Three new faces and a couple of familiar ones have joined the ranks of the Peninsula Community Planning Board (PCPB) following a March 19 election. The board members-elect said they want to address important community issues like airport noise, traffic problems along Rosecrans Street and updating the community’s land-use plan and other concerns. About 444 Peninsula voters elected the five candidates without issue, avoiding a potential run-off election. On Thursday, April 16, the board will seat the winners, elect a chair and assign committee chairs when it meets next at the Hervey/Point Loma/Branch library, 3701 Voltaire St., according to PCPB Chair Charles Mellor. The new and returning board members who captured more than 50 percent of the vote were: • Returning board member Doug Cohen: 277 votes (62.4 percent); • Newcomer Nancy Graham: 285 votes (64.2 percent); • Incumbent Helen Kinnaird: 287 votes (64.6 percent); • Newcomer Matthew Sanicki: 265 votes (59.7 percent); • Newcomer Chris Veum: 282 votes (63.5 percent); The top vote-getters outpaced the remaining candidates: Mary Gmitruk, an engineer; former board member Cal Jones; Steve Lombardi, an architect and former PCPB chair Geoff Page. Write-in candidates reportedly included former PCPB chair Cynthia Conger, former PCPB Airport Committee Chair Lance Murphy, former board member Jarvis Ross, resident Christy Schisler, and possibly others, according to Conger. Independent confirmation could not be made, however, because a representative of the League of Women Voters — which oversaw the election — was unavailable. The new members will serve a 3-year term. As a land-use advisory board to the city, the PCPB addresses issues such as airport noise, traffic and development and weigh in on the community’s land-use plan. The city has been in the process of updating several community plans, which act as a guideline for future development. “If the community plan is going to reflect a vision of the community, then the community is going to have to get involved,” Graham said. She said she will also suggest that the board improve its website to communicate with the public. Doug Cohen, who had been serving the PCPB as an appointed member, said he wants to help improve traffic along Rosecrans Street by working the “many different users,” including the Navy and the Rock Church. Rock Church patrons number in the thousands. While churchgoers have an effect on traffic patterns, Rock Church administrators have been responsive to the community, said Cohen, a self-employed developer. Cohen added that the board benefits from differences in opinion. “[We] want to make sure the discourse is professional and respectful,” Cohen said. “Balance means that people are able to talk through the disagreements.” Veum, an architect with city planning experience, said the proposed improvements to the San Diego International Airport will be one of the most debated topics for the board. “Any impact that [a proposed intermodal transit center] will have on the Peninsula community does raise some concerns for me,” Veum said. Sanicki is a chiropractor with a practice in Liberty Station. He said he wants to help improve business near the former Naval Training Center. A first-time board member, Sanicki said the new PCPB representation includes members from the development industry, as well as residents. He said he’s not “just another member of the development community” and represents the perspective of a resident and business owner. Longtime Peninsula resident Kinnaird garnered the most number of votes at 287 of the 444 ballots cast. Familiar with Peninsula community politics, Kinnaird said the board needed a balance of residential and business interests. It seems the majority of people agreed, she said. “The people came out and they voted and we won,” Kinnaird said, pointing to the new board’s diverse backgrounds. The PCPB meets on the third Thursday of the month at the library from 6:30 to 9 p.m.