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Council's tactic irks planners Nielsen An attempt to dismiss Nielsen from Medford commission spurs discord By CHRIS BRISTOL Two Medford Planning Commission members say the threatened removal of a fellow commissioner may be the result of disgruntled developers who have the ears of some city leaders. The two say they, and possibly other planning commissioners, will attend a City Council meeting tonight to show support for Dennis Nielsen, a three-year member of the Planning Commission who has earned a reputation as a defender of existing neighborhoods and as an opponent of zone changes that allow higher housing densities. "I don't think you can hang somebody out to dry just because they've displeased somebody," said fellow planning commissioner Boyd Gibson. City Council President Sal Esquivel ordered Nielsen in writing to appear before the council tonight to answer to a variety of misconduct charges, including accusations that he is obstructive, argumentative and disruptive. In a memo to itself as well as Planning Commission Chairman Carl Bartlett and City Attorney Ron Doyle, the council also accused Nielsen (based on Doyle's review of taped meetings) of acting as an advocate instead of as a judge and failing to heed legal advice provided by the city's in-house counsel. The council can remove Nielsen from his appointed position with a simple majority vote. Planning commissioners (there are nine) serve at the discretion of the council, which has never before removed a commissioner. Nielsen's term on the Planning Commission expires in eight months. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at City Hall. The Nielsen matter is the last item on the council's evening agenda. Gibson and fellow planning commissioner Bob Tull said the council is off-base in its assessment of Nielsen, a self-employed businessman who publishes Contractors Job Finder and teaches math part-time at Rogue Community College. They say, despite Nielsen's reputation early on for badgering developers and city planning staff, he has become a team player who has begun to master the technical intricacies of local and state land-use planning law. The council's motive is baffling, they said. "I don't think the City Council wants to have a Planning Commission that rubber stamps everything that comes in," Gibson said. But, he added, "applicants" often take their cases to the City Council to try to overturn the decisions. "I think there's a couple of city councilors that want to have everything smooth and not ruffle anybody's feathers," Gibson added, "especially people that may have supported their candidacy or something like that." Tull agreed. "My sense is that the council has sort of improvised a way of trying to be responsive to certain criticism," he said, "and that it's gotten away from them." Nielsen also serves on the Site Plan and Architectural Review Commission, which reviews design plans. Jon Elliott, chairman of the site plan commission, described Nielsen as a "pain in the neck" who nevertheless brings a valuable perspective to his group. "I think it's the fact that Dennis is a pain in the neck that's caused those city councilors to target him," Elliott said. "And he is a pain in the neck. But he's also a really dedicated person who does a good job. ... Dennis is the kind of guy who makes the machine work right." Esquivel could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Fellow council member Bob Strosser said he could not talk about it because the council previously has agreed to refrain from making public statements until the hearing "in fairness to the objectivity of this thing." "You're asking reasonable questions, and I would quite frankly personally love to give you answers," he said. "But I can't for now." Meanwhile, a city watchdog group has waded into the fray on Nielsen's behalf. In a letter, United Medford Citizens accused the City Council of conducting what amounts to a show trial because Nielsen has been told he can't call witnesses or retain an attorney. Esquivel previously said the city wants the Nielsen hearing to be conducted above board -- to avoid the sort of controversy that followed the behind-the-scenes dismissal of former City Manager Andy Anderson in 1997. But the current set-up is no better, said group spokesman Ernest Garb. "They're the accusers and the judges as well," he said of the council. "We just felt the procedure is not fair and equitable, and the result of the procedure would be tainted by the lack of fairness." In a letter to Esquivel, Tull said that he and fellow members of the Planning Commission might resign or refuse reappointment if Nielsen is removed. Tull backed off that threat somewhat Tuesday. Even so, he insisted that Nielsen is being treated unfairly and that he and a majority of his colleagues on the commission aren't happy about it. "If the complaints were focused on any one of us ... a careful study of selected tapes and transcripts could probably make book on any one of us," he said. "It's a little scary." Gibson said agreed, saying the independence of the commission is at stake. "If I ask too many questions and offend somebody," he said, "maybe the next guy they'll be after is me." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA