On Tuesday, the Oakley City Council voted to approve 5-appointments as it will reestablish its Planning Commission in the near future.
The council reviewed the 13-applicants and interviewed those seeking appointment before selecting the 5-member commission. Here is the appointments and terms:
4-Year Term:
- Diego Verduzco – 5 votes
- Edward J. Cire – 5 votes
- Oleskii Chuiko – 4 votes
2-Year Term:
- Shannon Shaw – 4 votes
- Leonard Price – 2 votes
To review the applicant applications, click here.
The move comes after the council held a work session in January to discuss the possibility of establishing a separate planning commission. It was followed by an April meeting where the council was presented with results of its community survey.
According to Survey Results, 88.8% surveyed want the city to re-establish the planning commission as a separate body from the city council. Meanwhile, just 12.7% are in support of the City Council continuing to act as the Planning Commission. Oakley currently has Citizen Planning Advisors, just 24.6% are in support of continuing that model versus establishing a separate Planning Commission.
At the June meeting, the council agreed in a 5-0 vote to re-establish the Planning Commission. This was followed by the July 13, 2021 City Council Meeting, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 06-21, which amended and updated the Municipal Code regarding the Planning Commission.
The Planning Commission will be tasked with:
- Deciding on all matters referred to by the Zoning Administrator, Parcel Maps (fewer than 5 parcels), Conditional Use Permits and Design Review (when not a Staff level approval).
- Making recommendations to the City Council on all proposed development agreements, zone changes, zoning text amendments, adoption or amendments to specific plans or the General Plan, and other legislative land-use matters.
- Periodically reviewing the Capital Improvement Program.
- Approving, adopting, or certifying environmental documents, to the extent required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), for any matters for which the commission is the deciding body.
- For matters in which the Planning Commission acts as a recommending body, it shall make recommendations concerning any CEQA documents in conjunction with its recommendations concerning the merits of the proposed actions.
