Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-09-18 PacketITEM NO. 3a DATE: September 18. 1996 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT SUBJECT: SPECIAL MEETING - INTERVIEW FOR PLANNING COMMISSION APPOINTMENT SUMMARY: One Planning Commission vacancy currently exists, and one citizen has submitted an application to be considered for appointment to the Commission. This candidate's name is Jennifer Puser and her application material is attached for the Council's consideration. Accordingly, Ms. Puser's interview with the Council has been set for September 18, 1996, at 6:00 P.M., in Conference Room 3. Later, at the regularly scheduled meeting of September 18, the Council will consider appointing a Planning Commissioner to fill the vacancy recently created by Cheryl Baker's resignation. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Conduct the interview at the prescribed time. ALTERNATIVE COUNCIL POLICY OPTIONS: N/A Citizen Advised: N/A Requested by: City Clerk's Office Prepared by: Robert Sawyer, Planning Director Coordinated with: Candace Horsley, City Manager Attachments: Application for Planning Commission Candace Horsley, Cit3 Manager CITY OF UKIAH APPLICATION FOR PLANNING COMMISSION I am applying for an appointment to the City of Ukiah's Planning Commission. 1. Name 2. Residence Address } \~' t'~"6...~.F] Res. Phone 3. Business Address i~'O .c>, ~6~¥ \r..~. .%.'~-~. Bus. Phone q~"~ ~C~ 4. Employer b~ (~k k)o', ~le,~ ~'¢A~,~,~ Job Title ~,,.,,,¢~ t( ;( ~.~,~,¢~f,Employed Since 5. How long have you resided in Ukiah? years; Mendocino County.~years 6. Please list community gro~ups or organizations you are affiliated with and indicate any offices held. Please answer the following questions on separate sheets of paper and attach to application. 7. Why are you applying to serve on the City of Ukiah's Planning Commission? 8. What is your understanding of the purpose, role and responsibility of the Planning Commission? ,9. What is, of' should be the reiationship be[wee~-'~ the City's Planning Commission and the City Council, and between the Commission and Staff? 10. How do you believe your own skills, experience, expertise and perspective will be beneficial to the work of the Planning Commission? 11. What do you believe is the most important land use related issue presently facing our community? 12. As a member of the Planning Commission, how would you attempt to address this priority issue? 13. In your opinion what type(s) of growth, if any, should the City encourage? 14. In your opinion, what type(s) of growth should the City discourage? 15. Are there any changes to the City's current planning review process that you would like to see implemented? 16. What kind of ideal community do you envision for Ukiah? 17. Are there any other City of Ukiah Committees/Commissions in which you are interested and on which you would be willing to serve? Please return this application and attachments to the City Clerk by Noon on Tuesday, September 10, 1996. commpc.wpd Jennifer Puser Planning Commission Application September 10, 1996 7. I am applying to serve on the City of Ukiah's Planning Commission because I would like to take an active role in my community's planning decisions. I am interested because I am very concerned with the direction that growth and development in the community is heading and the lack of vision that is evident in some of the approvals of projects around town. I would like to contribute my time and skills to help shape Ukiah into a vibrant community that focuses on making Ukiah the kind of town where people want to live and work and where others want to come and spend their time and money. I feel that my background makes me qualified to serve in this role and I am very committed to improving the community where I was born and raised. 8. My understanding of the purpose, role and responsibility of the Planning Commission is to review projects and make responsible recommendations to the City Council on proposed development projects and whether they should be approved and the impacts these projects will have on the community, infrastructure and the environment. This requires taking into consideration the long term as well as the short term effects that planning and land use decisions have on the community and to also look at the viability of the community for years to come by connecting such issues as air quality, transportation, the usurpation of farm land, sense of place and community with land use decisions. The responsibility of the Planning Commission is very important as the decisions made by the Commission have a far-reaching effect on the entire community and shape its overall growth and development patterns. 9. The relationship between the City's Planning Commission and the City Council should be one in which they work together to investigate all the facts, consider all strategies and make the best decisions for the community as a whole taking into consideration the long term effects their decisions will have on the community in the years to come rather than focusing on short term considerations such as supposed tax revenue from out of state big box retailers. 10. I believe my own skills, experience, expertise and perspective will be beneficial to the work of the Planning Commission in many ways. I hold a Masters degree in political science with an emphasis in urban and regional planning and I have worked for the last six years with local governments on land use, air quality and transportation issues (Please see attached resume for specifics.) My education and job experience has enabled me to learn first hand from many of the top planners and architects in the country including Peter Calthorpe, Andres Duany, Michael Freedman and others the strategies for communities to take charge of the way they want to grow and do so in responsible, environmentally sound and economically feasible ways. Because I was born in Ukiah and my family has resided here for years, I have a vested interest in the way Ukiah grows and want to help shape that growth in a positive way for all Ukiahians. I feel that we have not been very successful in taking advantage of the assets we have here to foster a sense of place and a sense of community and certainly have not been supportive of keeping downtown businesses alive. I feel I have a firm grasp of the kinds of issues that face our community and the decisions we need to make now and in the future to keep our town from becoming another Santa Rosa. I think Ukiah is worth fighting for and that is exactly what I would do if chosen to serve on the Planning Commission. 11. I believe the most important land use related issue presently facing our community is creating a vision of the way Ukiah wants to grow and the type of community it wants to be and getting the public involved to help make that vision become a reality. Encouraging the types of growth and development that are beneficial to the community as a whole is also important i.e. specifically discouraging big box retailers who locate here who are not willing to locate in existing locations downtown, educating the public about the connections between land uses and the effect on other facets of the community such as air quality, transportation and the overall quality of life in the region. 12. As a member of the Planning Commission I would attempt to address this priority issue by being a voice with a different outlook and viewpoints and making recommendations to the Council that fit with the goals I have expressed here. I would also point to other members of the Commission and to the Council the numerous examples of communities across the country and in Europe that have faced similar challenges that we face and have been able to implement effective strategies to stop the kinds of negative development patterns that wreak such havoc on communities and improve their planning processes and their communities. 13. In my opinion, the types of growth the City should encourage are pedestrian and transit-oriented development that is compact, mixed-use, and environmentally and economically sound. I would like to see growth and development that is built around the community; people and families, not the automobile and big box retailers with huge parking lots who come to town singing a tune of more jobs and tax dollars. I would also like to see an emphasis on infill and redevelopment rather than new structures on the periphery of town that use our valuable farm land and strain our transportation infrastructure. For housing development, I would like to see a more neotraditional approach that would create neighborhoods where people can walk or ride a bicycle to a neighborhood store, where children can get around without relying on their parents to drive them, and where elderly and handicapped people are not prisoners in their homes if they are unable to drive. I would like to see some zoning changes concerning these ideas that require street trees, narrower streets, open space, and get away from the rigid setbacks and garages that are prevalent in our housing developments today. I would also like to see development patterns that encourage alternative transportation i.e. limit of parking spaces for businesses, require bike parking facilities, require the construction of bus shelters with new developments, employers that offer tax-free transit passes, more bike lanes and other strategies that give people a choice between driving and other modes of transport. I would also like to see the issue of a possible urban growth boundary considered and make planning decisions with not just the next few years in mind but the next 50 to 100! 14. In my opinion, the types of growth the City should discourage are big box retail development that will not locate in existing structures with the city's core, development that does not have adequate transportation infrastructure, the kinds of development and architectural themes that do not fit with existing buildings. It should also discourage the types of sprawl development that is prevalent in so many communities across our state and country. Ukiah is small and has not had the growth pressures that many communities have had yet, the pressures are there. I would like to see us recognize the two paths that lie ahead: suburban sprawl, air pollution and a disjointed community or a thriving downtown business core, healthy neighborhoods, clean air, and people who are not prisoners to their cars in a unique community where people can live and raise their children in a positive environment. 15. Because I have not been in the area over the last several years I really cannot comment on the kinds of changes that the planning review process should be implemented, but from returning home arler some time I see many changes and projects that have received approval that I feel are mistakes, i.e. the addition to the McDonalds on Perkins and WalMart and companies on the south end of town are a few. I'm not sure what the problem is but it is evident some changes should be make quickly. 16. The kind of ideal community I envision for Ukiah is one that takes advantage of the many girls that we do have such as ideal weather and flat streets that should encourage walking and biking to its full potential, a compact community that focuses its resources on the downtown core, and traditional neighborhoods that are built around the family not the automobile and a community that integrates planning decisions with those that take into consideration air quality and transportation issues including alternative transportation, a community planning process that involves the local citizenry to determine the kind of community the people want and get their buy in in order to make real and lasting changes. 17. There are no other Committees/Commissions that I am interested in serving on. Jennifer L. Puser 1156 Helen Ave. Ukiah, CA 95482 (707) 463-1660 WORK EXPERIENCE Proeram Associate, Center for Clean Air Policy, Washington, D.C. June 1994 - June 1996 Responsible for day-to-day operations of the Center's Transatlantic Collaboration to Improve Transportation, Land Use and Air Quality Policy project. Acted as liaison to the project's Steering Committees and regional teams to implement effective strategies to solve transportation, land use and air quality problems in North America and Europe. Responsible for research, meeting planning, budget preparation, outreach and quarterly reporting to government and private foundations as it relates to the Collaboration. Also responsible for overall organization of fundraising efforts for the Center, and quarterly newsletter to its Board of Directors. Staff Assistant, Congressman Dan Hamburg, Washington, D.C. March 1994 - June 1994 Responsible for corresponding with constituents, conducting research, preparing issue briefs, drafting constituent letters and attending congressional hearings. Independent travel to Panama and Costa Rica, October 1993-December 1993 Project Coordinator, Local Government Commission, Sacramento, CA August 1992 - September 1993 Served as Project Coordinator for numerous one-day land use planning workshops for local elected officials in order to create more sustainable and livable communities throughout California. Focused primarily on pedestrian- and transit- oriented development and transportation and its relationship to clean air. Also responsible for editing, distribution and marketing of the Livable Places Update newsletter. Outreach Coordinator. Local Government Commission, Sacramento, CA April 1992 - August 1992 Acted as liaison with trade associations, interest groups, and businesses in securing their support and promotion of the California Materials Exchange. Gave presentations and formulated outreach policy in the expansion of the Exchange. Leeislative Aid, JERICHO: A Voice for Justice, Sacramento, CA February 1992 - April 1992 Served as legislative assistant to busy nonprofit organization that lobbies the California Legislature on behalf of the poor and the homeless. Responsible for tracking legislation, updating legislative calendars, providing information to members, and organizing fundraising events. Air Quality_ Spokesperson, Butte Environmental Council, Chico, CA June 1991- December 1991 Acted as spokesperson for grassroots environmental organization in relation to air quality issues. Proposed transportation measures to local government officials and University administrators in the interests of clean air. Also responsible for organizing public forums regarding clean air and its link to transportation, and agriculture and industrial pollution. EDUCATION California State University, Chico B.A. Organizational Communication, May 1990. M.A. Political Science, emphasis in urban and regional planning, January 1994. GPA: 3.7 Computer Skills: Microsoft Word and Excel for IBM Windows Microsoft Word, Microsoft Works and Pagemaker for Macintosh Recipient of the Lyndon B. Johnson Congressional scholarship - Summer 1990~Spring 1994, Washington, D.C. CAMPAIGN AND RELATED EXPERIENCE Volunteer, California Democratic Party, Chico, & Sacramento, CA September 1990-November 1992 Volunteer for Proposition 128 & 130 initiative campaigns; secured hundreds of signatures to qualify the initiatives and registered hundreds of voters · Volunteer for Assemblyman Mike Thompson's state senatorial campaign and Lon Hatimiya's state Assembly campaign · Volunteer for Butte County Supervisor Jane Dolan's re-election campaign · Worked with the advance team in organizing a major political rally for Dianne Feinstein's gubernatorial campaign · Volunteer at the 1992 State Democratic Party Convention in Los Angeles · Volunteer for the 1992 Clinton-Gore Campaign; registered voters and worked phone banks ~ CSU Chico Earth Week 1991, Chico, CA January 1991-April 1991 Organized a variety of local environmental events as part of a week-long community and campus celebration of Earth Day 1991. Recruited numerous student and community volunteers to carry out and take part in numerous activities ranging from a "new commute" that promoted alternative transportation to work, a day of environmental programs for school children to learn about wildlife, featured lecturer Helen Caldicott, an environmental faire attended by hundreds, and other events in order to foster environmental awareness. Co-Chair, A.S. Environmental Affairs Council, CSU, Chico September 1990-May 1992 Served as Co-Chair of Associated Students' committee responsible for campus environmental concerns. Worked with the City's Transportation planner to secure funds to construct a "transportation station" in the University's union to display transportation schedules and route information. Convinced the City to begin a major newspaper and radio advertising campaign to promote free student use of the city's bus system. Received additional funds for design of advertising posters for permanent posting around campus. Also worked with the council to implement a campus-wide recycling program. Member, University Planning Commission, CSU, Chico September 1991-May 1992 Member of University's committee responsible for student input related to major campus planning issues. Advocated responsible parking policies, encouraged alternative transportation strategies and effective advertising of University subsidized city bus service. Member. University Alternative Transportation Committee, CSU, Chico September 1991-May 1992 Appointed by the University President to serve as only student representative to the University Committee responsible for proposing and overseeing alternative transportation choices for students. According to California law, representative has a vote on whether construction of parking structures can be built on a CSU campus. Advocated against a University proposed parking structure. Encouraged additional bike parking on campus, researched different options for bike lockers and new types of bike racks in cooperation with the University employed planning consultant. Member, A.S. Community Affairs Council, CSU, Chico September 1991-May 1992 Member of Associated Students' council responsible for working on community issues important to both the students and the local community. Worked to persuade the A.S. elected officers to purchase new buses for student shuttle and worked with committee to develop routes and financing schemes. Member. Environmental Advocates, Chico Legal Information Center, September 1990-December 1990 Gathered signatures to attempt to qualify a slow growth initiative on the ballot for a Chico City election.