MontraFog . by Darin Boville . Jun 04, 2010
Jim Eggemeyer, the longtime county planning employee who became interim director of that department with the resignation of Lisa Grote this past January, has been chosen to lead the department on a permanent basis, according to sources.
Eggemeyer courted controversy earlier this year after taking control of the department by announcing, in an unagendized discussion at the Planning Commission, that he was allowing the Big Wave developers to complete their own environmental impact evaluation with the help of county staff. The outside, independent consultant originally hired to do the job was let go when, facing hundreds of detailed public comments opposed to the project, they refused to continue the work without additional pay.
In addition, Eggemeyer has refused to answer questions on the Big Wave project posed to him by Montara Fog and by other members of the public and has held no briefings to update the public on the secretive review process.
County staffers declined to confirm or deny news of the appointment but said that there would be an official announcement about the position next week.
On the county Planning Department web site the word "interim" has been removed from Eggemeyer's title. It now reads, "Jim Eggemeyer, Director."
