2006-11-01 tcouncil - Laserfiche WebLink

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SIRACUSA:Thank you. I stand corrected. GRAHAM:Well, Im not correcting, but just hold off a few minutes if you would. Thank you. Any other questions for Mr. Ashida? Thank you very much. Okay, anyone else wishes to testify on this at this time? Mr. Torigoe, how would you suggest we proceed at this point? TORIGOE:Well, I did provide you with a short memorandum. Its just kind of a basic opinion in response to the issues that were raised. And I think its very good that Mr. Iwashita raised those issues at this point in time early in the process because I think it allows us at this point to actually remedy any problems that might arise from the kind of language that was put in the resolution. I did the memorandum as an attorney-client privilege document mainly because I want us to basically start with that assumption. Whenever you ask me for a particularopinion,youshouldalwaysstartwiththeideathatyouhavetheabilitytohave confidential attorney-client privilege communications with me should that be appropriate. But if you feel that you would want to just open this up on the record and have a discussion on the record, that is your prerogative also. In this particular case, obviously, if its a matter of our discussing a contested case hearing matter that, and youre asking me to discuss the relative merits of positions that you may take and possible weaknesses of positions that you may take, you dont want to do that on the record. Because if I have to defend your decision later, then thats going to be used against you. In a case like this where were dealing with a procedural question that doesnt really pertain to a substantive decision that youre going to make, if you would prefer to discuss this on the record, I have no big problem with that in this case. So Ill leave it up to you. You can call for an executive session, we can talk about it more on the record or off the record, or if youre satisfied with whatever Ive written, then you can just proceed on that basis also. GRAHAM:All right, thank you. I personally have not read this closely. But are you suggesting that there is some kind of remedial action we can take as we begin our deliberations that would sort of more clearly pave the way for us without the legal cloud that Commissioner Iwashita is worried about? TORIGOE:I think at this point since, again, its early in the process, basically you can look at what, take what Mr. Ashida has communicated to you, that basically the process that he observed at the County Council was not meant to really change the timeframes but it was really meant to simply request that the matter be expedited if possible, and looking, and also based on what Ive told you, I think you can basically ignore the attempt by the Council to shorten the timeframes that you have to work with. And that would also apply to the Planning Director, that if the Planning Director feels at this point in time that he needs to take more time up to the 120 days that the General Plan allows him, I think that we could allow him to do that. However if on the record he says that, no, hes satisfied that he has had enough time and hes happy, you know, to send either recommendation at this point, then you can run with that; and you as the Commission, I think if you feel that you are ready to do your recommendation today thats fine, you can do that. But if you feel that you need to take the full 60 days after you receive the Planning Directors recommendation, I think you should feel free to do that as well. So that I think would be remedial in that we would basically be saying at the very start of our process that 5EXHIBIT B