REGION: Code conflict continues

Elected officials unite to keep 760 in North County

By GARY WARTH - Staff Writer | Tuesday, July 8, 2008 6:25 PM PDT ∞

Time and options are running out to keep North County's 760 area code.

County supervisors and members of the state Senate and Assembly have signed a joint letter asking the state Public Utilities Commission to reconsider its April decision to change North County's area code to 442, a decision they argue was made without the knowledge of many of their constituents.

The letter may be for naught. The deadline to appeal the switch ---- 30 days after the April 24 decision ---- passed without notice, and the elected representatives have no authority over the commission.

But there's hope: There is another rule that allows anybody to file a petition to modify a commission order, but that person must prove to have been directly affected by the decision and must give a reason for not participating in the original process. The petitioner also must provide evidence of any new or changed facts that have occurred since the decision.

The new area code is scheduled to begin in November on a voluntary basis and will become mandatory next May.

In the letter dated July 2 and directed to commission Chairman Michael Peevey, the elected officials said "many municipalities tell us they were caught off guard by the decision, and several chambers of commerce are currently being inundated by calls from business owners who will be financially impacted by the area code change,"

The letter was signed by state Sens. Dennis Hollingsworth and Mark Wyland; state Assembly representatives Kevin Jeffries, Mimi Walters, Martin Garrick and Joel Anderson; and county Supervisors Pam Slater-Price and Bill Horn.

The politicians themselves have been inundated by almost 4,000 e-mails from North County residents who responded to the Web site, www.keep760.org, said Leucadia resident Scott Chatfield, who launched the site about a month ago, saying he felt blindsided by the commission's decision.

"I'm delighted with this," Chatfield said about the success of his drive so far. "I'm feeling very energized by the speed and passion of everyone united on this issue."

Chatfield and others who oppose the change say they were unaware of the pending decision or the four hearings the commission held earlier this year. Of the four hearings, only one was held in North County. The commission made its decision after hearing comments from about 1,300 people.

In their letter, elected officials made note of the relatively few people who weighed in at the hearings.

"When you consider that the total number of comments received during the entire public comment period by the CPUC prior to this decision was only 1,300, this indicates that the public notification process was clearly inadequate," they wrote.

The commission's planned split will result in 1.9 million phone numbers keeping the 760 area code and 1.6 million numbers changing to 442.

Assemblyman Jeffries' chief of staff, Jeff Greene, said he is not hopeful the commission will reverse its decision after learning about the appeal process from an e-mail sent by Helen Mickiewicz of the commission's legal office. She did not see the protest as unusual or promising.

"I've been doing this area code stuff for 13 years," Mickiewicz wrote in the e-mail to Greene. "I have observed that members of the public pay absolutely no attention to the potential for an area code change until the CPUC has issued its decision and sent out a press release announcing the change. Then folks get up in arms and complain that they were not consulted, that they didn't know the facts, etc. This situation is not at all unique."

Greene said he has some sympathy for the commission because it did send out notices in phone bills to alert customers about the possible change. There also were media reports about the impending decision.

"I'm sure they're frustrated at their end in that they did everything by the book," he said.

While he still sees its notification process as insufficient, Greene said the commission does more than most agencies to get the word out to the public about its decisions.

As for what happens next, Greene said there may be some hope for a modification because a case can be made that new information has surfaced since the decision: Many people did not know until last week that the area code change also would affect mobile phones, he said.

"I'm interested to see if we get a response," he said about the letter. "I'm going to wait and see what happens."

The commission has not met since the letter was sent. Its next two meetings are Thursday and July 31.

Contact staff writer Gary Warth at (760) 740-5410 or gwarth@nctimes.com.

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