Saratoga News

Caldwell will leave Planning Commission

By Clarence Cromwell

The Saratoga City Council will seat at least one new Planning Commission member when the terms of two current members expire at the end of January.

Commissioner Meg Caldwell has decided not to apply for reappointment, citing differences with the City Council.

"My efforts are better spent elsewhere, given that I do not agree with the philosophies of this council," she said in response to written questions from the Saratoga News. "The current council is too pro-growth, anti-public participation and absorbed with its own perception of importance."

Caldwell was first appointed to the Planning Commission in 1990 to complete a term started by Janet Harris. After the partial term, the City Council appointed Caldwell to a full term on the commission, the one that ends next month. She is eligible for a second full term.

Caldwell's differences with the City Council appear to stem from her position on growth and environmental issues. She directs the environmental-law program at Stanford University and is a member of the Sierra Club.

Caldwell consistently voices opinions counter to those of other commissioners and members of the City Council. She was a major critic of the environmental impact report the Planning Commission accepted Nov. 8 for expansion of the Odd Fellows senior citizen's complex on Fruitvale Avenue. She voted against accepting the EIR, calling for specifics on proj-ects needed to mitigate environmental impacts of the development.

As a planning commissioner, Caldwell has sometimes rallied opposition on development issues that she would later consider as a member of the planning commission. That caused some citizens to challenge her impartiality.

Caldwell's support of the Saratoga Neighborhood Preservation Initiative led Saratoga resident Bill Pecka to send the city a letter in November, asking that Caldwell not vote on expansion of the Odd Fellows senior citizens home, a project that could be affected by the initiative. Caldwell contributed $100 to the committee that circulated the petition.

"Meg did a lot of work outside of Planning Commission meetings on issues and would muster support on issues," said Mayor Paul Jacobs, who was a commissioner alongside Caldwell before he was elected to the City Council in 1994.

"I think it's perfectly legitimate for people to do that. I don't think there's anything that, as a planning commissioner, prohibits you from gathering like-minded people to speak on an issue," Jacobs said.

Caldwell is also remembered for an unsuccessful City Council run in 1992 against fellow Planning Commissioners Karen Tucker and Ann Marie Burger, both of whom will be up for reelection in 1996.

Caldwell figured in an aborted recall bid against then-Mayor Karen Anderson shortly after that election. One reason the Saratogans for Responsible Government wanted to unseat Anderson was her participation in circulating a last-minute 1992 campaign flier linking Caldwell to the American Independent Party and its founder, George Wallace, who held white supremacist views when he started the party. Caldwell denied any affiliation with the group, and her opponents later said that they knew all along that Caldwell is not a white supremacist.

Petitioners failed to gather the required 4,000 signatures--those of 20 percent of registered voters--within 120 days, the first step in qualifying a recall ballot measure.

The mayor and members of the Planning Commission said they sometimes disagree with Caldwell, but praised her efforts as a commissioner. They described Caldwell as competent and well-prepared..

"I'm going to miss her insights. I find her very knowledgeable and a valuable member of the planning commission," Marcia Kaplan said.

Commission Chairman Henry Murakami agreed.

"She was an excellent commissioner," Murakami said. "She was an expert in environmental law. Over the course of the two terms she served, she brought a lot of experience and knowledge. Her input I didn't agree with all the time, but I certainly respect her. Meg is going to he missed."

The council has received two applications for the two available commission seats so far. Alfred Abshire, whose term also expires next month, applied for reappointment. Mark Pierce, a former member of the parks commission, filed papers for a Planning Commission seat. Pierce was a member of the commission from April 1984 to August 1994, when he had to step down because of the city's two-term limit on all commissions.