After eight months of being led by a part-time planning
director, the San Benito County Planning and Building Department
may have a new permanent director next week
– allowing the county to get started on several projects that
have been put on hold due to the vacancy.
Hollister – After eight months of being led by a part-time planning director, the San Benito County Planning and Building Department may have a new permanent director next week – allowing the county to get started on several projects that have been put on hold due to the vacancy.
On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors will vote on whether to approve the hiring of a new planning director after board members have a chance to meet the candidate in closed session prior to their meeting. County Administrative Officer Susan Thompson declined to give the candidate’s name, saying that the person was currently employed by a neighboring jurisdiction. However, she said the person’s name would be released after supervisors approve the hire.
Supervisor Board Chair Reb Monaco said that hiring a permanent planning director has been a top priority for the board since the county fired former director Rob Mendiola in May. Since Mendiola’s firing, part-time interim director Michael Bethke has been at the department’s helm.
“It’s probably, if not No. 1, ranked up there high,” he said, adding that a permanent director will push forward efforts to make the county’s planning department more efficient. He also said that the planning director is an important component as the county considers updating its general plan – one of the projects that has been on hold while county administrators searched for a director.
With a permanent planning director in place, the county will also be able to work on developing a system to determine which projects get housing allocations under the county’s 1 percent growth cap, according to Supervisor Don Marcus. Also, once a director has been hired the planning department and the county planning commission can review the Hillside Ordinance passed in 2004, which restricts construction on hillsides, he said.
“It’s such a key position,” he said. “It’s going to be a major figure and person involved in our general plan.”
The head planning director slot has been open since the firing of Mendiola, who had held the post for more than two decades. The reasons for the dismissal were never made public.
Two months before he was fired, Mendiola and the planning department were the subject of a county investigation stemming from allegations by two building inspectors. They claimed Mendiola had abused his power to help former Supervisor Richard Scagliotti use his position as a county supervisor for financial gain in a development project. The accusation of corruption was part of a lawsuit lawyer Michael Pekin filed against the county and Scagliotti.
The investigation was completed in April, but the Board of Supervisors have not released its findings because they involve pending litigation in Pekin’s ongoing case against Scagliotti. Mendiola was exonerated of any criminal activity by the investigation, according to County Counsel Claude Biddle.
Less than two weeks after Mendiola was fired, another management position in the department became vacant when Deputy Planning Director Fred Goodrich quit, giving the county 48 hours notice – the same length of notice the county gave Mendiola.
The Board of Supervisors took steps to fill the leadership void in the department when it hired Bethke as part-time interim planning director in mid-May. Bethke said he will stay with the county long enough to help the new planning director transition into the job.
If hired, the new planning director will make $109,199 in salary and benefits.
Luke Roney covers local government and the environment for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at [email protected]
