On January 14, 1988, the newly formed Santa Clarita City Council voted to establish a City Planning Commission, further building the local government infrastructure the community still relies on today.

At the time, the City Council was made up of five members who served from the city’s incorporation on December 15, 1987, until April 1990, according to SCVHistory.

The format of Santa Clarita having five council members still holds up to this day.

Those original five members were Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, Janice H. Heidt, Dennis Kootz, Jo Anne Darcy and Carl Boyer III.

City Manager/City Clerk Fred Bien and the City Attorney presented and explained the Planning Commission under the Ordinance No. 88-2 to the members present at the City Council meeting, held at William S. Hart High School.

Council members initially considered a proposal for the commission to meet on the first and third Wednesdays of each month, but that motion was denied.

The council also unanimously approved compensation of $35 per meeting for Planning Commission members, provided the total did not exceed $70 in any given month.

In a related motion, Darcy and Boyer proposed a fixed compensation of $50 per meeting, with a maximum of $200 per month.

Following the vote, each council member appointed one commissioner to form the city’s first five-member Planning Commission. Mayor Howard P. “Buck” McKeon appointed Rita Garasi, a community advocate who had led a successful campaign for a tax measure requiring developers to fund school construction.

Councilman Carl Boyer named Louis E. Brathwaite, a federal property administrator, former William S. Hart Union High School District board member and participant in the cityhood formation committee.

Councilman Dennis Kootz selected longtime Santa Clarita activist Connie Worden, vice chair and spokeswoman for the formation committee.

Councilwoman Jo Anne Darcy appointed Jeannette Sharar, a real estate agency president recognized for her leadership in local oak tree preservation efforts and her service on the Los Angeles County Planning Advisory Committee for the Santa Clarita Valley.

Councilwoman Janice Heidt chose Patrick Modugno, vice president of the Conrad Hilton Foundation and a former San Fernando city councilman.

The appointments were set to take effect on March 10, 1988, with the City Council planning to hire a city planning director in early April.

Santa Clarita residents who wish to learn more about the Jan. 14, 1988, Santa Clarita City Council meeting can read the minutes on SCVHistory.

To read yesterday’s Today in SCV History, click HERE.

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