San Bernadino County files response to grand jury report

10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, September 22, 2009

By IMRAN GHORI
The Press-Enterprise

San Bernardino County supervisors defended their handling of a 1,200-acre development project in Rancho Cucamonga in their response Tuesday to a critical grand jury report.

In the document approved Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors, county officials disagreed in part with the grand jury finding, which recommended that the county use a public auction process to sell the surplus flood control property.

The county had approved an agreement with Rancho Cucamonga to select a developer for the land, but it suspended the deal in May.

The property is north of Highway 210 and is one of the last large undeveloped parcels in the San Bernardino Valley. Five development groups are fighting for the right to build homes, stores and golf courses there.

At Supervisor Paul Biane's urging, the county response to the grand jury includes a lengthy defense of the county's proposed process, which Biane has said he hopes to eventually revive.

"Many public agencies have used processes similar to what was proposed for the sale of the 1,200 acres to get the best price and the highest and best use for the surplus public property," the response states.

The grand jury report, a nonbinding annual review of county government by a panel of private citizens, included a section on government reform in response to scandals at the assessor's office that raised concerns about public corruption.

Two reforms that the grand jury suggested the board consider -- an ethics commission and campaign contribution limits -- will be the subject of a future debate, the county response states.

The response also states that Board Chairman Gary Ovitt will soon present a proposal on what kind of transition funding newly elected officials should get before taking office, in response to another grand jury recommendation.

The county promised to adopt a recommendation to amend its code of ethics to include a ban on the use of public office for personal gain.

Reach Imran Ghori at 951-368-9558 or ighori@PE.com

http://www.pe.com/localnews/sbcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_N_njury23.4827d95.html