County to Consider Regulatory Reforms

The county on Wednesday released a list of 18 environmental, land-use and other government regulations that officials said could be eliminated or modified in an effort to stimulate the local economy.

The regulatory reforms were suggested by county department managers over the last four months at the request of the Board of Supervisors, which will consider the proposals at its Tuesday meeting.

Supervisor Don Saltarelli originally suggested creating a list of questionable laws in November, saying that a county effort would complement a similar survey of state laws requested by Gov. Pete Wilson.

Department heads submitted 36 regulations for review by the county counsel and county executive offices. The review found that 18 regulations could be changed, eight through county action, 10 through state or federal action.

The changes would apply to a variety of laws. One proposal calls for modifications to a state Fish and Game code that would eliminate the need for a permit to do construction work in small gullies.

Another suggestion involves amending a federal clean-air law that requires developers to prepare a plan to keep urban runoff clean. County officials suggested allowing builders to choose from a basic set of improvements instead.

Economic activity would also be stimulated if the state allowed the county to use private firms to perform more government functions, a county report said.

The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to decide Tuesday which of the county regulations it wants to amend and whether to push for changes in the state and federal laws.

The board will hold a special meeting at 10 a.m. today to vote on an agreement the county reached earlier this week with a band of 14 dissident investment pool participants who had threatened to scuttle the county’s bankruptcy recovery plan. The meeting will take place at the Hall of Administration in Santa Ana.