Board Majority Favors Rejoining Planning Organization SCAG

SANTA ANA —  A majority of the five county supervisors say they will support a proposal to rejoin the Southern California Assn. of Governments, a powerful regional planning organization that Orange County left in 1989.

The suggestion to rejoin the group and begin paying dues again came from Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, who asked the board to take that step in order to ensure that the county does not lose its voice on regional issues such as transportation, air quality and growth management. Riley made the suggestion in a letter distributed Monday, and he has picked up key support from at least two of his colleagues.

Supervisor Don R. Roth “thinks this is a good strategy, a good approach,” said Dan C. Wooldridge, an aide to Roth. “At some point in time, we can’t just be throwing rocks from the outside. We’ve got to roll up our sleeves and do the work.”

Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder also enthusiastically supports the move, virtually assuring that it will be approved when the board takes it up next week.

If so, that would mark the end of a 2 1/2-year holdout by the county supervisors, who have refused to pay their dues to the organization and as a result have lost their right to vote on matters that it considers. The break with SCAG came in 1989, after the regional planning association produced growth estimates that Orange County disputed.

Although it has limited authority and cannot overrule local government decisions regarding growth, SCAG is an influential organization and can steer grant money. Rail and highway projects, for instance, cannot receive federal highway funds without SCAG’s approval.

Moreover, the state Legislature is considering an array of proposals for strengthening regional government, and some county leaders are concerned that if Orange County refuses to rejoin SCAG, it could find itself losing control of its own affairs.

“We owe it to ourselves to participate,” Wieder said after receiving Riley’s letter. “I don’t think we can afford not to.”

Supervisor Roger R. Stanton said he had not had time to make a final decision on Riley’s proposal, but added, “I’m very open to the logic.” Board of Supervisors Chairman Gaddi H. Vasquez said he too is “favorably inclined to support it.”

Riley said he was grateful to hear that a majority of his colleagues support his suggestion and predicted that it would win approval on Tuesday, when the supervisors cast their votes. If they approve Riley’s recommendation, Orange County would rejoin SCAG, as well as the Southern California Regional Airport Authority, on Jan. 1.

“I think it’s time we did this,” Riley said. “We have to get in and be a participant to fix these damn problems.”

The memberships would be for six months, during which time the county will study its role in the organizations and determine whether it wants to remain a part of them.