WPCNR THE PLANNING NEWS. By John F. Bailey. January 20, 2004: President of the Common Council, Tom Roach, interviewed by WPCNR Wednesday evening, said that the Common Council and the Mayor’s Office had agreed to work together to name a Comprehensive Plan Review Committee of between 13 and 18 persons, and that the members would be announced. Friday.

Benjamin Boykin who presented to the Mayor with Mr. Roach, said the secret meeting Tuesday between the three, Tuesday evening lasted two hours and discussion covered planning and legal issues. “ Tom stated our legal position to the Mayor. He presented his. We agreed we would put together a citizen’s committee with all seven of us (The Common Council) participating. We did not go in with a list of names,” Boykin said. “We came to an agreement that the committee would represent a cross-section of the community.” Asked if that meant representatives from every neighborhood, Boykin repeated, “It will be a cross-section.”

Boykin told WPCNR, “Once we get the Committee constituted, we will begin the review of the (Comprehensive) plan and the public issues. The key is to have the public involved. This is a work in process.”

Mr. Roach said he had asked the four other councilpersons not at the meeting, Arnold Bernstein, Larry Delgado Robert Greer, and Rita Malmud for nominations for the committee and that he was meeting with Paul Wood, the city Executive Officer today as the next step in the process. He promised announcement of the Comprehensive Plan Review Friday.

The process, Boykin said, would be determined by the Comprehensive Plan Review Committee once it was formed. He did not expand on whether the Common Council would pass judgment on the plan review procedures the Committee decided on.

WPCNR has learned that the two councilpersons  told the Mayor they had 5 votes of the council that would not approve any committee that was solely selected by the Mayor.