NORTH COAST, Calif. – The North Coast's Assembly member said he'll fight a new fee that the state wants to assess on property owners in State Responsibility Areas.

On Tuesday Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro (D-Arcata) strongly criticized the proposed new fire fee on homeowners in State Responsibility Areas.

Rural homeowners in a SRA would be required to pay $175 for their homes, plus extra fees on other structures, in addition to a fee based on the acreage of land, which could add up to $3,000 per year for some cattle ranchers and other resource land owners, according to Chesbro's office.

In a letter to Assembly Budget Committee Chairman Bob Blumenfield, Chesbro called the fees “grossly inequitable to rural residents.”

“As a member who represents large areas of Sate Responsibility Areas, these bills would be economically devastating to many of the constituents I represent,” Chesbro said. “I find it inequitable to charge someone who inhabits a one-room cabin or mobile home on the North Coast the same fee that would be charged to someone living in a million dollar home in the Southern California hills.”

Chesbro will voice his opposition and encourage his colleagues to vote against the legislation at Tuesday's Assembly Budget Committee hearing at the state Capitol.

The hearing time and location is yet to be announced, but Chesbro's office said it likely will be held upon adjournment of the Assembly Floor session on Wednesday. His office said the hearing may be available on www.calchannel.com or www.assembly.ca.gov.

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