Three apply for Planning Commission seat

North County Times – Escondido,CA,USA
The panel has one member from each of Encinitas’ five communities:
Olivenhain, Old Encinitas, New Encinitas, Cardiff-by-the-Sea and
Leucadia. …

ENCINITAS — A city of Carlsbad parks employee, a real estate broker and a real estate investor have applied to represent the Old Encinitas community on the Encinitas Planning Commission.

The applicants are Mark Steyaert, park development manager in Carlsbad, who has served on planning boards in Encinitas and Del Mar; Keith Weatherby, a real estate broker and former Encinitas Little League coach; and Grant Kirsch, a real estate investor and off-and-on Encinitas resident of five years.

After Planning Commissioner Doug Avis stepped down in February upon completing two, two-year terms, Mayor James Bond and Councilmen Dan Dalager and Jerome Stocks appointed Caroline Thompson to succeed Avis on Feb. 21. Citing personal reasons, Thompson resigned less than a month later.

Thompson was one of five residents, including Steyaert and Weatherby, who competed for the seat Avis vacated.

Planning commissioners are appointed by the City Council to unpaid two-year terms. The panel considers land-use matters large and small, from remodeling projects to commercial buildings to entire subdivisions.

Considering plans for the Hall property park is a top item of business for the panel, said Planning Commissioner Tom McCabe.

In most cases, the commission’s rulings are final unless appealed to the City Council. The panel has one member from each of Encinitas’ five communities: Olivenhain, Old Encinitas, New Encinitas, Cardiff-by-the-Sea and Leucadia.

The three applicants are scheduled to present themselves to the City Council at its 6 p.m. Wednesday hearing Wednesday. The council will vote to appoint one of the applicants in open session April 18.

In his application packet, Weatherby stated he would not be able to attend Wednesday’s hearing because of a prior family obligation. Weatherby could not be contacted Friday.

Kirsch said that his real estate background has placed him in front of planning boards throughout the country.

“I’ve seen what a vital role planning commissions play in the community voicing their opinions,” Kirsch said Friday in an interview. “It’s something I’ve always admired and wanted to be a part of.”

Steyaert is a former member of Del Mar’s Design Review Board.

In Encinitas, he served on a community advisory board from 1987 to 1992, when the panel was dissolved and replaced by the Planning Commission.

“I’ve always been interested in land-use issues and preserving the community character of places I choose to live,” Steyaert said Friday.