Planning Director Suzanne Frick's Statement to the Planning Commission

I have worked in this profession for 25 years and it has only been in the last two years that my integrity, honesty and professionalism have been called into question. My work ethics have not changed; there is nothing different about me. I welcome a comprehensive evaluation so the accusations, innuendoes and false impressions can finally be put to rest.

I and the staff of PCD (Planning and Community Development) have absolutely nothing to hide, and without question, an independent assessment will confirm what I already know, that the staff in PCD are extremely competent, hard working, dedicated, honest employees navigating in a very challenging environment coming to work everyday to serve the community in the best way that they can.

My department is here to assist many different constituencies. We serve multiple Commissions, the Council, the City Manager, tenants, homeowners, businesses owners, developers, visitors and others. We balance the competing values of these diverse constituencies. In a regulatory environment, there will always be unhappy customers and people who do not agree with some of the decisions.

Last year my staff assisted over 150,000 people. At your hearings, you came in contact with 250 of those people. You are basing your impressions on how my Department is managed from contact with two tenths of one percent of our customers. This small percentage are the people who interact with the department on some of the most difficult and controversial projects.

We are not bureaucratic robots, we are human, we're not perfect and we make mistakes. Neither my staff nor me have any hidden agendas, allegiances to one group or another, or ulterior motives when we do our work.

One of my responsibilities is to attract and retain top quality staff. The Commission shares this responsibility with me. You yield considerable power over the daily lives of staff. You have the power to make the work environment a negative or positive experience. Your actions and behavior impact every one of the 100 employees in PCD. When you publicly attack one of us, you attack all of us.

The mischaracterizations and accusations are damaging the professional reputations of my staff and me. This is seriously impacting the morale of the Department and my ability to retain outstanding employees. People have choices, they don't have to work here. They are talented exceptional staff who want to work in a positive productive environment.

I want to have a collegial and respectful working relationship with this Commission. We have very different roles, and we won't always agree, but there has to be trust and respect between us. I speak for all the staff in PCD, we are committed to restoring a positive, productive working relationship with this Commission. But we can't do it alone, the Commission has to be a willing participant.

I hope you will join me in moving forward because working together we can make Santa Monica an outstanding place to work, live, and visit.