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APG appointment raises more hackles
By Christy Scott
The Alpine Sun
ALPINE — It was new faces and déjà vu at the Alpine Planning Group meeting held last Thursday, Oct. 27, as the board was charged with filling the seat vacated in September by the departure of Scott Lamb. The group once again passed over candidate Linda Richards in favor of a relatively unknown appointment, Jim Easterling.
Linda Richards once again came before the APG to vie for the vacant seat. Richards ran in the November 2004 elections for the group, placing just behind Ned Holmes. After the departure of Harold Cox, many residents and some board members argued that Richards should assume the seat as the next highest vote getter. Pat Cannon was appointed to the seat.
“I put in the time and the money in the November election and I narrowly missed the eighth seat,” Richards said.
Richards serves on several APG sub-committees including Parks, Trails, Revitalization and Communications, and is a member of C.H.I.R.P., and the Back Country Land Trust, a point she defended during the meeting.
“I know that some of you feel like that puts me as a no-growth person,” Richards said. “I really want to correct that…I listen to how people vote, and in many cases I know that I would vote how many of you do. I’m a plan builder.”
Jane Fitz argued that the group was breaking its own rules of conduct by filling the seat at this meeting and asked that the item be moved to next month’s meeting.
“According to our standing rules we have to make an official declaration of a vacancy,” Fitz said. She continued to say that the seat might only be filled at the meeting after that declaration. “We’re not adhering to our own standing rules.”
Fitz argued that the planning group only accepted Lamb's resignation at the
September meeting, and that an official declaration must be included on the agenda, which would have been the Oct. 27 meeting. Only after that, at the November planning group meeting, can the seat be filled, Fitz said.
According to Price, the group followed the same procedure as that used in the past to fill a vacant seat. Fitz’s motion to move the appointment forward to the next meeting failed 4-8, with one abstention, so Price moved the selection process forward.
Easterling said he has lived in San Diego County for much of his life, visiting Alpine as a child and working here as a lifeguard after high school. He bought his first home in Alpine in the late 1980s and has lived here ever since.
He is a retired fire fighter, starting his career as a volunteer in Lemon Grove and eventually retiring from the San Diego city fire fighters. He has served two elected terms on the Alpine Fire Protection District Board as a director and has been a past president of the board. He is currently the representative for the new fire station design board.
Easterling is also employed by a San Diego property developer as a project manager/construction superintendent, however, he said that his employer has no projects in Alpine currently.
There were supporters for both candidates in the audience.
“He’s simply a man of great integrity, with a solid heart,” said Scott Lamb, in attendance to give his opinion about filling his seat. “If I could have hand picked anybody from the community to fill my seat, it would have been Jim.”
“You can count on Jim to weigh both sides of any issue, to not be entirely one sided and to have an open mind and be and independent thinker,” Lamb said.
Others in the community were clearly concerned about the appointments to the APG board.
“I think Linda has been tainted in this planning group,” said Tom Gillette, Richards’ husband. “When the last seat was filled, Linda has broad support from all over the community, from people from all across the political spectrum…But she was passed over…I think everyone will admit that there was some controversy over the last seat appointment. Linda would be great for this position, you should give her a chance to prove it.”
“Please vote for the candidate that the people of Alpine have already chosen, Linda Richards, and not for somebody you feel can help your personal agenda,” said Alanna Light.
In a letter, resident Dora Taylor condemned the planning group for not following the will of the voters.
“Is anyone on the Alpine Planning Group listening?” she wrote, “Or does it no longer matter what the community wants?”
The candidates were asked about their views on property rights by board member Larry Urdahl, who voiced concerns about environmentalists who have “gone amuck” with regulations and standards for private property owners.
“I’m a strong believer in property rights,” Richards said. “I own property and I want to be able to do what I want on my property.”
She continued to say that there needs to be some environmental regulation on development and that board must address it one issue at a time.
Easterling also spoke in support of a property owner’s right to develop according county standards.
“Environmentalists are making it hard for developers to move in,” he said.
The vote was 8-3 for Jim Easterling, with Paul Rohal and Jane Fitz abstaining.
Both said they abstained from the vote because they believed that the appointment was made too quickly, without following the group's standing rules for declaring a vacancy. They will also file an official minority report to go along with the group's decision.
A minority report is a way for members of an organization who vote against an issue to state why they voted the way they did and have it be included in the official record.
“In this case, we've gone over and over these rules, and the group has been corrected on several occasions,” Rohal said. “But they're just not getting the message.”
The minority report will be submitted to District 2 Supervisor Dianne Jacob along with the planning group’s notice of appointment for Easterling.
Easterling will take his new seat after the San Diego County Board of Supervisors approves the appointment.
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