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Planner's role prompts review Facing public review by council, Nielsen defends tough stance By DANI DODGE For the first time in Medford's history, the City Council will publicly review a planning commissioner's performance, and possibly remove him from office. The council set a public session to evaluate planning commission member Dennis Nielsen at 7 p.m. April 20 at City Hall. "Council was criticized in the not-too-distant past for dealing with the prior city manager in secret," said Councilman Bob Strosser. "We are doing nothing secretly here, but saying this will be dealt with openly, fairly and in a public forum." Nielsen, 50, has served since the council appointed him in 1997. As a planning commissioner, he has spoken out against zone changes for higher densities. He also opposed eliminating the city code that governed the steepness of city streets, which paved the way for the McAndrews Road extension -- the largest road project in the city's history. But he's ruffled some feathers along the way, according to a memo from city council officers Sal Esquivel and Bob Strosser and Mayor Lindsay Berryman. The council officers declined to discuss particulars until an April 20 hearing . City Manager Mike Dyal said "some or all of the complaints" have been directed to council members, so he also couldn't comment. Berryman could not be reached for comment. In the memo, the council officers wrote that "in response to complaints and requests" they and the city attorney reviewed tapes of planning commission meetings to assess Nielsen. Among the conclusions of their review: Nielsen was argumentative, did not follow the law, was not receptive to legal counsel and acted as an advocate instead of a judge. "He sets a poor example of the standards this mayor and council have established and want to sustain," the memo stated. But Nielsen said he's being targeted for dismissal because he stands up to developers and asks the city staff hard questions. "I think I've been particularly effective in this last year as a commissioner ... and I'm finding the planning commission more times than not agrees with what I'm doing," Nielsen said. That planning commission support "makes it difficult" to push certain types of development, Nielsen said. "And there's maybe some threat someone feels." As far as city recorder Beverly Sandblast can tell, the city council has never removed any commissioner from office. Usually, if a council doesn't like the performance of a commissioner, it waits until the person's term is up and then simply fails to reappoint. Nielsen, publisher of Contractors Job Finder and a math instructor at Rogue Community College, will finish up his planning commission term in eight months. A former council candidate, Nielsen also serves on the city's site plan and architectural commission, Jackson County's strategic planning commission and the Medford Urban Renewal appeals committee. Nielsen isn't the only one on the commission who casts a dissenting vote now and again, said Planning Commissioner Norm Nelson. "Dennis can be a pain in the neck and I think he knows that," Nelson said. "But he comes prepared for meetings and though it's not always in the same vein as the rest of us, that's why they need eight or nine commissioners -- to look at things thoroughly." Councilman Skip Knight said he's uncomfortable with the hearing on Nielsen. "It's almost like censorship," he said. "He has freedom of speech to say what he wants even if it's not in good taste." Nielsen said he's going to fight for his volunteer position. State law says he can only be removed for misconduct or non-performance of duty. He's never missed a meeting, so he knows they can't get him on that, he said. And even if the council officers' contentions were true, he said, none of them constitute the finding of "misconduct." He doesn't pre-judge the issues, he said. And although he may disagree with the city attorney, he doesn't believe that means he's ignoring the law. He's an advocate for only one thing, he said: good planning. "I live here in Medford and I have time to donate to the city," he said. "I'd like to see it be a nice place to live." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA