Local News in Brief : Countywide : Bergeson Calls For ‘Coalition for Change’

State Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach), who this month introduced statewide legislation aimed at managing problems associated with growth, appealed to county officials Friday to “forge a coalition for change.”

In a meeting with the Southern California Assn. of County Supervisors in Newport Beach, Bergeson discussed her growth legislation package and called for cooperation between cities and counties to manage growth in the state.

“The whole thrust of what we’re trying to get at is to get people to talk and work together,” Bergeson said. She added that she is not trying to take power away from local governments but rather to develop a broad statewide policy to help local and regional governments act more effectively. “The problems are just too big for any one community to solve alone,” she said.

She cited environmental impact reports, which are required for all new development in the state, as an example of a state policy created to address the problems of growth.

Bergeson’s legislation includes a provision that would encourage cities to work together on traffic, housing and other growth-related matters. Another, she said, would allow cities to share tax revenue on certain new developments, and another would offer priority for state bonds and grants as an incentive for cities to accept new developments.

Critics of Bergeson’s legislation have said that it does not address the problem of a lack of revenue for the infrastructure that must accompany growth. Bergeson said she agrees that the state’s revenue shortage is a problem but that her proposals are “a first step” toward improving the problems growth is posing.

To ensure that necessary tax legislation could be passed, she called Friday for a “massive public information campaign” to tell people how their money would be used. She also mentioned that bond sales are an alternative.