SIMI VALLEY : Planning Panel Chairman to Quit

Simi Valley Planning Commission Chairman Bob Barrett will resign from the panel effective this week, officials said Monday night.

Councilman Michael Piper, who recently reappointed Barrett to the five-member commission, said Barrett informed him that he had sold his house and is planning to move out of the city.

Barrett, whose resignation takes effect Thursday, could not be reached for comment.

“It’s going to be a loss for all of us, not only on the commission but in the community because, as everyone knows, Mr. Barrett has lived in the city since he was a child,” Piper said. Barrett has been on the commission since 1986.

Piper said he will work with planning staff to review names of potential successors. He said the council received several applications for the commission in early January, when it made two appointments to the panel, including Barrett’s reappointment.