BILL NUMBER: SB 1556 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 839
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 30, 2006
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 30, 2006
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 31, 2006
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 28, 2006
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 24, 2006
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 21, 2006
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 21, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 16, 2006
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 27, 2006
INTRODUCED BY Senator Torlakson
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Wolk)
(Coauthors: Senators Chesbro, Machado, and Ortiz)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Aghazarian and Jones)
FEBRUARY 23, 2006
An act to add Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 5852) to
Division 5 of the Public Resources Code, and to amend Section 99234
of the Public Utilities Code, relating to parks and recreation.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1556, Torlakson Parks: The Great California Delta Trail
System.
Existing law establishes the Delta Protection Commission to
preserve, protect, maintain, and enhance the Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta region's environmental resources and quality, including
preserving and protecting agriculture, wildlife habitats, open
spaces, outdoor recreational activities, public access, and use of
public lands.
This bill would additionally require the Delta Protection
Commission to establish a continuous recreation corridor, including
bicycle and hiking trails, around the delta, as defined. The bill
would also require the plan to link the San Francisco Bay Trail
system to planned Sacramento River trails in Yolo and Sacramento
Counties.
Existing law requires local transportation planning agencies to
allocate funds in the local transportation fund, as defined, for
establishing and maintaining pedestrian and bicycle trails. Existing
law authorizes the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to allocate
those funds to establish a recreation corridor, including a bicycle
and hiking trail, around the perimeter of the San Francisco and San
Pablo Bays.
This bill would authorize the transportation planning agencies
that allocate those funds to the cities and counties with
jurisdiction or a sphere of influence within the delta, to allocate
those funds to the Delta Protection Commission for specified
activities around the delta.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature hereby finds all of the following:
(1) The Great California Delta region is a wondrous state and
national treasure, with its natural resources and fertile soils for
agriculture, its access to recreation and science research, and its
rich history and beauty.
(2) The California Delta provides two-thirds of the state's
drinking and irrigation water, that flows through the delta's over
1,000 miles of waterways, levees, and shorelines.
(3) The California Delta is of great ecological significance, with
its two most prominent waterways, the Sacramento and the San Joaquin
Rivers, carrying fresh water from the Sierra Nevada Range and the
Central Valley to the San Francisco Bay.
(4) The California Delta is a key part of the Pacific Flyway, and
its rich ecosystem serves as home to thousands of unique birds, fish,
animals, and plants, and is enjoyed by outdoor enthusiasts,
water-sport fans, hunters, fishermen, and naturalists.
(5) The California Delta is a complicated and fragile system that
needs the appreciation and protection of future generations of
Californians.
(6) The California Delta is characterized by its numerous scenic
waterways, levee-top roadways, historic towns, idyllic marinas,
eucalyptus tree windrows, and highly productive family farms.
(7) There are 22 public recreation areas in the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta region, with fishing, park day use facilities,
campgrounds, trails and boating access that support numerous
recreational activities including boating, water skiing, jet skiing,
windsurfing, sailing, fishing, relaxing, hiking and jogging,
horseback riding, swimming, picnicking, and cycling.
(8) California is challenged by a growing obesity crisis and state
and local leaders must address the need for more opportunities for
exercise, movement, and recreation in public settings.
(9) The Delta Protection Commission surveys have found that there
are unmet recreational needs in the delta region, including a trail
for bicycling and hiking, in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region.
(10) A bicycle and pedestrian trail would provide an important
link between the people of California and one of our most precious
natural resources.
(11) A bicycle and pedestrian trail connecting the delta region,
with adjacent areas, would provide a great link between our
fascinating delta communities and foster a connection between our
rich histories and present challenges.
(b) The Legislature declares its support for the creation of a
Great California Delta Trail, linking the San Francisco Bay Trail
system and the planned Sacramento River trails in Yolo and Sacramento
Counties to the present and future trailways around the delta,
including, but not limited to, the delta's shorelines in Contra
Costa, San Joaquin, Solano, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties.
SEC. 2. Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 5852) is added to
Division 5 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
CHAPTER 12. The Great California Delta Trail System
5852. "Delta" means the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, as defined
in Section 12220 of the Water Code minus the area contained in
Alameda County.
5853. "Commission" means Delta Protection Commission as defined
in Section 29721.
5854. (a) In accordance with the requirements of subdivision (c),
the commission shall develop and adopt a plan and implementation
program, including a finance and maintenance plan, for a continuous
regional recreational corridor that will extend around the delta,
including, but not limited to, the delta's shorelines in Contra
Costa, Solano, San Joaquin, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties. This plan
shall link the San Francisco Bay Trail system to the planned
Sacramento River trails in Yolo and Sacramento Counties. This plan
shall include a specific route of a bicycling and hiking trail, the
relationship of the route to existing and proposed park and
recreational facilities and land and water trail systems, and links
to existing and proposed public transportation and transit. The
transportation and transit links may include, but are not limited to,
roadside bus stops, transit facilities, and transportation
facilities. The continuous regional recreational corridor planned and
executed pursuant to this chapter shall be called the Great
California Delta Trail. The continuous regional recreational corridor
shall include, but not be limited to, bikeway systems, and hiking
and bicycling trails.
(b) The Great California Delta Trail plan shall do all of the
following:
(1) Provide that designated environmentally sensitive areas,
including wildlife habitats and wetlands, shall not be adversely
affected by the trail.
(2) Provide for appropriate buffer zones along those portions of
the bikeway system adjacent to designated environmentally sensitive
areas and areas with private uses, when appropriate.
(3) Provide that the land and funds used for any purposes under
this chapter are not considered mitigation for wetlands losses.
(4) Provide alternative routes to avoid impingement on
environmentally sensitive areas, traditional hunting and fishing
areas, and areas with private uses, when appropriate.
(5) Provide that no motorized vehicles, except to the extent
necessary for emergency services, including, but not limited to,
medical and structural emergencies, and for handicap access, be
allowed on the trail.
(c) The commission may develop and adopt the plan and the
implementation program if it receives sufficient funds, from sources
other than the General Fund, to finance the full costs of developing
and adopting the plan. The commission shall submit the plan and the
implementation program to the Legislature and each of the counties
within the commission's service area not later than two years after
the commission determines that sufficient funds will be available to
complete the plan and implementation program.
(d) The commission shall administer the funds used in the planning
of the trail.
5855. (a) The commission shall establish a technical advisory
committee that shall review the trail's planning, implementation, and
funding proposals. The committee shall include members and staff of
appropriate regional government associations, local jurisdictions,
and districts. Participation in the committee is voluntary and its
members are not eligible for reimbursement from the state for costs
incurred to participate. The committee may make recommendations, to
the commission, on the trail's planning, implementation, and funding.
The executive director of the commission shall convene the meetings
of the committee.
(b) A cooperative working relationship shall be established with
state and federal agencies, and all other cities, counties,
districts, including school districts, and regional government
associations that are affected by the proposed trail.
(c) The commission shall establish a stakeholder advisory
committee representing groups concerned with environmental and
ecological protection of the delta, groups representing agricultural,
private, and other business uses of the delta's land and water, and
groups representing bicycling, walking, boating, horseback riding,
and other relevant recreational activities. The stakeholder advisory
committee shall advise the commission on the trail's impacts on and
uses for committee member constituencies. Participation in the
committee is voluntary and its members are not eligible for
reimbursement from the state for costs incurred to participate. The
committee may make recommendations, to the commission, on the trail's
planning, implementation, and funding. The executive director of the
commission shall convene the meetings of the stakeholder advisory
committee.
(d) The meetings of the committees established in subdivisions (a)
and (c) shall be subject to the provisions of the Bagley-Keene Open
Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1
of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
SEC. 3. Section 99234 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to
read:
99234. (a) Claims for facilities provided for the exclusive use
of pedestrians and bicycles or for bicycle safety education programs
shall be filed according to the rules and regulations adopted by the
transportation planning agency.
(b) The money shall be allocated for the construction, including
related engineering expenses, of those facilities pursuant to
procedures or criteria established by the transportation planning
agency for the area within its jurisdiction, or for bicycle safety
education programs.
(c) The money may be allocated for the maintenance of bicycling
trails that are closed to motorized traffic pursuant to procedures or
criteria established by the transportation planning agency for the
area within its jurisdiction.
(d) The money may be allocated without respect to Section 99231
and shall not be included in determining the apportionments to a city
or county for purposes of Sections 99233.7 to 99233.9, inclusive.
(e) Facilities provided for the use of bicycles may include
projects that serve the needs of commuting bicyclists, including, but
not limited to, new trails serving major transportation corridors,
secure bicycle parking at employment centers, park and ride lots, and
transit terminals where other funds are unavailable.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a
planning agency established in Title 7.1 (commencing with Section
66500) of the Government Code may allocate the money to the
Association of Bay Area Governments for activities required by
Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 5850) of Division 5 of the Public
Resources Code.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the
transportation planning agencies that allocate funds, pursuant to
this section, to the cities and counties with jurisdiction or a
sphere of influence within the delta, as defined in Section 5852 of
the Public Resources Code, may allocate the money to the Delta
Protection Commission for activities required by Chapter 12
(commencing with Section 5852) of Division 5 of the Public Resources
Code.
(h) Within 30 days after receiving a request for a review from
any city or county, the transportation planning agency shall review
its allocations made pursuant to Section 99233.3.
(i) In addition to the purposes authorized in this section, a
portion of the amount available to a city or county pursuant to
Section 99233.3 may be allocated to develop a comprehensive bicycle
and pedestrian facilities plan, with an emphasis on bicycle projects
intended to accommodate bicycle commuters rather than recreational
bicycle users. An allocation under this subdivision may not be made
more than once every five years.
(j) Up to 20 percent of the amount available each year to a city
or county pursuant to Section 99233.3 may be allocated to restripe
class II bicycle lanes.