The State - News from Feb. 21, 1986

San Diego County builder and businessman Gilbert Contreras was appointed to seat on the California Coastal Commission formerly held by Marshall Grossman, Los Angeles lawyer and environmentalist. Grossman, whose second two-year term expired last year, had hoped for a third term. But instead, Senate President Pro Tem David Roberti appointed Contreras, whose candidacy was sponsored by Sen. Wadie P. Deddeh (D-Chula Vista). Ann Notthoff of the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco expressed displeasure at the change, saying it “weakens the environment’s support on the commission,” but Contreras dismissed fears that he might be biased in favor of real estate developers, saying there was a “place for development,” so long as it is “in harmony with the environment.”