Open Planning Panel Seat Set to Be Filled at Next Council Meeting

• Election Could Result in New Faces

BY BILL KOENEKER

A new planning commissioner is expected to be appointed next week at the regular Malibu City Council meeting to fill the vacancy that resulted when Commissioner Regan Schaar announced her resignation on Feb. 2
A notice of the unexpected vacancy for the planning commission appointment was posted on Feb 3, and the appointment is earmarked to go to another Point Dume resident Roohl Stack.
“She is a longtime activist in the community,” said Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich, who confirmed that Stack will be her appointee. “She has great business acumen and education.”
Schaar had toyed with the idea of running for one of the two vacant city council seats in the April election. She had pulled nominating papers, but decided not to return them.
Persistent rumors about a run-in with another council member prompted Conley Ulich to publicly state that Schaar’s decision was not caused “by another council member,” but the result of personal reasons.
In a letter to the editor a week before her resignation, Schaar wrote that her interest in possibly running for a council seat was “focused on bringing back civility and professionalism to the Malibu City Council. Increasingly, it became more embarrassing to watch the mean-spirited behavior at the city council meeting.”
Conley Ulich praised Schaar’s work on the planning commission. “I am very grateful for Regan. She has given her blood, sweat and tears. She did a great job. She understood the need for a specific plan for the Civic Center,” the council member said, adding that she expected to see Schaar return to civic duty.
Stack was the treasurer for Conley Ulich’s successful run for a council seat in 2008 and has professional experience with various financial institutions and software companies.
“While working at Oracle and Treasury Services. Inc. I worked with implementation teams where group discussion and consensus were important to finishing any project. Additionally, I believe that clear communication is important to achieving success in any endeavor,” the panel applicant wrote.
“Beside making informed decisions on residential and commercial building projects that are good for Malibu environmentally, socially and economically…the changing demographic of our community also requires the planning commission to ensure that all of the residents needs are met,” Stack said.
The face of the planning commission may change much more after April when two of the termed-out council members’ appointments will probably be replaced.
Planning Chair Ed Gillespie, who was appointed by Mayor Sharon Barovsky, will leave if he is successful in his bid for a city council seat. Councilmember Andy Stern’s appointment, former Councilmember Joan House, may also be replaced upon Stern’s departure.
Councilmember Jefferson Wagner’s appointment, city council candidate John Mazza, will go if he is elected to the council.
That might lead to a majority or more of new panelists in the weeks after April 13.