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/'~ <br />OPINION # 71-1 <br />' OCTOBER 7 , 1971 <br />^, , <br />SUI3JI;CT: CONFLICT OF INTEREST OR INCOMPATIBILITY OI' CxTY OFFICER <br />R+ QULSTI;D BY:~ SANTA ANA CITY COUNCIL ~~~ <br />OPINION BY: JAMES A. WITMERS, CITY ATTORNEY <br />The I3onorable Vernon S. Evans, City Councilman, acting-for the <br />Council has requested an opinion on the following questi.onr: <br />concerning the propriety .of a City Planning Commissioner also <br />concurrently serving as an elected School Board member: <br />.~ <br />1. Doc3 the above referred to dual capacity of an individual of <br />itself create a continuing conflict of interest? <br />2. Is School Board membership and its duties and obligations <br />thereunder incompatible with city planning commission r.-ember- <br />ship and the duties and obligations thereunder? <br />., <br />TFIII CONCWSIONS ARE AS FOLLOtiJS: <br />Question 1. Answer: No. <br />The dual capacity i.c., school board and planning commission <br />,r-~ membership does not of an in itself create a conflict of interest <br />although conceivably such a conflict might arise from ti*-~e to <br />time in a limited number of instances only. <br />The only City Charter requirement of a planning commi®sioner is <br />that he be selected from the qualified electors of the city and <br />that he not hold any laid office or employment in the city govern- <br />ment. Santa F,na Charter Section 909. <br />N4ither the City's charter or its code provide any a~sigtance in <br />defining what a conflict of interest is, but S.A.M.C. ~cc. 2-105 <br />does refer to the term and admonishes a council member to disclose <br />any possible conflict where no clearly disqualifying conflict of <br />interest appears. <br />Government code sections 36JOO through 3705 were added by the <br />statutes of 1969. These sections deal primarily with the n~cESSity <br />of disclosing financial interests and of filing stattr~~enc:: as to <br />.political contributions. Obviously these sections do not assist <br />in answering the instance question, neither do government code <br />sections 1090, 1A91., 1091.1, 1091.5 and 1092 which deal. with <br />interest in contracts, etc. <br />The common law principle "conflict of interest" has traditionally <br />prohibited officials from acting in their official capacity when <br />conceivably they could ~inancia].].y benefit therefrom. Nothing <br />r <br />44 <br /> <br />