Farm Bureau supports current planning commission composition

To the editor,
The recent consideration by the Orange County Board of Supervisors to reduce the planning commission from 10 to five members is not in the best interests of Orange County should this change take place.
The Orange County Farm Bureau took a position at its 2009 annual meeting to keep the planning commission numbers the same with the current staggered terms.
Issues and observations which have been raised:
1. Currently each supervisor appoints two planning commission members from his/her district with staggered terms to maintain a diversity of thinking important for the planning commission advisory role. This system has served Orange County well for over 30 years, so - if it ain't broke why fix it?
2. Staggered terms help maintain continuity.
3. Budget issue: Only recently has the planning commission been paid a $100 fee and mileage per regular meeting. No commissioners I know of asked for this stipend. As budget is a real issue, then cutting the $100 pay to $50 or eliminating the pay would save the county money and solve the budget issue. We doubt that any commissioners would refuse to serve, as they appear to serve for the honor of contributing their time and energy to Orange County not for the money.
4. Intimidation issue: It has been suggested that 10 planning commission members are intimidating to citizens coming before them. Why is this suddenly an issue in a system that has worked well for over 30 years?
5. In other counties, with a small group of planning commission members, parties appointed can carry enough weight to swing land use decisions to their personal gain. The current system helps prevent such potential conflict of interests.
6. As proposed, every supervisor member can appoint a planning commission member within 90 days of their election. This would in effect make the planning commission a reflection of the supervisors. One of the purposes of the planning commission is to make recommendations to the board of supervisors without the political pressures of an elected official. Orange County could lose the diversity and independent thinking it now enjoys from its planning commission.
The continuity of the commission offered by the staggered terms does a great deal to de-politicize the planning commission. A committee of 10 is not an unwieldy number and brings with it a diversity that benefits the county.
The Orange County Farm Bureau believes reducing the size of the planning commission and having terms essentially consistent with the board of supervisors terms is not in the interests of the best governance for Orange County.
The public hearing is set for March 23. Orange County Farm Bureau encourages county citizens to take advantage of this opportunity to express their views on the subject.
Jim Miller
President of the Orange County Farm Bureau