6-19-09

Merced Sun-Star
Protesters want Nelson to resign from air board...CORINNE REILLY
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/167/v-print/story/908727.html
More than 100 marchers gathered in Fresno and Bakersfield on Thursday to demand the resignation of Merced County Supervisor Mike Nelson from a local air quality board.
The demonstrators launched their campaign because of remarks Nelson made last month during a San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District governing board meeting.
Nelson, who serves as Merced County's representative to the air board, said he sometimes "tunes out" when environmental activists speak before the board because he thinks they don't tell the truth.
In another public meeting last year, Nelson called his assignment to the air board "a sentence" that he was stuck with because no other county supervisor would take the position.
About 90 marchers gathered outside the air district's Fresno office Thursday morning, where governing board members met for a meeting.
"Give Nelson the boot," they called out. They wore green and carried signs that read "public opinion counts."
A few dozen people demonstrated at the same time outside the district's Bakersfield office, including Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers.
Several of the marchers spoke before the air board during the meeting's public comment period.
Daniela Simunovic, organizer for the legal watchdog Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment, said Nelson should be formally censured and removed for his remarks.
"Our democracy depends on our public officials listening to us," she said. "The legitimacy of the the air district and of the board are on the line here."
Two people spoke in support of Nelson, including Merced County Planning Commissioner Jack Mobley.
Nelson said during the meeting that he did not mean to offend anyone but stopped short of apologizing to activists.
He said earlier this week that he has no plans to step down and that he stands by his argument that some environmental activists misstate facts when speaking before the air board.
Nelson also has said his comment was taken out of context; it was part of a larger statement about the importance of listening to all sides in the debate over how to best implement anti-pollution regulation, he told the Sun-Star on Monday.
According to transcripts from the May 21 meeting, Nelson said, "If we don't listen and work together, we won't get it. And that's good for me to remember, too. Because honestly when (some activists) get up here, I tend to tune out because ... I don't think they're telling the truth."
The air district's executive director, Seyed Sadredin, has defended Nelson. He said earlier this week that he doesn't believe Nelson should be removed.
That's only further angered activists. Several marchers from Merced said Nelson should not be in any political office.
Merced resident Melissa Kelly-Ortega, who helped organize Thursday's demonstration, said she and other activists already have taken their demand for Nelson's resignation to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. She said they also plan to take the matter up with the local Board of Supervisors.
"We won't stop until Mr. Nelson is removed," Kelly-Ortega said.
Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, has urged Nelson to consider leaving the air board and said in a recent letter to Nelson that his remarks have created "an unwarranted level of hostility."
Nelson was elected to his second four-year term on the Board of Supervisors in 2006. He's served as Merced County's representative to the air board since 2003.

Modesto Bee
Stanislaus County's farmland proposal won't fly, judge says...Susan Herendeen
http://www.modbee.com/local/v-print/story/750389.html
A Stanislaus County plan that says developers must preserve an equal amount of farmland when they build new homes is unconstitutional, a judge said in a recent ruling.
The opinion is not expected to have an immediate impact, because new home construction slowed to a crawl after the mortgage meltdown. But officials from the Building Industry Association of Central California, which filed the lawsuit in January 2008, said the outcome is more than a symbolic victory.
"We just wanted the county to do it right all along," said Steve Madison, executive vice president of the BIA.
In a ruling filed Tuesday, Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge William A. Mayhew said the county's farmland conservation plan is unconstitutional because the government failed to show a "reasonable relationship" between its mitigation rules and the adverse impacts of new home construction.
The government said it only would allow residential development of 20 acres or more if builders preserved an equal amount of farmland. The rules were enacted by a 3-2 vote of the Board of Supervisors in December 2007, after two years of discussions between county officials and community advisers.
BIA critical of exemption
The building industry complained that it was not brought into the discussion until late in the game. The industry also was critical of a last-minute exemption for developers who convert agricultural land to commercial or industrial uses, saying home builders were unfairly penalized.
In crafting the new rules, the county relied on a civil code aimed at nonprofit groups, saying the county would act as a trust for farmland preserved under the plan.
The judge said that requirement conflicts with a state law that says the government may not require conservation easements when it approves development. Next, lawyers involved in the case must craft an order for the judge to sign. After that, the county has 60 days to appeal.
"We're disappointed with the court's analysis and conclusion in this case and we will be considering our options," said Assistant County Counsel Edward R. Burroughs.
Madison said builders want to work with the county to preserve farmland but think a sales tax dedicated to farmland preservation, something that is done in Sonoma County, would be more equitable than placing the burden on builders alone.
He said the county plan was flawed because builders were left out of the discussion. "It was driven by people involved in agriculture and they didn't involve any other stakeholders," Madison said.