Three of Solvang’s five planning commissioners volunteered to recuse themselves from a recent rezoning decision due to conflicts of interest, but an artificial intelligence app spared one of them from the chopping block.
Rather than draw straws or names from a hat, as Planning Commissioner Aaron Petersen suggested, Solvang’s staff used ChatGPT to randomly select who of the three conflicted commissioners would stay seated at a March 4 hearing on two undeveloped sites the city was eyeing for state-mandated housing.
While commissioners Jack Williams, Joannie Jamieson, and Scott Gold each reside within 1,000 feet of at least one of the sites and requested recusals, Williams—chosen by ChatGPT—withdrew his request, as a minimum of three votes were needed for any motion on the item.
Although there are currently no development proposals in place for either of the two Solvang parcels in question, staff selected the sites for rezoning in order to accommodate the city’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) and comply with state law, Assistant Planner Lisa Scherman explained at the March 4 meeting.
Scherman said that Solvang’s total RHNA for the 2023-31 planning period includes 94 units dedicated to lower income housing, which the city hasn’t met.
“There are 48 lower income units identified, which means a shortfall of 46 lower income units,” Scherman said. “This is the reason the rezones are needed.”
To catch up with RHNA standards, staff recommended that the Planning Commission endorse rezoning one vacant parcel on Viborg Road from low-density single family residential to high-density residential and another in the Alisal Commons from recreational to high-density residential.
The proposal will move forward to the Solvang City Council for its final approval, but without a recommendation from the Planning Commission. The commission couldn’t reach a unanimous decision (with two commissioners recused, a 3-0 vote was required). Commissioners Williams and Petersen voted in favor of recommending the rezoning, while Commissioner Kief Adler dissented.
“In this case, what really annoys the hell out of me … is the fact that the state is mandating this,” Adler said. “I feel like we are a rubber stamp for the Planning Department. … Whatever the three of us decide tonight is really meaningless.”
While referring to the Alisal Commons parcel, currently zoned recreational, Adler said it would be a shame for there to be apartment buildings on land intended for parks or open space.
“The City Council is going to have the vote whether we give it our blessing or whether we say no,” Adler added. “With that said, I’m a no vote.”
This article appears in Mar 7-17, 2024.
