonald said, "that over the past eight years (Villa) has lost a lot of business and he has sacrificed his own profession to serve his community because as a planning commissioner you could not appraise a piece of property within or near a development that was subject to come before the planning commission."

Villa called McDonald's statement "shocking" and denied that his 21-year business as an appraiser ever suffered because of his position on the planning commission.

"To say that publicly was a very embarrassing thing," Villa said. "I was doing well all the eight years I was on the planning commission."

Ed Miller, who recently retired after serving 20 years on the commission, said Villa "did a great job" on the panel.

"You don't take on this job for the glory, the limelight or the pay; you do it because you love your city, and you stay in that position for that reason," Miller said in support of Villa at the council meeting. "I know Roy would have given his right arm to stay on the commission, and I think he should have that opportunity."

The planning commission will meet at 7:30 p.m. Tues., Feb. 6 in city hall.