The Los Angeles County Flood Control District announced Tuesday that it is accepting protests by email from property owners who wish to oppose a proposed fee to clean up county waterways.
The proposed Clean Water, Clean Beaches Measure would raise $295 million annually for cities and unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County to clean up the region's rivers, lakes and beaches, protect public health and safeguard local sources of drinking water. It would do so by imposing a fee for storm water runoff on owners of residential and commercial properties in the county.
More than 50 percent of property owners would need to protest the measure to keep it off the ballot.
There was enough opposition for the initial proposal, that the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors voted to rework the proposal 3-2 during a Jan. 15 meeting.
The Board of Supervisors has extended the protest period to March 12.
Protests must be received by then and must include:
-- the parcel's address;
-- the assessor's parcel number;
-- the name of the parcel owner; and
-- the signature of the parcel owner or an authorized representative.
Owners may use a protest form provided at lacountycleanwater.org or submit a letter and email it to WQFI.Info@dpw.lacounty.gov. Only scanned or photographed email protests with a handwritten signature will be accepted
Protests can also be sent by mail to the Executive Officer of the Board of Supervisors at Post Office Box 866006, Los Angeles, CA 90086 or hand- delivered to the third floor of the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration at 500 W. Temple St.
There is no need to resubmit protests already mailed or otherwise delivered.
Only one protest will be counted for each parcel.
Mayor Mary Ann Lutz said during her State of the City speech this week that Monrovia has joined 45 cities in the county to lobby for "a more responsible Stormwater Permit that makes sense for cities."
"Stormwater is an important issue in maintaining our water quality," Lutz said. "By focusing on allowing more water to go back into the ground and not downstream, we can create more groundwater and develop Monrovia's own natural resources. Without funding, it will take all of us working together as a community to address this issue."
More information on the Clean Water, Clean Beaches Measure is available online at lacountycleanwater.org or by calling (800) 218-0018.
