Regional Approach Still Best for County : * Problems Here Are Same Ones Rest of the Area Faces

For years Orange County has had a love-hate relationship with the philosophy of regional government. But many problems lend themselves best to a regional treatment, since they cannot be contained by boundary lines drawn on a map--problems like air quality, traffic congestion or where to locate a new airport or jail.

As far back as 1963, when the Southern California Assn. of Governments was in the process of being formed as a regional planning body, there were mixed feelings about how involved Orange County should become in that approach.

Still, Orange County government became a charter member. So did some cities in the county. Others didn’t. And ever since, there have been disputes and periodic efforts to have Orange County pull out and go its own way.

The latest has come from the Orange County Transportation Authority, which is unhappy because it believes it is being shortchanged in federal transportation funds.

In a recent staff report, OCTA officials complained that “neither Congress nor SCAG have been responsive to giving Orange County a fair share of federal funding.” If that is the case, the county should pursue vigorously changes in the allocation formula to make it more equitable. The options should not include replacing SCAG in Orange County with a metropolitan planning agency of its own, as has been suggested.

The idea of Orange County forming its own association of governments is not a new one. It was first floated in 1966, shortly after SCAG came into being, by a disgruntled Costa Mesa city councilman unhappy with the regional approach. It wasn’t well received then. And it shouldn’t be now.

Orange County was a driving force 29 years ago in the effort to create SCAG, which includes government entities in Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Riverside, San Bernardino and Imperial counties. The reasons that prompted Orange County to be so active in urging its neighboring counties and cities to band together to resolve their regional problems haven’t changed. In fact, they are even more compelling today.

In 1989, the county supervisors, after a dispute over the use of SCAG growth statistics, did decide to stop paying dues to the association. After sitting out of the voting process for more than two years, the county finally realized how foolhardy it was to lessen its influence over vital regional decisions that affect all of Southern California. Earlier this year, the supervisors wisely voted to rejoin. The county should stay with the organization and work within it to correct any weaknesses.

SCAG is well aware of Orange County’s apprehensions and appears willing to work with the county to resolve them. The most pressing problems facing Orange County are still the same ones facing the rest of the region. Poor air quality--the worst in the nation--affects the entire basin. Inter-county travel has increased dramatically in recent years, and the need for freeway improvements and increased commuter rail and bus service pose problems that demand close cooperation. Many Orange County residents use airports in Los Angeles and Ontario. Sites must be found to dispose of hazardous waste. And growth-control measures, like the other issues in our heavily urban area, do not affect only isolated cities or counties.

These concerns cannot be dealt with unilaterally. Nor can they be resolved by counties that decide to go it alone and look at regional problems from their own myopic perspective. Orange County needs SCAG as much as SCAG needs Orange County.