Let’s be clear. Only the County knows why it hides the rule the Palomar Airport Advisory Committee [PAAC] uses when it acts on projects needing environmental review. [See Blog #22.]
What rule? Can the PAAC [or any other County advisory committee] act before completing an environmental review of projects? As did the PAAC in August 2012 when supporting new Palomar air service.
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But having advised a public entity for 30 years, I have an educated guess as to why the County wants to hide the rule. The County is in a pickle (a rough spot).
Why the Pickle?
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The County has many advisory bodies. In theory, these bodies inform and involve the public. They also buffer the Board of Supervisors [BOS] from public angst. The committees are the “Maginot line” against citizens unhappy with proposed BOS actions.
Now assume that in 2013 these bodies collectively review 20 projects subject to the California Environmental Quality Act [CEQA] but act before completing the CEQA review. In other words, the advisory committees recommend actions to the BOS before knowing all the facts.
Has the County violated CEQA and opened the door to 20 lawsuits? Has the County “failed to proceed as required by law?” [The California Public Resources Code §§ 21168 & 21168.5 law suit standard.]
The County Dilemma [Snooze Alert: A Dose of Attorney Think]
The County will argue that advisory committees decide nothing and CEQA compliance requires only BOS action. In other words, courts can ignore what the advisory bodies do.
Project challengers will argue that “the procedure required by law” includes CEQA and other legal mandates.
Critical mandates include the California Constitution fair hearing requirements [See Article I, §7 and Ryan v. California Interscholastic Federation-San Diego Section, 94 Cal. App. 4th 1048], California Public Meeting Law [Government Code §§ 54950 to 54960.5], and the County ordinances creating the advisory committees.
Challengers will argue that the BOS set up the advisory committees to gather and assess vital public input on which the BOS could rely when acting on projects.
In support of the argument, Palomar project challengers will note that the County has represented to the FAA that the County has a public outreach program through the PAAC that fully and fairly assesses proposed Palomar projects. How is the PAAC outreach fair if the PAAC approves projects before the environmental work is complete?
A Simple Solution
Public officials often complicate the simple. The above-noted dilemma exists only if the politicians are hiding the rules from the public because the advisory bodies are a public relations ploy rather than public input process.
If the PAAC and other County advisory bodies are truly intended to fully inform and involve the public, then these bodies act when all the data is in. They complete the environmental review process, give the public a fair chance to comment, and either act or request the County staff to provide more data.
To date, the County hasn’t told you the rules because it wants to (1) maintain the facade of advisory committees providing real public input but (2) hide the rules in the hopes of expediting County projects and minimizing legal challenges to BOS actions.
If the County Counsel and BOS members can’t tell you the rules the PAAC and other advisory committees apply at public Brown Act meetings, they don’t deserve your vote at the next election.
