Special Council Meeting Called to Discuss Planning Director's 'Personnel Matter'

The Half Moon Bay City Council will hold a special closed-session meeting tomorrow to discuss what City Manager Laura Snideman calls an "active personnel matter" regarding Planning Director Steve Flint, according to a notice posted on the city's website.

During the closed session, the council will also discuss the yet-to-be settled lawsuit with resident and plaintiff Jimmy Benjamin over the Kehoe Ditch, according to the notice.

Flint was allegedly asked by Snideman to submit a letter of resignation by 7 p.m. on Feb. 21, according to a report by the Half Moon Bay Review on Feb. 20. Though Flint, Snideman and councilmembers have not denied or confirmed this story, Flint's wife Kendall did say that her husband had entered into a "conversation" with the city where both parties were looking towards a "resolution," but that she was not at liberty to speak about the matter further.

The unexpected report of Flint's alleged call for resignation came a few months after a San Mateo County court was announced in November in favor of resident Jimmy Benjamin for a lawsuit filed against the city. Judge Julie Conger wrote a decision which agreed with the plaintiff's allegation that Half Moon Bay violated the California Coastal Act in 2009 when it cleared a drainage ditch of vegetation classified as endangered species habitat without obtaining a Coastal Development Permit first.

The Kehoe Ditch was cleared by the California Conservation Corps, an organization which was under contract to do the work for the City of Half Moon Bay's Public Works Department. Flint came under fire for not obtaining a Coastal Development Permit for the clearing of the ditch with power tools. Other sources have said that working under the direction of then-City Manager Michael Dolder, Flint was not directed to attend to the specifics of the matter by Dolder. 

Judge Conger's decision — which involved fining the city $1,000 a day for each day the violation of the California Coastal Act persisted — could translate into over $1 million in fines for Half Moon Bay.

According to The Half Moon Bay Review, the city still has an opportunity to settle the case with Benjamin since Conger's previous ruling was not final.

At the Feb. 21 Half Moon Bay City Council member, several members of the community and his work at the city.

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