| Twenty thousand acres of "free" land. What's the catch?
Environmental groups are urging county supervisors to move sensibly and cautiously on an extremely complex deal with the Irvine Company to transfer title on twenty thousand acres (Map here (large pdf)) of canyons already protected by permanent conservation easements.
There are serious questions with the deal, starting with a deep skepticism about the ability of the county staff and supervisors to come out well in negotiations with the Irvine Company. Only a few years ago, staff and supervisors were smart enough to say no to this "gift". Now they're rushing to complete a deal with no plan, no detailed analysis, and almost no public input, as they finally disclose a done deal based on a year's worth of secret negotiations.
The Irvine Company potentially has huge benefits from the deal, including off-loading the maintenance responsibility and potential tax benefits from transferring title. Let's not forget that they have already been very well rewarded with development rights and tax deductions for setting aside this land.
And the management of the land will go to the Irvine Ranch Conservancy, a private, even secretive group which holds its meetings in the Irvine Company Headquarters. There's an almost perfect circle here, where the Irvine Company gains more control of the land by gifting it to the county, yet ends up with more control and huge financial advantages.
Benefits to Orange County - not so much.
The land is already protected, and the Irvine Company is responsible for paying for the management of the land. The deal transfers to Orange County large costs to maintain and police the properties, with NO NEW REVENUE.
Cynics see that individual supervisors, serial politicians alert for supporters in their next campaigns for the next office, might have powerful incentives to curry favor with the Irvine Company and its allies.
Show me the money!
How equipped is the county parks department for a huge increase in wild lands to manage? The statements in staff reports are laughable. The department has been dramatically underfunded, with supervisors constantly bickering over which deferred maintenance program should be funded with state park bonds. The parks department was crippled by transferring a big chunk of its annual property tax revenue to pay off bankruptcy bonds, an amount that escalates every year through 2015. The result has been deferred maintenance, under-staffing, and a severe imbalance of park land, as north and central county are dramatically underserved, and the largest park in central county, Mile Square, was sold down the river for more golf course revenue.
Escalating property values have finally pushed revenues up during the last several years, so the staff reports are now full of silver linings. Sadly, it appears that none of them are remotely aware that the housing bubble has burst, and their property tax revenue will be declining for years as inflated property revenues revert to the mean. Meanwhile, the County faces years of declining revenue from every source, with layoffs cutting into police, district attorneys, and every other agency while reserves are being spent down rapidly.
Will Norby and Nguyen Betray Their Promises?
Supervisors Norby and Nguyen have insisted on funds that would provide regional park facilities in the northern and central parts of the county, which are dramatically underserved by the county park system.
Any thought of funding or developing park acquisition to serve any of the communities in their districts will inevitably be squeezed out of a budget that is saddled with large increases in funding for south county wilderness maintenance.
Another Attack on County Unions ?
Are county supervisors' so consumed by their anti-union bias and ideological belief in piratization that they are willing to overlook all of the flaws in this deal?
Parks Commissioner Brian Probolsky let the cat out of the bag at the single Commission meeting where this complex issue was briefly discussed,
"We need to make sure there is no ballooning of union staff. This needs to be outsourced"
Supervisor Moorlach has been outspoken about his goal to give the urban parks to the local cities and force the cost of patrolling the harbors on a few coastal cities. The third part of his big picture plan is abandoning the wilderness parks by putting their management in the hands of private conservancy. An abortive effort to move upper Newport Bay into management by the Irvine Ranch Conservancy was quashed when it was subjected to public scrutiny.
And there's a real question as to whether this is part of a longer term battle to outsource the county park system to eliminate the salaries and pensions of the parks department employees.
A Question of Protection
There's an interesting twist to the transfer that has some savvy observers really worried. As part of the poorly analyzed deal, the status of the land changes. Right now it has a very high level of protection as wilderness under the NCCP program or through conservation easements monitored by the Nature Conservancy. Under the proposed deal, the land would be owned by the county with deed restrictions. This becomes very suspicios when you realize that enforcement of the deed restrictions would rest not with the Nature Conservancy or any interested party, but would instead revert to the grantor, our friends at the Irvine Company. Want to run a toll road or a power line through protected canyons? Less of a problem if the fox is guarding the hen house.
And a key component of the deal is that 4.8 million held in trust by the Nature Conservancy must be transferred to the county. As one observer pointed out, this not only takes away the protection of the open space, but also removes the funding and the one organization that could launch lawsuits against any abuse of the protections agreed to in the original mitigation plans.
What's the Rush?
My suspicion is that the Irvine Company has much greater acumen when it comes to forecasting property values, tax revenue, and government revenue than the hapless supervisors and the cronies on their staff. They fully realize that the County's financial situation will continue to deteriorate, as will the tax revenues that support the county park system. They want this deal done quickly, before the next leg down in the housing market, and the next series of massive hits to the county's general fund.
So What's the Right Strategy
Conservation advocates aren't really opposed to the transfer.
Overall, the county has a better potential for managing the lands properly because it has police powers. Remote canyons adjacent to highly urbanized areas demand aggressive enforcement by professional rangers and county sheriffs because they are prone to gang activity, vandalism, and aggressive misuse.
And the county has a level of transparency and responsiveness that are inherently missing when decisions are made behind closed doors.
There are just a few gigantic details which need to be addressed, cautiously, deliberately, and openly.
First, it might make sense to hire a professional negotiator, experienced in complex transactions involving wild lands. They're available, not tremendously expensive, and would fill a gap that is badly missing in Orange County.
Second, develop a budget and management plan before doing the deal, with honest forecasts about capital costs, restoration programs, management costs, and especially costs to police the land and enforce
As part of a long term plan and budget, it might make sense for the Irvine Company to fund an endowment for managing the lands. They have already been well compensated for their existing donation. Now they will receive even greater benefits.
Third, there's the question of protection. There's no reason to remove the conservation easements, or take the Nature Conservancy out of the equation.
The supervisors have this on their agenda for next Tuesday, and have ignored written requests to pull it for more study. It should be an interesting meeting. |
