Big Bear, Ca, July 12, 2011, 1:00pm – On July 12th the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors authorized legal counsel to investigate and pursue legal remedies against the state in response to the recent passage and signing of Assembly Bill X1-29 by Governor Jerry Brown. The bill imposed a “fee” of $150 per inhabitable structure on all parcels of land in the unincorporated mountain areas of California, which includes Big Bear City, Fawnskin, Running Springs, and Crestline areas. Supervisor Neil Derry, who represents the majority of the San Bernardino mountain communities stretching from Lake Arrowhead to Big Bear, believes this bill is an illegal tax and comes in the wake of the state’s announcement that it would also no longer fund the air supertanker program used to fight wildfires through air drops. Those who are in the Big Bear City Community Services District area already pay a fee to the CSD for fire protection services. KBHR will have more information about this issue as it becomes available.
