Letters to the Editor

In Response to the MPC Removal

Ifeel I must reply to the Journal’s article (“The MPC Shuffle”) of Jan. 26 regarding my removal from the Montecito Planning Commission, as it contained several errors. Additionally, there were important issues that I raised at the hearing before the Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors to which they did not respond, and which the Journal did not address in its article.

It is important to note that Supervisor Das Williams was not required to show any cause for the board to approve my removal from the MPC. Williams initially had demanded that I submit my resignation, which – admittedly – would have been less stressful and less public for me. However, I wanted to make a personal appearance in order to express my concerns about what had transpired. Taken together, the actions by two disgruntled MPC commissioners and Supervisor Williams are suspect at best; they potentially violate proper procedures and policies, and they provide clear evidence of collusion, bad faith, and unfairness on their part. Specifically:

1) Tyranny by the minority: I was told in early January that two MPC members were threatening to resign if I served as chair this coming year, as was anticipated, given my position as 1st vice chair this past year. They gave no specific reasons, they refused to speak with me about it, and then – after I offered to step aside as chair – they enhanced their demand and called for my complete resignation from the MPC. Again, I had no indication of their opposition during the many past years we served together, and neither they nor Supervisor Williams gave me any explanation as to why this was so imperative or urgent – since I had only one more year on my term, and I had announced my intention to step down after that. I have since discovered that the remaining two commissioners were as blindsided as I was by this unexpected opposition; they also had not been aware of any problems nor observed any cause for complaint.

2) Election interference: I also learned that these two remaining commissioners supported me, both to continue on the commission and to be chair. We three would have formed a quorum at the scheduled meeting on Jan. 18, but that meeting was canceled per the direction of Supervisor Williams. Thus, he was able to include my removal from the MPC on the Board of Supervisors Agenda for their January 24 meeting, prior to any MPC meeting. Supervisor Williams and the two opposing MPC commissioners conspired to prevent my lawful election as chair, and Williams unnecessarily canceled a scheduled MPC meeting in order to accomplish that.

3) False claims of retaliation: After I spoke during the Public Comment period at that Board of Supervisors meeting on January 24, Supervisor Williams then alleged that I attempted to force the resignation of Commissioner Ron Pulice last year. I had no opportunity to respond, to refute this false claim. In fact, what I did – at the January 2022 meeting – was to bring up the fact that Pulice was no longer a resident in Montecito when he was in line to become chair. People in Montecito had noted the high-profile sale of his home in 2021 and knew that it is required by law (specifically, under Section 2-26(b) and Section 2-26.2(b) of Ordinance No. 4468 that established the MPC) that commissioners must be residents of Montecito in order to serve on the MPC. They contacted me about it. I wanted the process to be transparent and above-board, and my airing this issue at our meeting gave county counsel the opportunity to state that Pulice could complete his term even if no longer a resident. Pulice said he was actively looking to buy another home in Montecito and that – if he still was not a resident in 2023 – he would resign from the commission.

As a result of this exchange of information, I voted for him as chair for 2022. By the way, Pulice still is not a resident of Montecito, and Supervisor Williams reappointed him in December, ignoring the ordinance requirement.

4) The function of the MPC: The ordinance creating the MPC states that appointees should have an interest in the planning field, prior community service, and knowledge of the district. MPC acts as a decision-making body whose decisions are informed by the Montecito Community Plan and appealable to the Board of Supervisors. The MPC has no staff except designated personnel in the Planning Department. The MPC is solely responsible to the Board of Supervisors. Thus, recommendations to the MPC from the Board of Architectural Review are exactly that, only recommendations. Therefore, regular deference to the MBAR gives that body more authority than was intended by the ordinance. Furthermore, Planning Department staff works for the County, not for Montecito, so complete adherence to recommendations of Planning Department staff means that Montecito has no autonomy as a community and has ceded all power to the County of Santa Barbara. The few criticisms leveled at me about my work on the MPC were in these two areas: my lack of deference to MBAR decisions and my questioning of Planning Department recommendations. It appears that I was simply doing my job as a Planning Commissioner.

5) The appearance of sexism: Three years ago, these same two commissioners tried to block the other female commissioner from becoming Chair after she had served as 1st Vice-Chair. I opposed their actions, and – ultimately – their effort was unsuccessful. Now, they have successfully managed to oust me, the other female commissioner. Paula Lopez Ochoa – incoming president of the Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee – spoke on my behalf at the Board meeting on the 24th, and Supervisor Capps suggested that – if removed from the MPC – I should be replaced by another woman commissioner. When he initially proposed in December that I move to another, less prestigious County commission, Williams told me he had a male architect in line as my replacement on the MPC, which I felt would be wrong and completely contrary to the intended composition of that body. The very day after the Board of Supervisors meeting, Williams suddenly announced that he