_______________________________
Kathleen Ward
Mayor, City of San Clemente
City Hall ● 910 Calle Negocio, San Clemente CA 92673 ● (949) 361-8200 ● www.san-clemente.org A Attachment 2
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June 16, 2026
Orange County Board of Supervisors
333 W. Santa Ana Blvd.
Santa Ana, CA 92701
Subject: OC RoadMAP Competitive Grant Opportunity and Continued Need for Local Roadway Funding Dear Chair Chaffee and Honorable Members of the Board of Supervisors:
On behalf of the City of San Clemente, I would like to express our sincere appreciation for the County’s leadership in establishing the new OC RoadMAP competitive grant program to support roadway maintenance and rehabilitation needs across Orange County’s 33 cities. This dedicated funding opportunity reflects an important recognition of the growing infrastructure needs facing local jurisdictions throughout the region.
While the City is grateful for this initiative, we must respectfully note that the scale of roadway repair needs countywide far exceeds the available $5 million annual allocation. Cities across Orange County continue to face escalating construction costs, aging pavement systems, and increasing backlogs of deferred maintenance. In San Clemente, as in many cities, the cost to preserve safe and reliable streets continues to outpace available local, state, and federal funding sources.
This challenge is compounded by a longstanding structural inequity in roadway funding distribution. Orange County cities maintain approximately 94 percent of all roadway miles in the county, yet collectively receive only 57 percent of Gas Tax and SB-1 revenues. By contrast, the County maintains approximately 6 percent of roadway miles while receiving 43 percent of these funds. As a result, the vast majority of residents who live in cities contribute these revenues but do not see a proportional return through local street repair and rehabilitation.
The OC RoadMAP program is a meaningful step in addressing this imbalance, and we commend the Board for taking action. However, one-time or limited competitive funding alone will not resolve the long-term needs of Orange County’s local transportation network. Sustained investment and a more equitable allocation model are essential to ensure that cities can maintain the streets relied upon daily by residents, businesses, and visitors.
We respectfully encourage the Board of Supervisors to continue expanding local roadway funding partnerships and to advocate for fairer revenue distribution formulas that better reflect roadway maintenance responsibilities in Orange County.
Thank you again for your leadership and commitment to regional mobility and infrastructure investment. We appreciate the opportunity to apply for this funding and look forward to continued collaboration to meet Orange County’s growing transportation needs.
Sincerely,
Rick Loeffler
Mayor, City of San Clemente
Enclosed: Orange County Road Funding Inequity Fact Sheet CELEBRATING 90 YEARS OF INCORPORATION
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
AND CITY COUNCIL
Rick Loeffler
Mayor
Steve Knoblock
Mayor Pro Tem
Victor Cabral
Mark Enmeier
Zhen Wu
CITY MANAGER
Andy Hall
910 Calle Negocio
San Clemente, CA 92673
Phone: (949) 361-8200
“The Spanish Village
by the Sea”