Olsen Conflicted on Appeals

Dear Editor,

There have been many recent articles about the state of development in the city, and the reappointment of one of the city's Planning Commissioners, Kelly Olsen. No one has bothered to mention the clear conflict of interest that has long existed in having Olsen on the Planning Commission, which hears appeals of matters from the City's Architectural Review Board, a Board on which Olsen's wife, Joan Charles, sits as vice-chairman.

It would be interesting to find out how many times over the past four years -- if at all -- Olsen, a sanctimonious, chest-beating advocate for full disclosure and self-righteous protector of the public interest, has recused himself from deliberating and voting on any one of the numerous appeals of an Architectural Review Board decision because his wife had deliberated and voted on it, or if he has even bothered to publicly disclose their personal relationship and its obvious influence on his vote. How can this be fair to the public?

But even if Olsen did recuse himself from deliberating and voting on these many appeals, this type of conflict of interest becomes even more disconcerting since it would serve to reduce the basic fairness that must be given to anyone filing an appeal because Olsen's recusal then becomes an automatic no vote against whoever files an appeal. How can this be fair to the public?

Now, with the approval by the Architectural Review Board of the Community Corporation housing project in Ocean Park being appealed to the Planning Commission, perhaps it's time for the city to rethink who sits on its appointed bodies and the obvious, yet undisclosed prejudices, biases, and personal interests that influence and effect their ability to make fair decisions to the benefit, rather than the detriment, of the public.

Sincerely,