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Home My WebLink AboutN.B. 2 APPT SCAQMD 03-02-92FEBRUARY 26, 1992 NEW BUSINESS N0. 2 3-2-92 HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL WILLIAM A. HUSTON, CITY MANAGER APPOINTMENT TO SOUTH COAST AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT BOARD Councilmember Prescott requested that the City Council consider the Tustin Chamber of Commerce's position that Yorba Linda City Councilmember Hank Wedaa should not be reappointed to the South Coast Air Quality Management Board (SCAQMD).' Attached are letters from the Chamber of Commerce and Mr. Jack Dutton of Anaheim regarding the SCAQMD City representative. WAH Attachments q I f February 12, 1992 City Council City of Tustin 15222 Del Amo Tustin, CA 92680 Dear Council Members: The Board of Directors of the Tustin Chamber of Commerce respectfully request that the Tustin City Council oppose the reappointment of Henry W. Wedaa as the Orange County cities representative to the South Coast Air Quality Management District Board of Directors. We believe that it is time for a change on that Board. The Orange County Business Community is deeply concerned about the destructive direction taken by the SCAQMD and believe that changes must be made to stop driving industry and jobs from our cities. The recent reports in the Orange County Register and from the Southern California Edison Co. uphold these beliefs. The Council's concurrence to replace Henry Wedaa is respectfully recommended and we would ask that you agendize this item for discussion and a vote, before the League of Cities again addresses this issue. Sincerely, Ang' q✓lea dashian President . i Enclosure: Wedaa 399 El Camino Real, Tustin, California 92080 (714) 544-5341 `2ieavy-I _.nd^d Wedaa oday might be a good time to pick up the phone and offer your city hall some advice. This evening, the Orange Coun- ty League of Cities, composed of representa- tives from all city councils in the county, will decide- whether to take a stand against the jackboot policies of the South Coast Air Quality Management District. At issue is whether Yorba Linda Council- man Hank Wedaa, who has endorsed just about all the- AQMD's iron -fisted mandates, should be retained as the representative of Orange County's cities on the AQMD board. He narrowly escaped the boot at a meeting of the league last month, but his allies have introduced a resolution that would scotch any further efforts to unseat him: If he wins, it's a loss for a balanced, com- mon-sense approach to environmentalism. Of course cleaner air is a crucial goal — but do we need to suffocate the economy, and create a bureaucratic dictatorship, in order to get there? You might have read about Mr. Wedaa's new interest in cost -benefit issues, but a conversion under fire invites skepti- cism. Especially when a slew of commands are still in place that threaten to play Dr. Kevorkian to the business climate. One example is Regulation XV, which compels larger businesses and government entities to devise commuting plans for their workers — an effort to force people into car- pools no matter how impractical the ar- rangement might be. Often, the process for complying is straight out of Kafka. The City of Costa Mesa, for instance, invested thou- sands of dollars and hundreds of hours of staff time in writing and rewriting a com- muting plan for its employees. Se�,eral ef- forts were rejected, with only cryptic expla- nations, before a plan was finally pro- nounced "acceptable." Along the way, the city was hit with a "Violation Notice" last year citing a $25,000 -per day fine retroactive to 1988, and possible imprisonment of the city manager. The AQMD, you see, plays for keeps. Indeed, a rule approved last month lets employees appeal their companies' com- muter plans directly to the AQMD. That makes the agency a super -personnel board for thousands of businesses across the re- gion. Big Brother strutting his stuff, you might say. A report in December by an industry -labor alliance, the Southern California Coalition for Jobs and a Clean Environment, asked area business owners if they "knew of, or expect any companies, including their own, to curtail operations, or not expand ... expli- citly because of the impact of air quality regulations over the next decade." Of the 387 respondents, 99 said "yes." Showing Hank Wedaa the door would be an articulate way to shake up the board, and shout, "Enough!" r1ir c%tt�r�crfl �Ct �ertd 1400 Sur:kist Ave-:ue Anaheim California 92806 (714) 772-3970 February 19, 1992 Charles Puckett City of Tustin 15222 Del Amo Avenue Tustin, CA 92680 Dear Mayor Puckett and Council Members, i« FEB 2 41992 t You will soon be voting again to name Orange County's city representative on the South Coast Air Quality Management Board. The two candidates are the present incumbent, Hank Wedaa of Yorba Linda and Peter Buffa of Costa Mesa. I'm writing to urge you to vote for Peter Buffa and to give you my reasons. From February, 1981 to February 1990 I was on the District Hearing Board. I was appointed by then SCAQMD Board member, Don Roth, and many of you will remember me as former member, also Mayor, of the Anaheim City Council. A lot of Orange County's progress has had my name on it, not the least of which has been Anaheim Stadium. I feel I was a strong and fair member of the Hearing Board and, being a businessman, I never lost sight of the fact that jobs had to be considered when rules were being applied and fines levied. My record will show, however, that clean air was my continuing goal. When I did give recognition to the plight of business, I came under severe pressure from the professional environmentalists and, as is easy to understand, became one of their key targets. While I was on the Hearing Board as a public member, the District Board appointed an alternate for me, Mark Abramowitz, the Program Director of the Coalition for Clean Air, headquartered in Venice, California. And, even while serving as an alternate member of the Hearing Board, Mr. Abramowitz still represented the Coalition for Clean Air in appearances before the District Board and the Hearing Board. My term was coming up for renewal in February, 1990 and the Executive Office of the SCAQMD asked me if I would like to be on the Hearing Board again. When I said I would, I was asked if I would be willing to step aside for one-third of my time and give that time to Mr. Abramowitz. I chose not to yield to that request nor, at the request of the Executive Office, to ask another member of the hearing Board to yield a similar amount of time to Mr. Abramowitz. When the day of the reappointment came, the South Coast Air Quality Management District Board voted to replace me, an Orange County businessman, with Mark Abramowitz of a Venice environmental activist group, and Hank Wedaa of Orange County voted for that replacement. I mention this incident because one of the arguments advanced in favor of Hank Wedaa, especially by some large corporations, is that since we now have an Orange Countian as Chairman of the SCAQMD we should not lose this opportunity for influence. You can see the direction that influence has taken in the past! Many of you have seen the minutes of the March 17, 1989 AQMD Board Meeting for which Hank had to be directed by the Orange County League to vote against the 1989 Air Quality Management Plan, which he supported. Hank voted against the AQMD, as directed, but then added,"...to keep faith with my own deeply rooted convictions, I urge that my colleagues vote to adopt the Air Quality Management Plan before us today." Based on the record of how well Hank Wedaa has represented our interests as a Director, I'd hate to think what he'll do as Chairman. By the way, some supporters of Hank have tried a scare -tactic that if Hank doesn't keep his Chairmanship, ultra -liberal Los Angeles City' Council Member Marvin Braude will become Chairman! You should be aware that at the AQMD Board meeting of a few days ago, Marvin Braude couldn't even secure enough votes for one of the three available vice - chair positions. Marvin Braude will definitely not be the next Chairman of the AQMD. Further, while no single member of the SCAQMD Board can be held totally responsible for the actions of the entire Board, they are certainly responsible for their own individual votes. The SCAQMD is, by it own record, purely a staff -driven organization, answerable to no one other than the Board, and Hank Wedaa's votes have clearly supported the autonomy of the District. For whatever part of the Southern California job loss can be attributable to the South Coast Air Quality Management District, Hank Wedaa must bear his share of the blame. In my opinion, Peter Buffa will not be beholden to the SCAQMD staff, he will not carry the -baggage and obligations of -the past and his type of thinking will be a breath of fresh air on the Board for all of Southern California, especially Orange County. For all of these reasons, I urge you to vote for Peter Buffa as the Orange County city representative on the South Coast Air Quality Management District Board. Very truly yours, Jack C. Dutton Manager