Campbell to revise Crystal Cove bill

Paul Clinton

CRYSTAL COVE -- Assemblyman John Campbell has revised his funding bill

for the cove in an attempt to win support from his Democratic colleagues.

Campbell, who represents Newport Beach, said he has reworked an idea

he first proposed last year that would allow residents of the El Morro

trailer park to stay past December 2004, when their leases on the

state-owned land expire.

In a bill he said he would introduce in the next two weeks, Campbell

will propose extending the leases for five years to raise money to

restore the 46 beachfront cottages at Crystal Cove State Park.

The bill would uncap the El Morro rents, immediately sending them

rocketing to a market rate. Right now, rents range from $500 to $1,000

per month.

Earlier, Campbell proposed a 10-year extension and a doubling of the

rents. However, that proposal was roundly rejected by State Parks

Director Rusty Areias and local environmentalists.

Areias and other parks officials have said an extension would

needlessly lock the public out of El Morro.

“There’s been a lot of opposition to this,” Campbell acknowledged.

“[The revamped plan] is a concession to say ‘I understand that, I share

your desire to get it to public use.”’

Campbell said his rollback of the extension was also a response to

news that an additional $2.8 million would be available from the

California Coastal Commission for the restoration of the cottages.

State Parks spokesman Roy Stearns reiterated the department’s

continued opposition to Campbell’s idea, when told about the changes. The

state plans to transform the trailer park into a public campground after

removing the renters.

“Our desire is to go ahead with El Morro to meet the high demand for

coastal camping,” Stearns said. “I don’t think we want to extend their

time there. We’re not interested.”

The Crystal Cove bill is one of about 20 ideas Campbell is kicking

around for possible legislation during the current session, which began

in early January. All proposals must be submitted to the legislative

counsel’s office by Feb. 22 so they can be assigned a bill number.

Campbell said he will also coauthor a bill with Assemblyman Tom

Harman, a Republican who represents Huntington Beach, and two other

Orange County legislators that would give the Orange County Sanitation

District the ability to treat urban runoff at the agency’s Fountain

Valley sewage treatment plant.

The bill is similar to Assembly Bill 810, which Campbell successfully

passed in 2001 to give the Irvine Ranch Water District the ability to

install wetlands along San Diego Creek to filter runoff headed into Upper

Newport Bay.

Runoff hasn’t been dealt with, Campbell said, because too many cities

and other local agencies currently have jurisdiction there.

“Part of the problem with the runoff is the Balkanization of the

watershed,” Campbell said. “Nobody has the authority and responsibility

to take care of the problem.”

A Certified Public Accountant, Campbell is also expected to introduce

several tax reform bills. His Assembly Bill 1743, introduced Jan. 7,

would put the state’s rules about retirement accounts in line with

federal laws, increasing contribution levels and reducing taxes on 401k

rollovers.

Campbell also said he hopes to institute a “postcard” state tax

return, where residents fill out minimal paperwork and base their income

tax on their federal return.

Campbell also said he hopes to turn out a state law prohibiting school

children from carrying cell phones and pagers to their schools.