Riley Urges O.C. to Rejoin SCAG to Strengthen Clout : Government: Supervisor says county may lose voice on regional matters if it stays out of planning body.

Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, worried that Orange County may be losing its voice on matters that affect Southern California, urged his colleagues Monday to end their holdout and rejoin a powerful regional planning organization.

The proposal to rejoin the Southern California Assn. of Governments (SCAG) drew quick praise from some county officials, including Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder, a longtime advocate of regional planning on such issues as transportation and air and water quality.

Riley also proposed that the county form a special task force on regional issues and that it re-establish its membership with Southern California Regional Airport Authority.

In recent years, the county had severed its ties with SCAG and the airport authority by refusing to pay its dues, a move that reflected local frustration with the organizations. Some Orange County officials see the groups as dominated by Los Angeles representatives and biased in favor of that area.

Riley’s suggestions come at a time when county officials are wrestling with their place in regional affairs and the state Legislature is debating new proposals for strengthening regional planning organizations. They also reflect the growing concern among local officials that by attempting to go its own way, Orange County may be inviting trouble and courting an image as a bad neighbor.

“If we do not join,” Riley wrote in a letter to his colleagues on the board, “others may waste valuable time and scarce public resources pursuing blind alleys such as the potential of a joint-use, commercial airport at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.”

Riley has long opposed the idea of using the Marine base as a commercial airport. But the regional airport authority, which has no Orange County representation at the moment, had threatened to allow a local group supporting the El Toro proposal to join, a move that irritated Riley.

“Clearly, now is the time to carve out a forceful, significant role for the county of Orange on regional issues,” Riley wrote. “Although we have been looking at these issues in an ad hoc fashion in a number of forums, I believe now is the time for the county of Orange to accelerate its activities in terms of regional issues and regional government.”

Orange County stopped paying its annual dues of about $35,000 to SCAG in 1989, after the association and the local government disagreed about statistics being used to project growth in the county. Wieder, the county’s representative to SCAG, was allowed to continue attending meetings and participating in discussions, but beginning this spring, her right to vote was taken away.

SCAG, a six-county agency with a staff of about 95 people, prepares regional transportation, housing and air quality plans for most of Southern California. It also identifies likely sites for airports, rail lines and waste facilities.

While the agency’s authority is limited, it does have some important powers: Freeway and rail projects that are not included in SCAG’s plans, for instance, cannot qualify for federal highway funds. And as a result, its endorsement of certain projects is seen as important to their success.

Wieder--a stalwart believer in the need for better regional planning and a founder of a group known as Partnership 2010, aimed at bringing together local business and government leaders to address county and regional issues--has long urged her colleagues to rejoin SCAG. She heartily endorsed Riley’s recommendations.

“It’s important to serve our constituents that we be part of this organization,” Wieder said.

“I’m really pleased that my colleagues recognize the value of being part of a regional group. We cannot be parochial,” she said. “If you want to change things, you’ve got to be part of it. You can’t sit on the outside and be recalcitrant.”

Riley’s suggestions also were welcomed by representatives of SCAG.

Gil Smith, director of government and public affairs for SCAG said Riley’s proposal “says to us that the county and the supervisors are aware of the efforts to resolve our differences and that they see the need for Orange County to be involved in issues that cross county borders.”

Board of Supervisors Chairman Gaddi H. Vasquez said he had not had time to study Riley’s letter in detail but supports the idea of revisiting Orange County’s participation in the regional group.

“There’s a growing recognition that there is going to be some form of regionalism coming out of Sacramento, and we want to be in place to be part of that,” Vasquez said.

Irwin Fried, the mayor pro tem of Yorba Linda and a member of SCAG’s executive board, agreed.

State legislators are considering several different suggestions to give more authority to regional organizations such as SCAG over managing growth, regulating air quality and overseeing an array of other issues, Fried said.

And he said: “If Orange County is going to get its fair share of money as it regards transportation, it’s got to be an active member of SCAG.”

As an example of SCAG’s influence, Fried cited the association’s support for three proposed Orange County tollways. SCAG’s backing helped the county win state and federal support for the projects, Fried said, and he added that the county cannot afford to risk losing that support on future issues.

Riley’s proposal will be considered by the supervisors at their Nov. 5 meeting. If they approve, the county would pay roughly $17,500 to rejoin SCAG for six months.

At the end of that time, the supervisors would weigh the effectiveness of the organization and decide whether to keep on participating.