New council puts its stamp on planning commission

In a departure from its usual practice, the City Council opted not to reappoint one of the Planning and Zoning Commission’s most senior members.
Nearly a dozen people applied for the two open spots on P&Z, one of the city’s most important commissions. Both commissioners whose terms had expired reapplied for their positions. Raman Puri, a local developer and vice president of Hilton Garden Inn, has served on the commission for more than a year and was reappointed. Bill Tillotson, a senior adviser for the Naught-Naught insurance agency, also won the City Council’s approval.
Glenn Rice, an Internet administrator for MU, has served on the commission since 2005 and was not reappointed.
In a letter Commission Chairman Jeff Barrow wrote to the City Council, he called Rice and Puri two of the best commissioners who have served during his 13 years on P&Z. It’s uncommon, but not unheard of, for a commissioner to not be reappointed, Barrow said in an interview.
“Prior councils consistently have appointed commissioners who reapplied for the commission unless the applicant has displayed a glaring deficiency,” Barrow wrote.
“I was supporting the reappointment of our standing commissioners,” Barrow said. “I don’t know the new commissioner, but I’m going to miss Glenn a lot. He was a very productive member and had a lot of experience.”
In the past few years, the commission has ramped up its schedule and meets almost every week to work on a number of planning documents and processes in addition to reviewing zoning and development requests. Development Services Manager Pat Zenner, who staffs the P&Z meetings, said Rice was an active member whose insights often influenced other commissioners’ opinions.
“The loss of any member of the planning commission who has been there for five years and has been through the changes we’ve been through will be felt,” Zenner said.
Rice said he believes he has an “undeserved reputation as anti-growth.” He’s voted for some of Columbia’s larger developments, including Landmark Hospital, the Broadway/Fairview Walmart and the Old Hawthorne subdivision, he said. In addition, he said he has only missed eight meetings out of 102 during his time as commissioner, a better record than Puri’s.
“If there’s this perception I’m this anti-growth candidate, it’s absurd, and my record proves it,” Rice said.
CBT obtained an e-mail sent to City Council members from Kristi Ray, Columbia Chamber of Commerce executive vice president, urging the council to choose Chamber members who had applied for various boards and commissions. The e-mail mentioned the P&Z applicants before mentioning any other commissions and endorsed both Puri and Tillotson.
“We have watched (P&Z) with great interest and have been concerned with some of their recent actions,” the e-mail states.
In the past year and half, Ray began regularly sending messages to City Council members supporting Chamber members applying for boards and commissions. The Chamber also encourages its members to apply for boards and commissions, she said.
“We think we’re doing the city a service by getting them more applicants,” she said.
Fifth Ward Councilwoman Laura Nauser voted for Tillotson along with Mayor Bob McDavid, 2nd Ward Councilman Jason Thornhill and 3rd Ward Councilman Gary Kespohl. Nauser said the City Council regularly gets letters of recommendation for applicants to city commissions, but she looks at their qualifications, not their endorsements. Nauser said her vote doesn’t mean she disapproves of Rice’s performance.
“I think I just wanted to see some change,” she said. “It was a very hard decision.”
Rice’s departure from the commission also makes the 4th Ward the only ward without representation on P&Z. Fourth Ward Councilman Daryl Dudley, who ran against Rice’s wife, Tracy Greever-Rice, in the April election, was the only councilman to vote for Jim Holman, a resident of the 2nd Ward. Dudley said he’s not concerned about losing representation for the 4th Ward on P&Z.
“What I look at is what people are thinking and their experience in the development world and the construction world,” Dudley said.
First Ward Councilman Paul Sturtz said he thought Rice was targeted as a commissioner whose views weren’t “sufficiently orthodox” to those of some members of the community. He and 6th Ward Councilwoman Barbara Hoppe were the only members of the City Council to vote for Rice.
“I felt both Ray Puri and Glenn Rice earned their keep on the commission,” Sturtz said. “They both really distinguished themselves and were doing great work.”
Rice’s involvement with the development of the East Area Plan and Comprehensive Plan impressed Sturtz, he said. He and other members of the council highly respected the commission’s planning work. But, Sturtz said, “I’ll be curious to see whether that holds true anymore.”