 |
|
|
July 2009 | |
|
|
Government Affairs Updates – July 2009 Save State Parks One of the Governor’s proposals for closing California’s $25 billion budget gap is to close approximately 80% of the State Parks. MCHA has rallied the Hospitality Industry to pressure local state legislators to save Parks because they are too important to our residents and our Industry. Our local State Parks are a big attraction for visitors – they are part of the scenic beauty of the area and many are intrinsic to the cultural tourism aspect of our Industry. Our industry is struggling to maintain visitor share during the economic downturn; it does not need the additional blow of losing State Parks!
The legislature’s Joint Budget Committee agreed to a plan to keep State Parks open by assessing a $15 per year fee on vehicle registrations, a plan first suggested by former Assemblymember John Laird in the last California budget crisis. The Governor recently vowed to veto any budget proposal that includes tax increases. Would the levy on vehicle licenses be something the Governor would veto? Only time will tell.
In the meantime, our local legislators have our message loud and clear: State Parks must stay open!
Will we have a water supply solution at last? The California Public Utilities Commission held two sets of ‘public participation hearings’ in Monterey and Seaside on July 13th and 14th. MCHA took this opportunity to reinforce with the PUC that the Hospitality Industry strongly supports the regional water supply plan and reinforce with the PUC that we have waited too long (three decades) for an adequate water supply!
The PUC is reviewing the Environmental Impact Report on California American Water’s proposed Coastal Water Project and its alternatives. One of the alternatives studied is the ‘regional water supply project’ proposed by an ad hoc group, now known as Water for Monterey County Coalition, organized by the PUC’s Division of Ratepayer Advocates. MCHA has examined all the plans and concluded that the regional plan is the most economical and also the most environmentally friendly. The regional plan is also the water supply plan that can most easily be accomplished. A regional planning Memorandum of Understanding was recently negotiated and signed by Marina Coast Water District, Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency and Monterey County Water Resources Agency; this MOU pledges the cooperation of the three governmental agencies in pursuit of the components of the regional plan, a necessary step for moving the plan forward.
Will we have a Regional Taxi Authority soon? MCHA has been working with various government agencies to advance the idea of regional taxi service. Two years ago MCHA became the only non-governmental entity to help finance a regional authority feasibility study conducted by the Transportation Agency for Monterey County. The study is complete and all the required legal documents are prepared and undergoing final legal review by counsels for the government entities that will cooperate in the formation of the regional authority. The plan, in brief is this: Monterey-Salinas Transit will act as the regional taxi authority; it already has the capability of performing vehicle inspections and driver checks. The Peninsula cities and the Airport District will join the regional authority and cede some taxi service-related fees to MST so the new responsibility is at no net cost to MST.
Within the next few months a regional taxi authority should be a reality and the Peninsula will realize better and less confusing taxi service. All the governmental jurisdictions have already agreed in concept to join the regional authority, so the adoption of final resolutions and ordinances should be just a formality. The result will be better and more efficient tax service and the elimination of confusion about what taxis can pick up or drop off where.
Hold the cake – the county’s General Plan Update is turning ten! The long and torturous process of updating Monterey County’s General Plan may finally be near an end. But several contentious issues are as yet unresolved.
The Environmental Impact Report on the 2007 version of the plan, nicknamed GPU5, insists on extremely onerous biological resource protections that pose a direct and serious threat to farming. Part of the protections would protect over 100 species of plants and animals that are not on the federal or state lists of threatened or endangered species so many groups, including MCHA and the Monterey County Farm Bureau, question the basis for the recommended protections. LandWatch Monterey County, the source of the very restrictive MCHA-opposed ‘community general plan’ initiative defeated two years ago, also wants extreme slope development restrictions that would jeopardize farming and wine grape cultivation.
Add to the controversy of these proposals the fact that Monterey County has its own funding deficit to deal with and little or no money left to devote to completing the general plan, and we have an interesting dilemma. The county says it cannot fund another round of pubic circulation of the plan, so even though it seems to agree that the restrictions are overboard it pleads that funding restrictions may prevent it from doing the right thing.
We should see the end of the update process this year but we may not like the result.
The Government Affairs Committee tracks issues critical to the near- and long-term viability and vitality of our businesses and our communities and works hard to assure policies implemented at the local level are consistent with that goal. Plan to attend a Government Affairs meeting and learn how you can be involved influencing issues of vital concern to our industry and business and community interests generally. Government Affairs meets the first Thursday of each month at 8:30 am at InterContinental The Clement on Cannery Row in Monterey. Once in a while the meeting is rescheduled to a different Thursday or different location to avoid conflicts, so contact Government Affairs Director Bob McKenzie (bobmac@qwestnet or 642-9809) or MCHA Executive Director Bonnie Adams (info@mcha.net or 626-8636) to be sure of the next meeting date and location (or check the MCHA website, where meeting notices and agendas are posted: http://www.mcha.net ).
|
|
©2009 MCHA • P.O. Box 223542 • Carmel, California 93922 • Phone 831-626-8636 • Fax 831-626-4269 • info@mcha.net | |
