Planning Commission Elects Chair, Swears in Two New Members

By Jorge Casuso

Shortly after swearing in two new members, the Planning Commission voted 5 to 1 Wednesday night to elect former City Councilman Kelly Olsen as the group's new chair.

John Zinner, the only member who has served more than a year on the powerful commission that decides the fate of proposed developments, cast the only opposing vote.

"I cannot support this nomination," Zinner said. "I will be voting no."

Zinner, who has criticized the new planning commission appointees for what he views as a staunch anti-development stance, was then unanimously elected vice chair.

The votes came moments after Geraldine Moyle and Julie Lopez Dad were sworn in as the commission's newest members.

L to R, Julie Lopez Dad, Geraldine Moyle

Moyle, a member of the board of the affordable housing provider Community Corporation of Santa Monica, and Dad, a former Rent Control board member, are slow-growth advocates with long ties to the Ocean Park Community Organization.

They replaced Mathew Kanny and Eric Parlee, whose terms expired last month.

Olsen is a staunch tenant advocate and slow growth activist who for years has fought major developments in the city. He also was responsible for pushing to increase the city's police force when he served on the council from 1990 to 1994.

On the planning commission, Olsen has cast the lone vote against several developments, including an office building at the Civic Center proposed by Maguire Partners and the expansion of two car dealerships owned by W.I. Simonson.

The new board - which is still one member short after the resignation of former chair Ken Breisch - is expected to decide the fate of two major projects in the coming months: The new RAND headquarters at the Civic Center and a proposed Target store in the heart of downtown.