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By Robin Joy Maxson, Chair, Association of Planning Groups – San Diego County and Board Member, SANDAG Board of Directors
February 18, 2026 (Ramona) -- Many people do not know, or realize, that if you live outside the city limits you are a resident of the unincorporated area. This means you do not have a city hall, you do not have a city council and you certainly do not have a mayor. When you want to address your local government you have to go to downtown San Diego - to the County Board of Supervisors! Many large communities are in this category: Alpine, Fallbrook, Lakeside, Ramona, Valley Center to name a few of the 107 unincorporated communities.
We, in the Unincorporated Area, must trust that the County Board of Supervisors is looking out for us. At the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) the County is our voting seat. Currently, our County’s voting seat is filled with a resident of the City of Imperial Beach!
As a solution to this clear and ongoing lack of representation a collaborative effort between all of the Unincorporated Area’s Community Planning Groups and many Sponsor Groups created the Association of Planning Groups - San Diego County (APG). The APG was formed specifically to gain a voting seat on the SANDAG Board of Directors in order to legitimately represent the Unincorporated Area. Currently, our APG seat at SANDAG is “advisory” only.
APG members live in the communities they represent. Your APG Representative on the SANDAG Board was duly elected to their unincorporated Community Planning Group the same as city councilmembers and county supervisors were elected via the County Registrar of Voters ballot. The APG represents over half a million residents at SANDAG. That makes us the second largest “community” in the County - second only to the City of San Diego.
Why should you care about SANDAG? Because the federal, state and local (think TransNets) taxes you pay - tax dollars that will be directed to transportation - are allocated through SANDAG. SANDAG is responsible for regional planning and the funding of our area’s transportation needs - all transportation i.e., highways, railways, bikeways, walkways, trolley lines, and buses. If you live in the Unincorporated Area, the County has been your voting representation on the SANDAG Board - how has that arrangement been working for you? Is your commute safer, quicker and less expensive on your household budget? With County-only representation has your tax dollar for transportation been spent wisely; proproponently to the population?
APG representation has substantially elevated your needs. But for effective representation of your tax dollars at SANDAG we need to convert this advisory seat into a voting seat. With our increased profile at SANDAG the Unincorporated Area is being viewed as an area of special interest. As a unique area of the County - and being unincorporated as a default status rather than a decision (vote) of the residents - it is important to view this part of the County as a “de facto entity" in and of itself. SANDAG is certainly recognizing this and the County and Caltrans have moved in this direction, too. The Unincorporated Area requires a vote on SANDAG separate from the umbrella of current County representation.
To be clear, the APG does not make policy nor review projects - that business is reserved for your respective unincorporated communities. What the APG does is authentically represent the needs of our unique area at SANDAG in the same way that the 18 cities - with voting status - do at SANDAG. SANDAG is the place to advocate for plans and funds that benefit each of the areas represented around the Board room.
The cities are present and voting and the APG Representative is present, but unable to vote. You, the unincorporated area resident, require an independent voting seat on the SANDAG Board of Directors.
The views in this editorial reflect the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of East County Magazine. To submit an editorial for consideration, contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org.
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