SLO committee chair fired for being ‘rude and disrespectful.’ He’s running for City Council
The chair of San Luis Obispo’s Cultural Heritage Committee was fired Tuesday after City Council members said he was “rude and disrespectful” during the course of his tenure.
But James Papp said that he carried out the duties of his role assessing historic preservation, and the basis for his termination boiled down to four words he uttered in the course of discussion over an application to delist a historic building in the heart of downtown — “bizarre,” “nuts,” “dangerous,” and “shocking.”
The council voted 5-0 Tuesday to remove Papp, a local architectural historian.
In the wake of his removal, Papp announced that he’s running for a City Council seat in the November election.
Papp is part of the San Luis Architectural Preservation! group that filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the City Council over its review process regarding a 50-foot-tall mixed-use project near historic homes.
The lawsuit alleges the project was approved without proper California Environmental Quality Act review, among other civil charges.
Cultural Heritage Committee chair ‘rude and disrespectful’
Papp was appointed as Cultural Heritage Committee chair in March 2019 for a term expiring on April 1, 2023. The CHC oversees a broad range of educational and technical programming aimed at “preserving historical and cultural resources.”
Christianson said she observed multiple CHC meetings at which Papp was “rude and disrespectful” to staff and applicants, as well as the public in general.
“I appreciate Mr. Papp’s dedication, knowledge and commitment,” Christianson said. “His demeanor and actions were just not acceptable.”
Council member Andy Pease said that “we have never been concerned about the content of the actual vote or the content of what to bring up.”
“We value diversity of thought in all of our advisory bodies,” Pease said. “We want our local government to be approachable and inclusive. You can be an awesome participant and advocate in the process and not be on CHC. I hope we continue to hear from Dr. Papp.”
Papp was supported by more than 40 people who wrote to the council, arguing against the termination.
“I see no evidence to support a yes vote on Mr. Papp’s removal,” said John Grady, a San Luis Obispo resident. “I have witnessed Mr. Papp’s performance at CHC meetings, both when he’s served as a committee member as well as chair. I have been extremely impressed with his knowledge of the topics, his preparation, questioning, demeanor, and genuine passion for the duties he performs on this committee.”
But 16 people argued in favor of Papp’s removal from his position, including 10 from the development community.
“Mr. Papp is not a good or fair-minded representative for the city of SLO,” said community member Candice Wong, citing professional interactions with Papp. “He does not work in the best interests of the city. The only interests Mr. Papp represents are his own.”
Debate over downtown SLO property
Papp said his termination was tied to his review in April and May of an application to delist commercial buildings from the city’s Inventory of Historic Resources, which cited a historic evaluation by the applicant’s consultant that he called “bizarre,” “nuts,” “dangerous,” and “shocking.”
The property includes three commercial spaces located between 782 and 790 Higuera St., in the heart of downtown.
That stretch of the building, originally constructed in the 1800s, was purchased by the Davis family, a Central Valley farming family, in 2018 as part of a group of adjoining buildings on the corner of Higuera and Chorro streets.
Committee members serve at the pleasure of the council, and Papp said he believes his careful vetting of an application with potential redevelopment interest irked those who stand to benefit from little oversight of historical standards.
In a lengthy letter to the council, Papp said that a city staff report initially noted that two City Council members — CHC liaisons Pease and Christianson — met with him various times over 18 months to discuss his conduct.
Papp denied that multiple meetings occurred, and the city later withdrew that statement. Pease told The Tribune that informal meetings were held to address Papp’s treatment of others in committee meetings.
Papp added that he never attacked anyone personally.
Papp wrote that he didn’t attend Tuesday’s meeting because Pease “assured me of the certainty of the result, and the last time I was there with a complex, substantial, and I must say quite expensive appeal, council members had no questions but subjected me to ad hominem.”
“I will say of the CHC, I cannot recollect a single occasion where a member of the committee made a ad hominem attack,” Papp wrote, meaning that it was directed against him personally rather than the position he was maintaining.
Papp acknowledged that his participation in the San Luis Architectural Preservation! lawsuit against the city likely would have led to his termination, which the council could have opted to pursue without delving into issues of conduct.
“If the city wants to remove me from CHC with cause, fine,” Papp said. “If the city wants to remove me without cause, fine. But if the city wants to lie about a cause and defame my character, it is not fine.”
Run for City Council seat
Papp said that he will run for City Council, seeking one of the two seats currently occupied by Pease and Councilman Aaron Gomez.
Papp said he believes the current council has failed to properly guide the community on its response to the coronavirus pandemic. And he said he’d take proactive measures in regard to face masks to address COVID-19 concerns.
Papp also vowed to take steps to address a downtown business climate that he said is crippled with high rents and commercial vacancies.
In addition, Papp said he’d seek to better address affordable housing initiatives, adding the current council isn’t approving sensible developments that will lead to true cost effectiveness.
“Some people have called me anti-development,” Papp said. “I’m actually pro-development, but I’m for following community design guidelines and for affordable housing. It seems developers only want luxury housing because that’s what generates the most revenue for them.”
This story was originally published July 8, 2020 at 6:15 PM.
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