Rural voice proposed for SANDAG

By: DAVE DOWNEY - Staff Writer | Thursday, January 26, 2006 10:17 PM PST ∞

In an effort to address a complaint often raised by backcountry residents, a regional planning agency is proposing to expand its board membership to include an advocate for unincorporated communities such as Fallbrook and Ramona.

The 20-member board of the San Diego Association of Governments is scheduled today to consider a plan to increase the number of county supervisors on the panel from one to two, and select the second supervisor from a county district with unincorporated areas.

Traditionally, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors puts its chairman on the SANDAG board. When that person hails from one of three predominantly urban districts, there is effectively no rural voice on the planning board, which makes decisions on an array of regional matters, including transportation.

"Three years out of five, there is no real direct representation for the unincorporated areas," said association Chairman Mickey Cafagna, who is Poway's mayor. "It is an Achilles heel that needs to be repaired."

The lack of a voice on the association board has long been a criticism in unincorporated communities, which account for 16 percent of San Diego County's 3 million residents. County supervisors have pressed for a representation change for years.

Now, the regional agency is proposing to operate with two county supervisors on its board ---- one from a largely unincorporated district and one from the city.

Agency officials say the change would guarantee that rural areas always have an advocate on the board. Because the agency was cast into a regional governing body by a 2003 state law, new legislation would have to be passed in Sacramento to expand the board to 21 members. The expansion likely would take place in January 2007, when most new laws passed this year will take effect.

The board meets at 9 a.m. today at 401 B St. in San Diego.

Reaction from residents of unincorporated communities was generally positive Thursday.

"It seems like a positive step toward representing the people," said Patrick Uriell, former chairman of a Ramona-area planning group. "Most people in East County are painfully aware that the funding for transportation projects doesn't seem to be flowing in our direction."

Citing slow progress on a Highway 76 widening project between Interstates 5 and 15, Bonsall resident Jerry Walson said that rural advocacy on the urban-dominated planning board is long overdue.

"We need some kind of representation because, in the past, we have not had any," said Walson, president of Bonsall Area for a Rural Community. "That's why 76 has languished. We need an advocate."

Ramona activist Diane Conklin said the region needs someone who understands the many differences between urban and rural communities.

"There are almost two different counties in San Diego County," Conklin said. "We are a huge county. We are divided north-south by highways and east-west by topography."

However, Ramona resident Bill Jenkin said that having another county official on the association board won't give rural residents the voice they need. He said many residents already are unhappy about the way the county is planning for long-term growth in unincorporated areas, which is partly why his group, City of Ramona Now, is proposing to incorporate the community.

Conklin said that, "in the context of the times, the SANDAG plan may become a moot point for us."

Supervisor Bill Horn, a longtime advocate of putting a second supervisor on the association board, said that on the other hand, there are always going to be many unincorporated communities in the county, and they are going to need a representative who they played a part in electing. Supervisors from Districts 2 and 5 are elected in large part from unincorporated territory.

Under the regional agency's plan, there would always be a District 2 or District 5 county supervisor on the board.

"There would be no additional voting power," Cafagna said. "The two supervisors would split the county vote, just as the two San Diego board members do."

A couple years ago, board membership was expanded from 19 to 20, as the agency increased the number of San Diego city members from one to two. At the same time, the agency went to a weighted vote that reflects population. No matter how many supervisors sit on the board, the county will continue to possess 16 percent of the vote ---- based on the unincorporated areas' share of county population.

Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (760) 740-5442 or ddowney@nctimes.com. To comment, go to nctimes.com.

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