Site search
sponsored by
News
Dawn Bateman is on the verge of replacing Rey Johnson on the Grass Valley Planning Commission in a vote set for tonight's City Council meeting.
Johnson stepped down from the panel in late June when it became clear properties held by his firm near the Idaho-Maryland Mine and the Loma Rica Ranch were causing conflicts of interest with planning commission votes.
The outgoing panel member is the board chairman of Pacific Land Enterprises, a real estate firm with three properties for sale or lease at Whispering Pines Business Park.
The park sits between the proposed Loma Rica mixed-use development and the site where the mine would be reopened in Grass Valley.
City Councilman Dan Miller said only Bateman and former city planning commissioner Larry Hoffman applied for the opening. After talking to Hoffman briefly and interviewing Bateman, Miller said he felt more comfortable with her.
“I've known Dawn for 20 years and she's on the city's Historical Commission, so she had a good feel for the city and the economics,” Miller said Monday.
“I don't expect her to be pro-growth or anti-growth,” Miller said. “I want her to look at all projects on a case-by-case basis.
“She likes infill, which I like, rather than going to the outer limits of the city,” Miller said. “Infill keeps the carbon footprint down,” by creating less travel.
Miller said he did not vote for Hoffman on philosophical grounds when Hoffman became former Mayor Mark Johnson's representative to the Planning Commission several years ago.
At that time, “I got the feeling he wasn't as open to the projects before the city,” like the special development areas on the outskirts of town, Miller said.
“I feel like he's got a preconceived notion towards the Idaho-Maryland Mine,” Miller said. “I had the feeling he was more opposed to it than open to the process and I want someone who is open to the process.”
Rey Johnson said last month that Grass Valley businessman Derek Poppell would be a good replacement for him. Miller said Poppell was too busy in his professional business to apply.
The replacement will be the third on the panel since Dec. 2008. That's when incoming City Councilwoman Yolanda Cookson picked Daniel Swartzendruber to take Hoffman's place on the panel as Mayor Johnson was stepping down from the council.
Rey Johnson and former board member Eleanor Kenitzer stopped voting on the mine last November.
Kenitzer did so to avoid conflicts with her job as office manager at the mine and then stepped down. Johnson stopped voting on the mine after a legal opinion from City Attorney Ruthann Ziegler said he might have conflicts when voting.
The Union was unable to locate Bateman or Hoffman for comment late Monday afternoon.
To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com or call 477-4237.
Johnson stepped down from the panel in late June when it became clear properties held by his firm near the Idaho-Maryland Mine and the Loma Rica Ranch were causing conflicts of interest with planning commission votes.
The outgoing panel member is the board chairman of Pacific Land Enterprises, a real estate firm with three properties for sale or lease at Whispering Pines Business Park.
The park sits between the proposed Loma Rica mixed-use development and the site where the mine would be reopened in Grass Valley.
City Councilman Dan Miller said only Bateman and former city planning commissioner Larry Hoffman applied for the opening. After talking to Hoffman briefly and interviewing Bateman, Miller said he felt more comfortable with her.
“I've known Dawn for 20 years and she's on the city's Historical Commission, so she had a good feel for the city and the economics,” Miller said Monday.
“I don't expect her to be pro-growth or anti-growth,” Miller said. “I want her to look at all projects on a case-by-case basis.
“She likes infill, which I like, rather than going to the outer limits of the city,” Miller said. “Infill keeps the carbon footprint down,” by creating less travel.
Miller said he did not vote for Hoffman on philosophical grounds when Hoffman became former Mayor Mark Johnson's representative to the Planning Commission several years ago.
At that time, “I got the feeling he wasn't as open to the projects before the city,” like the special development areas on the outskirts of town, Miller said.
“I feel like he's got a preconceived notion towards the Idaho-Maryland Mine,” Miller said. “I had the feeling he was more opposed to it than open to the process and I want someone who is open to the process.”
Rey Johnson said last month that Grass Valley businessman Derek Poppell would be a good replacement for him. Miller said Poppell was too busy in his professional business to apply.
The replacement will be the third on the panel since Dec. 2008. That's when incoming City Councilwoman Yolanda Cookson picked Daniel Swartzendruber to take Hoffman's place on the panel as Mayor Johnson was stepping down from the council.
Rey Johnson and former board member Eleanor Kenitzer stopped voting on the mine last November.
Kenitzer did so to avoid conflicts with her job as office manager at the mine and then stepped down. Johnson stopped voting on the mine after a legal opinion from City Attorney Ruthann Ziegler said he might have conflicts when voting.
The Union was unable to locate Bateman or Hoffman for comment late Monday afternoon.
To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com or call 477-4237.
