LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors this month appointed three new members to the Lake County Planning Commission and reappointed the remaining two commissioners.
The election of two new supervisors, Moke Simon for District 1 and Tina Scott for District 4, and the retirement of longtime District 5 Planning Commissioner Gil Schoux led to the changeover of a majority of the commission.
The commission advises the Board of Supervisors on land use decisions.
At the board's Jan. 10 meeting, Simon and Scott brought forward their suggested new commissioners, John Hess and Matt Levesque, respectively.
District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown also presented his new candidate, Daniel Suenram.
Joe Sullivan has served as District 1's planning commissioner for several years under Supervisor Jim Comstock, while Don Deuchar had represented District 4 for Supervisor Anthony Farrington.
Comstock and Farrington didn't seek reelection last year, and their successors then had the opportunity to choose new commissioners.
Hess is a retiree who lives in Hidden Valley Lake. He has been active in Valley fire recovery efforts.
Matt Levesque lives in Lakeport. He has worked as an educator, and is the former assistant principal at Clear Lake High School, according to his online resume.
Suenram is a vineyard owner and manager, and has been a Lake County Farm Bureau Board member since 2007. He's a third-generation Kelseyville resident.
Brown lauded Schoux, who announced his retirement late last year, for his years of service on the commission.
Schoux sat on the commission for 19 years, which Brown called “a big deal.”
Brown said that term of service is believed to be the longest by any planning commissioner in the state of California.
He said he had three good applicants to succeed Schoux. “It was tough,” he said of the selection process.
In separate votes, the board unanimously approved the appointments of Hess, Levesque and Suenram.
Board Chair Jeff Smith congratulated the new planning commissioners, and Simon thanked Sullivan for his service.
Lake County News left a message with the California County Planning Commissioners Association to attempt to confirm that Schoux was the longest-serving in California, but the organization did not respond.
The three new commissioners join District 2 Planning Commissioner Bob Malley, now the senior member of the group, and Eddie Crandell, the tribal chair of Robinson Rancheria, who Supervisor Jim Steele proposed for appointment to the District 3 seat, receiving the board's unanimous confirmation in September.
On Tuesday, Malley and Crandell were unanimously reappointed by the board.
The new commission had its first meeting on Thursday.
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