Orland seats new Planning Commission members

The Orland Planning Commission is trained, ready and officially got seated Tuesday night by the Orland City Council.

The five-member commission is set to hold its first meeting Oct. 14, and is slated to meet at 10 a.m. on the second Thursday of each month as work demands.

“They have had plenty of time to read the volumes of information,” City Manager Paul Poczobut Jr. said.

Commissioners Claire Arano, a former commission member, Stephen Shoop, Byron Denton, Ryan Bentz and Shannon Ovard were selected this spring from 11 applicants.

Councilman Bruce Roundy asked if there will be ongoing training and Poczobut said Community Services Director Nancy Sailsbery would update the commissioners as needed.

A Glenn County grand jury recommended any new planning body be better trained in its duties, so problems that occurred in the past would not continue.

That is why the council asked for the new commission be taught the rules of government and its responsibilities related to planning.

Some of the commissioners will serve two-year terms, others were appointed to four-year terms, city officials said.

Arano co-owns Ginter and Brown Realty and lives outside the city limits, but within its sphere of influence. Shoop also lives outside of town and is a retired engineer who moved to the Orland area from San Jose three years ago.

Bentz is a teacher in Hamilton City and coaches football at Hamilton High School. Ovard is a registered nurse who works for a hospital in Red Bluff. Each is an Orland resident.

Denton is a retired U.S. Postal Service employee and former union representative who has lived in Orland 21 years.

The Orland council disbanded the Planning Commission three years ago after complaints surfaced about former commissioners overstepping their authority with city staff and other concerns.

The move caused dissension in the community and led to the unsuccessful recall of several council members, including Roundy.

For the next two years, the council handled most planning matters.

Mayor Wade Elliott said he wanted to re-instate the Planning Commission shortly after being elected to the council in 2008.

He got his wish this year, and now the group will be moving forward.

However, building activity and zoning requests dwindled with the bad economy, so it is uncertain how often the new commission will have to meet.