Vacant Newport planning post filled

Deirdre Newman

The City Council appointed Robert Hawkins to the Planning Commission

Tuesday night, citing his extensive community involvement.

Hawkins will fill the seat vacated when Leslie Daigle was

appointed to the council in September to replace Gary Adams, who

moved his family to Washington, D.C., for a job promotion.

Hawkins is a member of the city’s Environmental Quality Affairs

Citizen Advisory Committee, its Economic Development Committee and

served on the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Budget Advisory

Committee. He finished second behind Daigle when she was chosen for

the Planning Commission in June.

He has lived in the city for nine years and owns his own law firm,

which deals with issues like water law, eminent domain and

environmental law.

He said he was thrilled with the appointment.

“I’ve enjoyed serving as chairman of [the Environmental Quality

Affairs Citizen Advisory Committee] for four-plus years,” Hawkins

said. “I look forward to the opportunity to serve the city and its

residents as a commissioner on this fine Planning Commission.”

Hawkins said he will have to resign from his posts on the

Environmental Quality Affairs Citizen Advisory and Economic

Development committees to serve on the Planning Commission.

Hawkins said his term will begin on Nov. 18, at the next Planning

Commission meeting, and end on June 30, 2008.

Phillip Lugar, co-chair of the General Plan Advisory Committee,

said based on Hawkins’ experience on the Environmental Quality

Affairs Citizen Advisory Committee, he will make a great planning

commissioner.

“Robert gathers comments and presents them in a concise and

readable manner to the Planning Commission,” Lugar said.

The Planning Commission studies land-use issues in the city. It

makes decisions on small-scale issues, makes preliminary judgments on

larger issues and advises the City Council.

The commission is holding hearings on the proposed expansion of

St. Andrew’s Church, an issue that has pitted church leaders and

neighbors against each other for years.

Two other finalists the council considered Tuesday evening were

Roberta Jorgensen and Michael Henn.

Jorgensen has lived in the city for 14 years and is the president

of Robbins Jorgensen Christopher Architects in Cannery Village. She

is a member of Orange County Coastkeeper, a water-quality watchdog

group.

Henn has lived in the city for 10 years and is the president of

the Roger & Lilah Stangeland Foundation, a charitable foundation.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers government. She may be reached at (714)

966-4623 or by e-mail at [email protected].