Santa Monica City Council should disclose ex parte conversations, commissioner says
Planning commissioners had nothing to hide last week and they let the public know it.
Before reviewing an application for a new Japanese restaurant, commissioners disclosed everything they knew about the proposal at 424 Wilshire Blvd. Commissioner Barbara Brown has driven past it. Commissioners Darrell Clarke, Jay Johnson and Kelly Olsen had eaten there when it was another restaurant. Commissioner Julie Dad works across the street.
Although last week’s disclosure statements may sound trivial, there are proposals that come before the planning commission that are more controversial and much larger. Commissioners, as a matter of policy, disclose any relationships, conversations and knowledge that relate to a proposal. It lets the public know if any of them have conflicts of interest and whether the applicant will get a fair review.
Commission Chairman Olsen explains the policy at every meeting. Last week he expanded to his routine, wondering out loud why the Santa Monica City Council doesn’t have the same policy.
Olsen plans to bring the matter before his fellow policymakers at an upcoming council meeting. It’s not that he thinks any of the coun-cilmembers are hiding anything, but the public might.
When the controversial Target store was being proposed on Pico Boulevard more than a year ago, it was figured that politicians were discussing the proposal behind closed doors. The planning commission adopted the disclosure rule shortly after the project was voted down.
“Everybody had a suspicion that deals were being made,” Olsen said. But now, applicants and the public can determine if officials have any conflicts of interest.
“They feel like they got a fair shot,” he said. “I think people trust the system more.”
Olsen has discussed the issue with city coun-cilmembers in the past and they haven’t been adverse to it. Now he plans to push the request a little harder.
“I don’t know why they haven’t done it, maybe they haven’t thought about it,” he said. “I would think the city council would be very receptive to this because they have been neighborhood activists and they would want people to have confidence in the system.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 15, 2001. Read the original PDF.