In Dan Walters column from today’s Bee, we see a good recap of recent history related to the state Reclamation Board, and the encouraging news that it favors wise growth and responsible development; as that is the financial driver allowing counties, cities, and towns the wherewithal to preserve, protect and strengthen the quality of life attracting people to the Golden State.
Along with this, it is also important that government, environmental, and development interests; the community building partnership largely responsible for present day California, work together to ensure the appropriate technology is being developed to protect the valley from its historical flooding, in support of community building there.
The appropriate flood control technology includes dam building, unfortunately left out of the infrastructure bond deal.
Here is an excerpt.
Dan Walters:
Schwarzenegger's new levee board shows its pro-developer tilt
Published 2:15 am PDT Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Last year - on Sept. 16, to be precise - the state Reclamation Board, a relatively obscure state agency that oversees flood protection levees, approved a potentially far-reaching policy to intercede when local governments and developers propose residential subdivisions behind levees designed to protect farmland.
Spurred by the devastation of New Orleans when levees failed during Hurricane Katrina and an appellate court decision declaring the state liable for damages from levee failures in California, the board activated powers that it had long held under state law, but rarely exercised, to review developments behind levees for flood safety.
"I believe if you're going to urbanize the land, you've got to urbanize the levees," said one board member, former Sacramento City Manager Bill Edgar. "That's the bottom line."
The decree didn't sit well with development-hungry local governments and developers who had subdivision plans pending, especially those in the vast Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Ten days later, before the new policy could be finally adopted, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger fired the entire board and replaced it with seven new appointees, most of whom had strong ties to land developers. Ever since, skeptics of building homes behind agricultural levees - including deposed members of the Reclamation Board - have wondered aloud whether the new board would be more favorably disposed toward development interests.
