Chula Vista City Council Members held a special meeting last week to conduct interviews and consider all applicants seeking to fill two vacant positions on the city’s Planning Commission.
Two members of the Planning Commission have served for the maximum time of two consecutive terms, resulting in two vacancies: one qualified professional and one at-large member to replace Gabriel Guiterrez. The second vacant position is as a Qualified Professional, to replace Javier Nava.
According to Chula Vista’s municipal code, persons qualified for these seats should include architects, landscape architects, land planners, urban planners, civil engineers, and other design professionals with suitable experience.
The city made the application packets available that details the applicant's qualifications areas of interest and intentions for their prospective positions. Here are the applicants:
Jimmy Combs is an assistant civil engineer with the city of San Diego and a Chula Vista Resident for the past 20 years who also sits on Chula Vista's Board of Appeals and Advisors. He applied to fulfill the vacant position as a Qualified Professional.
When asked about goals on the Planning Commission, Combs said it is to “ensure that everyone who is impacted by the project gets his or her voice heard. Our Constitutional right to due process is vital, and the Planning Commission is one way this happens—at least in neighborhood development.”
Jose Doria is a State Farm Insurance Agent who has been a Chula Vista Resident for the past 35 years. He applied to fill the At-Large Representative Vacancy. He said he offers his own skill-sets and experience in managing a successful business and raising his family in Chula Vista.
Bryan Felber is a former specialist in contracts and procurement who has lived in Chula Vista for the past 40 years. He also teaches certificate classes at San Diego State University in related areas. He said he wants “to help Chula Vista wisely plan for the future” as an At-Large Representative.
Oscar Romo is a consultant who is experienced in architecture, urban and landscape planning, and the environment and is applying as a Qualified Professional. Romo is a member of the Citizens Oversight Committee for Measure P. He said he aims to “reclaim space occupied by cars and congested roads, prompting the kind f urban footprint that works in harmoney with our environment, creating vistas and landscapes to revitalize the urban experience by reintroducing the walkability and a pedestrian-first design approach to enhance liveability”.
