An updated General Plan and a revamp of city commissions await action by the City Council

Key decisions regarding Yorba Linda's updated General Plan and completing a controversial overhaul of the city's commissions and advisory committees await action by the City Council.

The city's revision of the state-required General Plan – often called a constitution for land-use decisions at the local level – is close to completion, with a citizens advisory committee scheduled to finish work next month.

The committee, with two members from each of the city's four commissions and five at-large members plus alternates, has met since June 2012. The plan was first adopted in 1971 and updated in 1993.

A plan must include seven elements: land use, circulation, housing, conservation, open space, noise and safety. Optional are urban design, economic and fiscal development, capital improvements, public facilities, air quality, energy, flood management, geothermal resources and water

The process, guided by city-hired consultants, allows cities to create a plan reflecting a city's unique needs. The Planning Commission will review the document before making a recommendation to the council.

Also proceeding is council's 4-1 decision to align appointments to commissions and committees with council elections cycles and hold interviews to fill 29 positions, including some that had terms scheduled to run through 2017.

First appointments, for the Planning Commission, came Jan. 17 and included replacing two members. Karalee Watson, a six-year resident who has served three years, received unanimous council support to continue.

Also reappointed, with four votes each, were 29-year resident and seven-year member Robert Lyons and 35-year resident and one-year member Robert Pease. Dropped were 31-year resident and four-year member Jim Nebel and 21-year resident and seven-year member James Wohlt.

New appointees are 37-year resident J. Minton Brown, with four votes, and 33-year resident Dan Mole, with three votes. Nebel received two votes and Wohlt one vote.

Brown ran in the October recall election as a replacement for Craig Young, although Brown opposed the recall. Young kept his seat, but Brown beat Nancy Rikel, who fought for Young's recall, by 97 votes. Mole chairs the Yorba Linda Water District's citizens advisory committee.

One interesting aspect of the vote, especially for residents who follow the permutations of local politics, was Councilman Mark Schwing's vote for Jan Horton, one of 18 applicants for the posi-tions (two withdrew before interviews) and a council member 2006-2010.

Schwing opposed Horton's re-election bid in 2010, which she lost. Horton opposed Schwing in his 2008 and 2012 wins, and she's been a strong critic of Schwing and former council members Rikel and John Anderson.

Interviews for 15 Parks and Recreation, Traffic and Library commissions seats and nine land-scape committee slots are upcoming. General Plan committee members will continue until their final report in March.