The fight over growth in Sequim: Mayor tries to get Planning Commission chairman to quit
By Jim Casey, Peninsula Daily News
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Freedman, a developer, told council members at their meeting Monday that he had been invited to a meeting with Mayor Laura Dubois last week and was handed a resignation statement.
"It's time for you to move on," Freedman quoted Dubois as saying.
However, Freedman stated, "I intend to complete my term in office and resist any attempt to remove me from office."
"I was just asking. I was not demanding," Dubois responded when challenged by Councilman Paul McHugh about the incident.
"Who else is targeted, Laura?" McHugh asked.
"Who else is scheduled for appointments with you?"
"No one," she answered.
Planning commissioners are appointed by the mayor with the advice and consent of the City Council.
"Only the council can remove them from office, and that means the entire council," said City Manager Bill Elliott on Tuesday.
"There has to be a vote to remove somebody."
Planning commissioners serve four-year terms.
The Planning Commission is charged with maintaining the city's comprehensive plan and advising the City Council on amendments to the plan.
Issue postponed 2 weeks
At Monday's meeting, Dubois postponed discussion of the Freedman issue to the council's Feb. 11 meeting, along with the group's withdrawal of Mike McAleer, a Sequim real estate agent, to represent the city on the Clallam County Opportunity Fund Advisory Board.
Still, the exchange early in Monday's meeting set the tone for much of the session, which featured frequent disagreements between new Councilmen Ken Hays and McHugh, who has two years left in his term.
Members of the audience joined the contentiousness, with one man calling the council's new majority "the Gang of Four."
Dubois, Hays, Susan Lorenzen and Erik Erichsen were elected in November to the seven-member council.
Dubois was chosen as mayor this month, replacing former mayor Walt Schubert, who has two years remaining in his term of office as a councilman.
The disagreements centered on the newcomers' nearly 3-to-1 majorities in the election, and their perceived "mandate" to slow Sequim's growth and development.
Hays said he wanted city staff never to say, "We can't stop growth," without adding, "but we can manage it."
New city motto?
Elliott asked if the message should be on the city's letterhead.
"I don't want representations going out that we can't manage growth," Hays answered.
Challenged by McHugh about what he meant, Hays answered, "Not saying unconditionally 'yes' to everything."
Hays also moved for a citizens advisory committee of developers, real estate dealers and citizens to hire a consultant and study Sequim's citywide zoning.
His other suggestions included an investigation by Elliott of the city's process of granting building permits, adoption of design standards, and passage of impact fees on new developments.
"Seventy-two percent of the people in this community are expecting something like this to happen," he said.
Issues deferred
The issues will be placed on the Feb. 11 agenda.
The citizens committee, for instance, must report to the city Planning Commission — headed by Freedman — according to City Attorney Craig Ritchie.
Hays' other suggestions, Schubert said, needed more specifics.
"I would be willing to vote for this," he said, "but not tonight."
Another of Hays' proposals — restructuring the Public Works Department and "formalizing" the building permitting process — had been sprung on the minority members, said Councilman Bill Huizinga.
It likewise was deferred for two weeks.
Dubois apologized for her unfamiliarity with the group's protocols and procedures, including a "three-touch" rule that requires issues to be reviewed on at least three public occasions.
Earlier, McHugh characterized the majority's attitude as, "We don't like what we've got so we're going to do it all over again."
Erichsen summed up his frustration with the meeting:
"All we've accomplished is bringing out our differences."
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Reporter Jim Casey can be reached at 360-417-3538 or at jim.casey@peninsuladailynews.com.
Silverdale West?
SEQUIM — If you weren't sure what Sequim's City Council majority doesn't like about the town, newcomer Susan Lorenzen spelled out the group's dissatisfaction Monday night:
Last modified: January 29. 2008 9:00PM