The Seattle Planning Commission suspended its work yesterday because of potential conflicts of interest its members face under the city's ethics code, which was recently applied to the group.

Several commissioners said they would likely resign if they have to operate under the same rules as city employees, said Planning Commission Chairman Steve Sheehy, citing possible financial penalties and damaged reputations that members might suffer under the ethics code.

The commission is a 15-member panel that advises the mayor and City Council on development policies. Its unpaid members include architects, lawyers, consultants and property managers. Appointed by the mayor, commissioners usually labor in obscurity.

But a decision last month by the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission to put the Planning Commission and similar advisory groups under the city's ethics code has caused "major disruption," Sheehy said.

Under the rules, Sheehy said his colleagues would have to "disqualify themselves from over 90 percent of Planning Commission activity."

The rules prohibit planning commissioners — like city employees — from making decisions or working on matters from which they could financially benefit. Some planning commissioners are concerned, for instance, that they could violate ethics rules if they advocate a zoning change that might benefit their employer or a client.

Tom Eanes, an architect who works for nonprofit housing developers, said he would resign if the commission stays under the ethics code. Eanes said policies he has supported, such as reduced parking requirements for apartment buildings, could indirectly benefit his clients.

"If they insist on enforcing these rules, I don't think I have a choice," he said.

Though the issue came to a flashpoint yesterday after the city's top ethics watchdog explained the rules to planning commissioners, controversy has been brewing for months.

City Councilman Peter Steinbrueck, who chairs the council's development and planning committee, accused some commissioners of wielding improper influence by taking up Mayor Greg Nickels' proposal to allow taller buildings downtown.

He singled out commissioners Joe Quintana and Lyn Krizanich for criticism, saying they have helped formulate Planning Commission views on downtown zoning that appear to be a conflict of interest.

Quintana is a consultant who represents Clise Properties and Krizanich is a property manager for Clise. Steinbrueck contends that Clise Properties could reap financial benefits from the taller buildings allowed under the mayor's proposal. Clise is a major property owner that supports the proposal.

Quintana and Krizanich both recused themselves from the commission's June 23 decision to endorse Nickels' proposal. But they did take part in commission discussions concerning the zoning proposal.

Steinbrueck said both should have completely disqualified themselves from the matter. "It's not intellectual honesty to communicate a developers' point of view and then recuse yourself," he said.

Quintana, a former Seattle Times reporter, stressed that he had followed commission policy in recusing himself from voting. "I have a clear conscience," he said. "I abided by the [existing] rules as they were explained to me."

Sheehy confirmed that commissioners have been allowed to discuss, but not vote, on policies in which they might have a financial interest.

Krizanich is on vacation and could not be reached, according to Planning Commission staff director Barbara Wilson.

Bob Young: 206-464-2174 or byoung@seattletimes.com