The Filbert Street resident, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco, is the newest member of the Half Moon Bay Planning Commission, a panel that spends the bulk of its time plunging into the complexities of land use law inside the Coastal Zone.
The City Council unanimously appointed Lansing to replace Don Heinz, who announced his decision in January to step down after six years on the commission.
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"I saw something I liked in every candidate, but Kevin would hit the ground running because of his experience on the ARC," Mayor Mike Ferreira said.
Lansing said his ARC experience was indeed an asset, as was his service on the steering committee of the city's Open Space Element, which will eventually become part of its General Plan.
"That experience was really valuable for learning about land use regulations and for understanding the wide variety of resources that may exist on any given parcel of land," Lansing wrote in an e-mail.
At the Feb. 3 meeting, Councilwoman Toni Taylor said she was a bit concerned about
"the balance of the commission," noting that Planning Commissioners Jack McCarthy and Lani Ream were already on the board of the Half Moon Bay Open Space Trust, making Lansing the third HOST board member on the commission.
But in January 2002, then-HOST board members McCarthy and George Carmen stepped down from the HOST board to maintain compliance with state laws prohibiting a majority of a California legislative body from meeting outside of a legislative session.
Since there are seven planning commissioners, no more than three commissioners could serve together on another board, but then-HOST president Ellen Koland said the decision was made to allow only two to serve "because of the political climate in which we are trying to work."
Ream and Heinz are currently the only HOST board members on the commission, and since Lansing is replacing Heinz, the number won't change.
Heinz said he made his decision because he was simply "tired" with commission work, and also because the panel had strayed in recent years from what had originally drawn his interest in local planning.
"There's not a lot of actual planning going on these days," he said. "I have wanted to focus on fewer houses and more economic development, but nobody wants to talk about economic development anymore."
In picking Lansing, the council had high praise for the other four candidates interested in serving the city: Taylor McCormick, Jim Henderson, Scott Frazier and Thomas Roman. They emphasized the need to find ways the four could serve the city in another capacity, particularly because Lansing's departure from the ARC leaves the already-depleted board even more strapped for board members. The council will deal with that matter at its Feb. 17 meeting.
Despite a heavy occupational workload, Lansing said he can handle the additional homework he was inheriting.
"I expect that something will change to accommodate the additional responsibilities," he said. "And that change is likely to involve less sleep and less free time."
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