Many people do not know, or realize that if you live outside the city limits you are a resident of the “Unincorporated Area.” This means you do not have a city hall, you do not have a city council and you certainly do not have a mayor.
When you want to address your local government you have to go to downtown San Diego — to the county Board of Supervisors. Many large communities are in this category: Alpine, Fallbrook, Lakeside, Ramona, Valley Center to name just a few of the 107 unincorporated communities.
Those of us in the Unincorporated Area must trust that the Board of Supervisors is looking out for us. At the San Diego Association of Governments the county is our voting seat. Currently, our county’s voting seat is filled with a resident of the city of Imperial Beach!
As a solution to this clear and ongoing lack of representation a collaborative effort among all of the Unincorporated Area’s community planning groups and many sponsor groups created the Association of Planning Groups – San Diego County. The APG was formed specifically to gain a voting seat on the SANDAG in order to legitimately represent the Unincorporated Area. Currently, our APG seat at SANDAG is “advisory” only.
APG members live in the communities they represent. Your APG Representative on the SANDAG Board was duly elected to their unincorporated community planning group just like city councilmembers and county supervisors are elected. The APG represents over half a million residents at SANDAG. That makes us the second largest “community” in the county — second only to the city of San Diego.
Why should you care about SANDAG? Because the federal, state and local taxes (think TransNet) you pay — tax dollars that will be directed to transportation — are allocated through SANDAG. This organization is responsible for regional planning and the funding of our area’s transportation needs — all transportation, including highways, railways, bikeways, walkways, trolley lines and buses.
If you live in the Unincorporated Area, the county has been your voting representation on SANDAG. And how has that arrangement been working for you? Is your commute safer, quicker and less of a drain on your household budget? With county-only representation has your tax dollar for transportation been spent wisely — proportionate to the population?
APG representation has substantially elevated your needs. But for effective representation of your tax dollars at SANDAG we need to convert this advisory seat into a voting seat. With our increased profile at SANDAG, the Unincorporated Area is being viewed as an area of special interest.
As a unique part of the county, it is important to view this area as a “de facto entity” in and of itself. SANDAG is certainly recognizing this, and both the county and Caltrans have moved in this direction, too. The Unincorporated Area requires a vote on SANDAG separate from the umbrella of current county representation.
To be clear, the APG does not make policy nor review projects — that authority is reserved for the respective unincorporated communities. What the APG does is authentically represent the needs of our unique area at SANDAG in the same way that the 18 cities with voting status do. SANDAG is the place to advocate for plans and funds that benefit each of the areas represented around the board room.
The cities are present and voting and the APG Representative is present — but, crucially, unable to vote. You, the residents of the Unincorporated Area, deserve an independent voting seat on the SANDAG board of directors.
Robin Joy Maxson, a Ramona resident, is chair of the Association of Planning Groups – San Diego County and a member of the SANDAG board of directors.
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