Posted on 12/08/2006 10:36:04 PM PST by NormsRevenge
SAN DIEGO ---- Regional planners are polling San Diego County residents to see if they would support a special "quality of life" tax to fund beach-sand replenishment, open-space purchases, habitat restoration and water-quality programs, an agency official said Thursday.
The funding source could come in the form of a sales, property, hotel or rental-car tax, and could appear on the county ballot in 2008, said Rob Rundle, principal planner for the San Diego Association of Governments, the county's regional planning agency.
Rundle said results of the telephone poll of 2,000 county registered voters will be reported to the association board of directors as it convenes in Borrego Springs for its annual winter retreat Jan. 31. He said the quality-of-life tax topic will dominate discussion at the three-day meeting.
Rundle talked about the poll at a meeting of the association's shoreline preservation committee Thursday, while panel members were reviewing a cost estimate for a proposed regional beach-sand replenishment project. It would be the second such project this decade.
Officials say another sand-spreading campaign is needed because as much as half the sand on some beaches has already been washed away by winter swells.
The association has come up with a $24.9 million estimate for the second go-round. The project would aim to beef up the scrawny shoreline at Oceanside Beach, north Carlsbad, south Carlsbad, Batiquitos, Leucadia Beach, Moonlight Beach, Cardiff Beach, Fletcher Cove, Del Mar, Torrey Pines, Mission Beach and Imperial Beach.
The project is patterned after an inaugural $17 million effort the association spearheaded in 2001, when 2.1 million cubic yards of sand was dredged up from the ocean bottom and spread on the beach.
"It's the exact same project from 2001," said Shelby Tucker, an associate regional planner with the agency.
Rundle estimated the restoration could be completed in about 2 1/2 years, after devoting time to design the project and study its environmental impact, and to obtain funding for it.
To get the ball rolling, the committee voted unanimously to start looking for funding immediately. Panel members said the agency needs to begin by lobbying for a chunk of cash from Proposition 84, the new $5.4 billion bond measure California voters passed last month that sets aside money for water and environmental programs.
If a regional quality-of-life tax were to be established, that, too, could be tapped for beach restoration.
A quality-of-life tax is something that first came up three years ago during association debate about a plan to renew San Diego County's half-percent transportation sales tax. Called TransNet, the half-penny-on-the-dollar tax was due to expire in early 2008. Rather than wait until the last minute to try to extend its life, association officials wanted to take an extension measure to county voters in 2004.
At the time, environmental groups pushed for broadening the scope of TransNet beyond transportation to include habitat, open space and water quality. But when polls suggested a transportation-only measure would have a better chance of fetching the required two-thirds vote for passage, officials decided to keep TransNet focused on freeways, railroads and buses. As it was, the measure narrowly passed.
At the same time, the association promised to consider later another tax measure that would focus on such environmental priorities as habitat and beach restoration, and to take such a measure to voters by 2008.
The association has authority to seek voter approval for up to 1 percent in sales taxes. Given the half-percent TransNet tax, the agency could put another half-percent quality-of-life sales tax on the ballot.
The ouji board says - Hell no!
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
Sounds great to me - my quality of life would improve if, and only if, illegal aliens were taxed instead of me. Therefore, I'm in favor of taxes on any funds sent to Mexico across the California border and jeopardy tax assessments on any illegal caught to pay for more beach sand. But enough vain hopes . . . citizens will be taxed and illegals will get freebies in California.
If enviornmentalists are involved with the *project* expect all legal, tax-paying, San Diegans to ultimately pay for the project/restortation.
Does that mean I can get a tax rebate for a poor quality of life?
Will the pooooor be allowed to pay this tax???
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