Los Angeles County supervisors may axe a proposed county clean water fee in light of public opposition over the measure that would pay to reduce stormwater pollution.
The Clean Water, Clean Beaches measure proposed, would increase L.A. County resident’s property tax bills by about $54 for the typical homeowner and possibly thousands of dollars for some commercial property owners.
Supervisor Don Knabe, who represents Redondo Beach as part of his Fourth District, announced Monday that because the measure is poorly written and places the burden on property owners rather than everyone to pay for clean water programs, he and Supervisor Gloria Molina will introduce a motion on Tuesday at the regularly scheduled Board of Supervisors meeting to scrap the proposition.
"I want clean water, and I think everyone else does too, but this measure has too many flaws," Knabe said in a statement. "There is no specific project list, no sunset date, and it would be voted on by property owners by mail-in ballot, instead of being voted on by everyone.
The parcel tax would raise about $275 million for the county that would be used to control the discharge of pollutants into the ocean. In fiscal year 2010-2011, the county spent an estimated $340 million to comply with water quality regulations.
“Currently the measure does not have the full support of our cities or the public and should not be moved forward at this time," Knabe said in a statement. "We understand that this issue of water quality cannot be ignored, and we must continue to look for ways to refine and improve this proposal.”
The hearing will take place Tuesday at 11 a.m. in the Board Hearing Room at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, located at 500 West Temple St. in Los Angeles.
Opposition or support for the measure can be voiced at the meeting or by downloading a copy of the official protest form and emailing it to WQFI.Info@dpw.lacounty.gov.
—Patch editor Nicole Mooradian contributed to this report.
