Avoiding conflicts (of interest)

By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

POST FALLS — Post Falls is trying to take the ambiguity out of potential conflicts of interest.

The volunteer Planning and Zoning Commission has approved codes of ethics and conduct and an oath of office after a P&Z board member was criticized for representing a developer — the board member’s client — during a public hearing.

"Hopefully, these types of documents can give (the commission) a tool that helps them work through any issues that may come up," City Attorney Warren Wilson said.

Per standard procedure, in the earlier meeting, the commissioner had recused himself from the decision-making process on the request in which he'd represented the developer.

The documents are expected to be considered by the City Council in August for final approval. The documents would apply only to the planning commission initially.

"This is for the planning commission, but is consistent with the advice I give to council members when these issues arise," Wilson said. "Some of the items are not practical for elected officials, but others may well make sense for them to follow."

Wilson said he drafted similar documents when he worked for Coeur d’Alene at the request of a planning commissioner there.

"I like having these types of documents because they help focus attention on the seriousness of the role of commission members and give us something we can train to," he said.

Ryan Davis, planning commission chairman, said the goal is public confidence of the board to make impartial decisions and to be transparent.

"It is important to let the community know that we take this job seriously," he said. "We live, work and play in this community, so we understand that growth is inevitable but it needs to be managed as much as possible. We want to hold each other accountable and to be as transparent as possible."

One of the points of the draft Code of Ethics addresses cases such as the earlier meeting.

"If a member has recused themselves from participating in the decision-making process, they should avoid, to the extent possible, otherwise participating as a witness or otherwise in the hearing..." the draft document states. "If the member cannot avoid participating in the hearing the member will advise the planning commission attorney and the planning commission chair in advance so that steps can be taken to limit the appearance of impropriety."

The draft does not prohibit a commission member from testifying at a hearing if they've recused themselves from the decision-making process, Wilson said.

"It would require that they attempt to avoid the situation by having someone else testify or taking other steps if possible," Wilson said. "It would also require that they provide advance notice to staff and the planning commission chair so that we can try to take steps to minimize any appearance of impropriety."

Possible steps include changes to the scheduled time of the hearing, additional disclosures or asking the member to not participate in other matters being heard at the same hearing.

Other points in the code include, but are not limited to:

- avoid creating the appearance of impropriety by not engaging in private discussions with the applicant, their representatives or citizens about upcoming quasi-judicial items;

- avoid conveying the impression that they are in a position to influence the outcome of a planning commission decision and not attempt to use their office to influence or sway the staff recommendation;

- only consider information contained in the record during the hearing process; and

- not accept a gift, favor, service or anything else of value if it is given with the possibility it will influence a decision.

Wilson said the codes of ethics and conduct will be combined into one document and will be new to the commission as in internal feature.

"The only rules now are ethics rules that are contained in state code," he said.

Hilary Anderson, Coeur d'Alene's community planning director, said that city's planning commissioners are sworn in at their first meeting and receive a binder of codes that guide the board members along with documents related to their duty such as the comprehensive plan, zoning and subdivision codes and design guidelines. The oath and codes of conduct and ethics were implemented in 2009.

"The commission felt there was a need to adopt a code to help clarify for the public and for the commission what is expected of the members of the commission and to help both members of the commission and members of the public better understand the role of the commission and the ethical framework surrounding planning commission hearings," Anderson said. "The purpose of the codes and the oath of office is to clearly set out the ethical and other obligations of members of the planning commission."

David Callahan, the county's community development director, said the county does not utilize such documents for its planning commission because it does not perform project reviews.

"Everything they do is legislative in nature, and they merely recommend changes in legislative matters," Callahan said. "They never make a final decision. Consequently, it would be an exceptional circumstance for them to have a conflict of interest or ethical problem."