Ventura leaders say they are working quickly to fill two unexpected vacancies on a city committee after one member abruptly quit and another was dismissed for not living within city limits.

A February meeting of the five-member Ventura Design Review Committee was canceled because the group lacked a quorum of at least three members. The meeting, however, was made up in a special session later.

Ventura Mayor Christy Weir said Tuesday she anticipated replacements could be appointed by the City Council as early as April 7. "We need to fix this as soon as possible," Weir said.

Made up of architects, interior designers and landscape professionals, the all-volunteer committee reviews architectural and landscape plans for new projects. Its approval often is needed as proposals navigate through a city development-review process frequently criticized as too slow.

"People already are very frustrated about how long it takes to get to DRC," the mayor said, using the committee's acronym. "This is on our shoulders to get done."

John Stewart, a restaurant kitchen design consultant, resigned two weeks ago, ending five years of service. Ventura-based architect John Serrato, appointed in June, was removed in late February after city officials discovered his ranch house in the 11000 block of Foothill Road was outside city limits.

Stewart said he quit to "make a statement" over what he felt was an inappropriate decision by city planners to approve the replacement of 13 trash enclosures without DRC review at a condominium complex on Harbor Boulevard where he and his wife live.

The DRC has worked to enhance the aesthetic and environmental design of new development and renovation projects, he said, and the rubber-stamp approval of painted-cinder-block trash enclosures without covers flew in the face of those efforts.

"If the city is going to talk the talk about progressive design issues, than it needs to walk the walk," Stewart said.

City officials said proposals to replace trash enclosures have never gone to the DRC for approval, and Stewart instead should have complained to his homeowners association. Even if the issue had gone to the committee, Stewart would have had to abstain from the discussion.

Serrato, founder and president of JSA Architecture and Planning, also served on the city's Historical Preservation Committee, acting as a liaison between the two public panels. He was removed from both, City Clerk Mabi Plisky said.

Serrato erroneously listed his business address on his application and checked a box confirming he lived in the city, Plisky said.

Plisky said she investigated his residency after receiving an inquiry questioning his eligibility. She declined to say who turned him in.

Serrato said he was proud of his contribution and felt he was being made a scapegoat for a city error. He said he was up front about his home address when he interviewed last year with council members Weir, Neal Andrews and Bill Fulton.

He said he moved two years ago after nearly two decades of living in Ventura and still pays for city water service. He used his business address because his mailbox has been damaged several times, and he now receives his mail at his office, he said.

He learned of his removal from DRC Chairman Scott Boydstun, not city staff members, and his efforts to get an explanation from the staff were ignored for several days, he said. "The way the city handled it is totally unprofessional," he said. "They made me feel like what I did was a crime."

Weir said council members did not recall discussing Serrato's residency in his interview.

Andrews said he didn't know city residence was required — not all city appointments demand it — and he assumed candidates would have been appropriately checked by the City Clerk to reach the interview stage.

"We were not graceful in our handling of the situation," Weir said, explaining that Boydstun mistakenly was sent an e-mail and Serrato should have been notified by a council member or city official. She sent Serrato a personal letter Monday after he declined to meet or talk by phone, she said.

"I greatly respect John, and the city appreciates his service," she said. "I was surprised and very, very disappointed to learn he was not a resident."