Anaheim Votes Opposition to Tough AQMD Regional Plan

Anaheim on Tuesday became the first city in Orange County to oppose a stringent regional plan for air quality management now under consideration by state officials.

The City Council, voting 5 to 0, approved a resolution protesting the South Coast Air Quality Management District plan because it amounts to “usurpation of local control,” said Kristine Thalman, Anaheim’s intergovernmental relations officer.

The AQMD plan is intended to reduce pollution in a region that is among the worst in the country and includes Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Both the public and private sectors must take steps to comply with the plan.

For Anaheim, where the cost of compliance is expected to be from $2 million to $3 million, one of the most expensive changes will be converting the fuel used by city-owned vehicles from gasoline to methanol, Thalman said.

Methanol Safety Questioned

“We’re not even sure if that’s safe for the environment,”’ Thalman said.

“It’s one of those things where we’ve got to do something, but we’re not sure if the strategies listed in the plan will actually benefit our city,” she said.

City Councilwoman Miriam Kaywood added, “We all want clean air, but we can’t be bankrupting the city in the process.”

Anaheim’s opposition vote is only a statement of protest; the city has no authority to affect the air quality plan, which has been approved by the AQMD and is now in the hands of the state Air Resources Board.

Another Council Opposed

Claudia Keith, a spokeswoman for the AQMD, said the only other city council in Southern California to oppose the plan was that of Westlake Village in Ventura County.

“It does matter to us” that Anaheim opposes the plan, Keith said, adding, “cities have their local concerns.”

But she noted that the AQMD solicited comments on the plan for about two years before forwarding the document to state officials.

Thalman said Anaheim representatives objected to the plan during hearings before the Board of Supervisors.

An AQMD representative at Tuesday night’s meeting told the council that the agency wants to cooperate with the city and will hold a workshop in the next few months to address the concerns of local government officials.