Veteran planner tapped for commission

Councilman Joe Shaw has appointed a longtime Huntington Beach resident to the Planning Commission to serve in place of Blair Farley, who recently resigned his post.

Shaw appointed Robert Franklin after interviewing a few candidates for the job.

“He believes in clean water, clean air, open space,” Shaw said. “Those are the kind of things that are important to me and important to him.”

Franklin spent his 30-year career as a planner for Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley, and began as an intern in Costa Mesa, according to the resume he provided to Shaw and the city.

He still does planning consulting and also serves as senior operations manager of Clean Green Technology, according to the resume.

“It’s beautiful that he has this wonderful planning career behind him and he wants to serve,” Shaw said. “I think he’s going to be a great asset.”

Shaw said he interviewed about four people for the job but knew right away that Franklin was the right one after meeting with him.

Franklin’s appointment will be announced at the next City Council meeting, which is scheduled Sept. 17.

—Mona Shadia

Twitter: @MonaShadia