OCEANSIDE — The City Council has selected Jesse Abril, Michael Ogden, and Evelyn Mateo to fill three open seats on the Oceanside Planning Commission after narrowing a pool of more than 50 applicants.
The seven-person commission reviews proposed development and other matters related to zoning, urban planning, and implementation of the General Plan, and makes recommendations to the City Council.
Commissioners Louise Balma, Kevin Dodds, and Tom Rosales will reach the end of their terms on April 15, leaving three seats available on the commission. None of them chose to reapply for another term.
At a City Council meeting on March 25, City Clerk Zeb Navarro said the city had received 53 applications and that interviewing all of them would take upward of six hours. Council members chose to narrow the field by each selecting four individuals to move forward, resulting in a list of 15 individuals, with one dropping out soon after.
The council then held an April 1 workshop to select the three new members to serve through 2030.
Ogden is the CEO of medical distributor Clasto, Inc. and has a background as a real estate salesperson, he said. He previously served on the Planning Commission for 17 months and on the Downtown Advisory Committee for eight months.
Abril is a system technician for AT&T and an Air Force veteran who previously served on the Downtown Advisory Committee for 11 months. Mateo is a civil engineer for the city of San Diego.
In addition to the three that were appointed, other applicants were Emily Frazier, Joan Bockman, Gerold Wharton, Thomas LaCroix, Rasheeda Parr, Alonda Herrera, Graham Ross, Kent Rundle, Henriette Burbank, Robert Casey, and Joseph Ganino.
Balma had served on the commission for 20 years, Rosales for 16 years, and Dodds for four years. At the commission’s March 23 meeting, Commission Chair Tom Morrissey thanked them for their service, particularly Balma and Rosales.
“For me, they’ve been just a great inspiration, and they’ve done the city of Oceanside proud. I think the city of Oceanside owes them a huge thank you for their work,” Morrissey said.
Rosales said he greatly enjoyed his time on the commission, but that it was time to move on.
“To the new commissioners coming in, I would say listen and learn and ask questions. Don’t come with a predetermined idea of what you think the outcome should be. Be open,” Rosales said.
