Regional Planning

“All Over the Map,” June 30.

While I would agree that Southern California’s development in the past half-century has been far from ideal, where in your recent paean to the benefits of regional planning is there any mention of exactly which of the plague of governmental entities Californians suffer from could possibly take on the job?

County governments? After all, the Los Angeles and Orange county boards of supervisors are the definition of highly effective government, right?

SCAG? The AQMD? Or some other alphabet-soup agency with a board made up of political hacks and the hired guns of moneyed interests?

Perhaps the state Legislature? Now there’s a representative institution free of any hint of vote-selling and partisan acrimony, with nothing but the welfare of the public as the foremost consideration.

The governor’s office? Sure, why not. Plenty of insight into Southern California’s needs there.

The only place for zoning issues is local government, because that is where residents actually have some voice.

And in case of conflict between two or more small cities, take it to the courts. At least there is some supposition of the judiciary being a neutral arbitrator.

As an aside, if The Times thinks sprawl is such a horrible burden, will the Real Estate section stop accepting ads for the latest “potentially crippling” Kaufman & Broad excrescence?

BRAD SMITH

Winnetka