Ed Laird to step down from Planning Commission

Eron Ben-Yehuda

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Ed Laird said he will step down as a city planning

commissioner within the next few months to spend more time taking care of

his ailing wife.

Laird’s wife, Sandi, suffers from cancer that has spread to her bones

after starting in the breast eight years ago, he said.

His tenure as commissioner began last January, when City Councilwoman Pam

Julien appointed him. At the time, he said he would only serve a year.

One of his goals as commissioner was to reduce the rules and regulations

on approval of city projects. But the red tape proved difficult to cut,

he said.

“That’s going to take a lot longer than a year,” he said.

But he did gain respect for the city staff in the Planning Department, he

said.

“I wasn’t aware of the depth of the knowledge they had,” he said.

The 57-year-old Laird -- who owns several lucrative businesses, including

a local publication that employs Mayor Dave Garofalo -- will remain

active in his companies and in the community as a director on the board

of the Orange County Business Council and as president of the western

Orange County region of the American Cancer Society.

But finding a cure for his wife’s cancer will be his top priority, he

said.