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Published on 09/28/1998 All articles from this issue

Planners, staff, council now on the same page

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By Joanne Griffith Domingue / Town Crier Staff Writer

Following a quarterly study session of the city council, planning commissioners and city staff, folks agree: things are going well among the three groups.

"There's a mutual and friendly respect," said King Lear, a member of the Los Altos City Council.

"There's a lot of communication going on," said Jeff Warmoth, the chairman of the Los Altos Planning Commission.

"I feel very positive," said Larry Tong, planning director for the city of Los Altos.

That wasn't always so.

A year ago the three groups were embroiled in controversy, frustration and anger. The council fired the chairwoman of the planning commission in August when she lost her temper in frustration over not getting information and support from the council and staff; a city council member resigned in September, five weeks before his term was up; the city manager resigned in October; so many planning commissioners had resigned that it was difficult to have a quorum at some meetings.

To deal with the rising tension and dysfunction, the city council hired an outside facilitator to lead the three groups through conflict resolution workshops in November and December 1997.

One goal that grew from the workshops: quarterly study sessions to insure that the three groups would sit down and talk on a regular basis.

They have. The most recent session was right on the dot of the end of the quarter, Sept. 30, and attendance was almost 100 percent. Considering the busy schedules of all the people involved, that speaks of a high commitment to continue the process.

For Lear, the quarterly meetings are a "time to talk, to improve communications."

Warmoth called the recent meeting "very productive. We've really made a lot of strides."

sion feels it gets lots more advance notice from the staff. We're getting input now at a proper time," he said.

The net result is that all three groups are better able to deal planning issues - as seen by the work going on reviewing the city's design guidelines.