Board OKs new planning commissioner

BY COLBY FRAZIER
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Nearly a month after being selected by Santa Barbara County Third District Supervisor Brooks Firestone to serve as that district’s planning commissioner, Charles “CJ” Jackson was given the nod of approval by the board at their weekly meeting yesterday.
Jackson’s appointment to the position was put on hold two weeks ago after board members raised concerns that Jackson’s former position as the executive director of the Santa Ynez Valley Concerned Citizens, a group that focuses on land-use issues in the valley, represented a conflict of interest and could make him biased in the role of commissioner.


But any concerns the board had prior to yesterday seemed to be a non issue, when the board approved Jackson with a unanimous vote.
Second District Supervisor Janet Wolf said after consulting with county counsel on Jackson’s conflicts of interest, she believed there weren’t any problems.
“I felt comfortable that it would be fine,” Wolf said. “[Jackson] will have to make those decisions on a case-by-case basis as they arrive.”
The Concerned Citizens group has historically focused on issues regarding the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, their Chumash Casino and Resort and local developers.
Jackson will replace David Smyser, who served as the district’s commissioner for just more than one year and resigned to devote more time to his law practice, according to a statement issued last month by the Third District office.
Jackson’s family owns The Alisal Guest Ranch and Resort in Solvang, which was founded by his grandfather Charles Pete Jackson, who bought the 10,000 acre cattle ranch in 1943.