Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill this week that requires the Orange County Water District to give notice when planning to develop property within a city – a response to how the agency failed to tell Anaheim officials about a proposed power plant near Honda Center.

State Sen. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, said he wrote the bill because he believes Anaheim should have been told when the water district launched lease negotiations with Competitive Power Ventures, which had wanted to build a 400-megawatt power plant on 19 acres spanning Ball Road Basin.

Even though the water district was specifically singled out in the bill, Correa said that it was a “first step” that could lead to future legislation requiring other regional agencies across California to fulfill similar requirements.

“The existing law didn’t require the OCWD to give any notice about building a power plant or anything else in Anaheim,” said Correa, whose district includes Orange County’s most populous city.

“This issue is going to be more prevalent as we begin to build new power plants,” Correa said. “More communities want to have a strong say over what happens in their own backyard.”

The water district’s board voted 6-4 to approve the land lease in December, but Competitive Power Ventures did not make it on Southern California Edison’s short list of companies vying to build plants.

If the power plant development had advanced, then the project would have bypassed the Anaheim City Council and gone straight to the state’s Energy Commission for consideration. Although Correa’s bill does not change that approval process, the state senator said his measure “gives a city a fighting chance to organize and address the issue.”

Competitive Power Ventures has until the end of 2015 to get SCE to back its proposal. After that, the water district’s board could terminate its option with Competitive Power Ventures or grant an extension.

“I think it’s a good policy because our board feels that we should be open and transparent with all our stakeholders,” said Mike Markus, the water district’s general manager.

He said the bill was developed as a collaboration between the district and the state senator.

Shortly after Competitive Power Ventures launched negotiations with the water district last summer, Anaheim officials offered $23 million to purchase the property to build a sports park.

City officials and the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce quickly organized a vocal group of residents and business owners who asked the water district’s board to reject the land lease.

“I think it’s important for a regional agency that owns land in any city to involve the community when considering a project,” said Anaheim Councilwoman Kris Murray, who last year asked the water district to reject the lease.

Contact the writer: 714-704-3769 or amarroquin@ocregister.com