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MONTEREY PENINSULA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT BOARD

From the Monterey County Herald
Serving Monterey County and the Salinas Valley

Posted on Sun, Mar. 28, 2004

Revamped water bill met with criticism

McPherson legislation would put mayors in charge of district

By JONATHAN SEGAL
jsegal@montereyherald.com

State Sen. Bruce McPherson is about to bring back a proposal to replace the Peninsula's elected water board with a panel of mayors and to strip local residents of their right to vote on new water projects.

Plans for a new version of McPherson's water legislation have surfaced in a draft summary of the legislation prepared by prominent development attorney and lobbyist Jeff Gilles. Gilles, representing a consortium of hospitality, development, business and affordable housing interests, is aiding McPherson in developing the bill.

A similar McPherson bill passed the Senate last year but died in an Assembly committee, reportedly blocked by Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz.

McPherson, R-Santa Cruz, said Friday he plans to introduce the bill Tuesday after it is formally drafted by his office's legislative counsel.

Some local officials expressed annoyance that they haven't been included in the early stages of the bill's development.

"It should come from the people down here at the local area instead of Sacramento," said Alvin Edwards, chairman of the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District board. "People are going to get tired of this."

McPherson said the proposed changes to the district's governance are meant to increase the chances of developing a local water project, such as a desalination plant. He said that putting mayors in charge of the district and changing the project approval process would make it easier to get a project completed.

The district is now governed by a board of directors. Five members are elected to represent specific portions of the district. One member is appointed by mayors of the Peninsula cities and the seventh is appointed by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors.

In the past, the water district has been criticized for preventing growth by starving the Peninsula of water.

"Basically, we're not proposing to dissolve the district, but to keep the district and its staff, and phase in a new type of board of directors," said McPherson. "They would be more concerned about realistic water needs of the Peninsula, in comparison to land use."

But Edwards said the district's new board of directors, elected in November, is likely to get a new water project completed. The previous board was dominated by an environmentalist bloc.

"I think the board that we have now is going to try to get the cities the water they need," said Edwards.

The legislative language in a memo Gilles sent to at least two mayors calls for replacing each board member with a mayor when the board member's term expires, phasing in a new water board over several years.

Importantly, Gilles and McPherson said, the proposal leaves the district in place, assuring that the staff's knowledge of area water-use patterns and conservation policies will remain intact.

The second provision of Gilles' draft would change state rules that required any Peninsula water project to go to the ballot box for voter approval. The draft would require water projects to be subject to a public hearing, not a vote.

Voters still would have to approve any bond issue to build a project, although approval of the bonds would not necessarily have to be tied to a specific project.

"The voters will always have the right to overturn anything," said Gilles.

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Jonathan Segal can be reached t 646-4345