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Poway's Legislative Platform
Purpose
The City's Legislative Platform conveys where the City Council stands on important policy issues. These Council-approved priorities enables City staff to quickly advocate the City's position on legislation that may affect the our ability to provide services.
Economic Development
- Support legislation that enhances the City's ability to retain and promote the success of local businesses.
- Support public-private development opportunities that encourage economic activity within the City.
- Oppose legislation that limits the City's flexibility in regard to the disposition of former redevelopment properties.
- Oppose limiting the authority or increasing the liability for successor redevelopment agencies.
Energy and Water Conservation
- Support legislation that provides flexibility and incentives for energy and water efficiency, solid waste, and storm and waste-water programs.
- Support legislation that allows compliance with drought regulations through a combination of water conservation and developing local water supplies.
- Support legislation that recognizes local water supply variations when developing and implementing drought regulations.
- Support legislation that improves the state and local water supply when it makes economic sense.
- Support legislation that promotes the use of reclaimed water.
Human Resources and Risk Management
- Support legislation to reform workers' compensation to rely on more evidence of work-related causation.
- Support legislation which limits local government exposure to lawsuits related to liability.
- Oppose legislation which mandates cities provide specific benefits which can be more properly determined through labor negotiations.
- Oppose legislation which weakens local administration of labor relations.
- Oppose legislation that would diminish or eliminate local government's ability to contract for the provision of services.
Land Use, CEQA, and Housing
Land Use
- Support legislation that strengthens local control and decision-making on land use and zoning matters.
- Oppose legislation that restricts local land use control.
CEQA
- Support narrowing the definition of "project" to prevent frivolous and unwarranted CEQA lawsuits.
- Support efforts to prevent CEQA from being abused for non-environmental causes.
- Support legislation which clarifies and streamlines CEQA.
- Oppose measures that provide minimal improvements in air and water quality while incurring excessive public and private implementation costs.
Housing
- Support legislation and programs that assist with financing of affordable housing as long as the legislation does not impose mandated costs.
- Oppose legislation that decreases local land use control and decision-making related to the City's Housing Element requirements.
- Oppose legislation that weakens the City's ability to provide opportunities for housing which are in-line with the community's housing needs.
- Oppose unfunded mandates to provide additional affordable income housing.
- Support legislation that preserves or increases funding for the Community Development Block Grant program.
Municipal Finance
- Oppose partially funded or unfunded mandates or mandates resulting in revenue loss.
- Support legislation that further protects local government revenue from being taken, confiscated, shifted, diverted or otherwise used to fund state government operations and responsibilities.
- Oppose legislation that mandates procedures (such as maintenance-of-effort) which would make local agencies more dependent on the state for financial stability and policy direction.
- Oppose legislation which would restrict the City's ability to manage its own debts or reserves.
- Oppose legislation that pre-empts the City's ability to impose or change water rates, charges, fees, or assessments.
- Support legislation that enables cost recovery and/or reduces the cost of providing public records.
Parks & Open Space
- Support legislation that provides assistance for parks, open space, and recreation programs as long as the legislation does not impose state and federal mandated costs on the City of Poway.
- Support legislation that provides a fair share per-capita distribution of state and federal grants for parks, recreation, open space and trails.
Public Works
- Support legislation that protects or enhances the City's flexibility for timely and cost-effective completion of public works projects.
- Solid Waste and Recyclables
- Support legislation that maintains local authority and flexibility to regulate solid waste and recyclables. Oppose waste and resource recovery measures imposing state mandated costs when there is no guarantee of local cost recovery or offsetting benefit.
Stormwater
- Support legislation that enhances transparency in the decision-making process of the State Water Resources Control Board and the Regional Water Quality Control Board.
- Support legislation that provides funding and creates flexibility for the implementation of mandatory stormwater programs.
- Oppose more stringent requirements for stormwater programs.
Water
- Support legislation that authorizes and facilitates expanded use of local water resources including water recycling, potable reuse, graywater, and rainwater harvesting.
- Support legislation that streamlines regulatory processes and requirements to encourage and support the development of potable reuse and non-potable reuse as a local water supply.
- Support legislation that preserves the City's ability to establish local priorities for water resources planning decisions.
- Oppose legislation that establishes unreasonable regulatory requirements or fees relative to the safe use of recycled water.
- Oppose measures that impose unreasonable or unfunded water testing and treatment requirements.
Public Safety
- Support legislation that strengthens the City's ability to prepare for disasters.
- Support legislation that supports local control of local emergency services.
- Support efforts to protect and enhance local flexibility and discretion in the adoption and implementation of health and safety standards contained in the building and fire codes.
- Support legislation which protects safety services personnel from the intrusion of drones during operations.
- Support efforts to create regional partnerships for rendering mutual aid.
- Support legislation and grant opportunities that increase funding for local law enforcement, fire suppression and prevention, hazardous materials mitigation, and emergency medical services.
- Support legislation that provides funding to local agencies for training, disaster preparedness, and emergency planning.
Transportation
- Support legislation which strengthens our roads, highways, and local transportation infrastructure as long as the legislation does not impose unfunded, mandated costs.
- Support financial solutions for fixing and improving transportation infrastructure.
- Support legislation that alleviates traffic congestion without raising taxes or fees.
- Support efforts to ensure the City receives its fair share of transportation funding.