The Oceanside City Council has approved a new process for hearing appeals of Planning Commission decisions.
The council voted 4-1 Wednesday, with Councilmember Peter Weiss opposed, to switch the procedure to the “de novo,” a term meaning “from the beginning.”
Future appeals will be considered on all applicable information instead of only the issues raised by the appellant, a change intended to give the council more discretion and save staff time.
For example, said Lydia Grego, one of the city’s planners, 18 points were raised by residents who appealed the Planning Commission’s approval earlier this year of the Eddie Jones warehouse project proposed near the city airport.
In response, city staffers put together an 30-page report for the City Council to supplement the Eddie Jones information presented at the Planning Commission’s hearing, Grego said. Under the de novo process, only the original report to the commission would be needed.
The council voted 3-2 last month to uphold the appeal and overturned the Planning Commission’s approval of the warehouse project. Council Rick Robinson and Weiss voted no.
The Building Industry Association of San Diego County opposed the procedural change for appeals, saying it could delay a final decision on projects and slow the construction of needed housing.
Cities in San Diego County can handle appeals in different ways based on guidelines established in their municipal codes.
Carlsbad’s municipal code, for example, states that appeals are limited to: “an error or abuse of discretion on the part of the planning commission in that the decision was not ed by the facts … or that there was not a fair and impartial hearing.” Information not presented to the planning commission is not to be considered.
Another North County city, San Marcos, has a code that states its city council can either affirm the decision of the planning commission or “hold a hearing de novo on the appeal.”
