Senate OKs Bill That May Thwart the Foothill South Toll Road

A bill that would make it difficult to build roads through state parks easily passed in the state Senate on Thursday, bolstering efforts by environmentalists trying to block the route preferred by local officials for the 16-mile Foothill South toll road.

The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles), had been fought fiercely by lobbyists for Orange County’s toll roads since being introduced last year. The bill had been nearly given up for dead after several unsuccessful tries to get the bill out of committee.

But the 21-11 Senate vote gave supporters of the law hope that it will also pass its next hurdle--the Assembly--and land on Gov. Gray Davis’ desk this year.

“We are asserting the value of state parks,” Hayden said. “I think it sends a very significant message from Sacramento and will be important in shaping the atmosphere during the coming months in Orange County.”

The bill passed without support from the Orange County delegation. Two local senators, Ross Johnson (R-Irvine) and John R. Lewis (R-Orange), voted against it. Sen. Joe Dunn (D-Santa Ana) abstained because of his ongoing attempts to mediate a compromise between environmentalists and the toll road proponents. Sen. Bill Morrow (R-Oceanside) was not present when the bill was unexpectedly brought to the floor.

Morrow and other critics said the vote was another instance of big government ramming policy down the throats of local citizens.

“I planned to vote against it,” said Morrow, who was attending a prescheduled meeting when the vote took place. “Any time a senator from Los Angeles brings legislation that directly targets my area, I pay attention.”

Hayden and other supporters of the bill, which include several environmental groups, say the law was introduced to address a growing problem in the state. Orange County officials, however, have maintained that the bill attacks local plans to complete the final link in a planned 67-mile toll road system for the county.

“We certainly believe that this bill was aimed directly at us,” said Mike Stockstill, Transportation Corridor Agencies spokesman. “It’s just not appropriate for a decision that has been mandated to the local level to be usurped by the state.”

If SB1277 becomes law, it would likely thwart plans to route the toll road through the narrow inland portion of San Onofre State Beach.

No other road proposed for a state park is as far along in the planning process as the Foothill South. Eventually, the bill could affect long-term plans for Los Angeles and Riverside counties, including the proposed widening of Mulholland Drive and Las Virgenes Road in Malibu Creek State Park.

Foothill South, which already appears in the Thomas Guide map of the area, would split the park, obliterating about 30% of its inland area and destroying a popular campground. Environmentalists point out that the park is home to seven federally protected endangered species and contains some of the last pristine coastal land in Southern California.

Hayden’s law would require any proposal for a new road in a state park to be reviewed by two Cabinet secretaries. To be built, any such road would have to pass three stringent criteria: It must not jeopardize current uses of the park, it must do everything feasible to minimize effects on the park and it must fully mitigate construction impacts.

Orange County toll road proponents concede that those standards might make it difficult to build the $644-million toll road on the path selected by local officials.

“I’m not ready to admit that this legislation will stop the Foothill South, but if it passes, and that’s a big if, it does add another hurdle,” said Mission Viejo Councilwoman Susan Withrow, who chairs the Foothill/Eastern board of the Transportation Corridor Agencies. Officials had hoped to break ground on the road by 2001 and have drivers on the road and paying tolls in 2003. But delays in the environmental review process already have pushed the start date for construction of the toll road back at least three years.

Orange County toll road officials said they believe the bill will face a harder time in the Assembly.

The bill’s supporters, however, say the proposed law is needed to protect California’s park system.

“I’m thrilled that it passed out of the Senate,” said Claire Schlotterbeck, president of the group that helped create Chino Hills State Park. “People pooh-poohed it from the start and now it’s passed the Senate. It takes a lot to create a state park and it should take a lot to destroy one.”