BILL NUMBER: AB 31 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 623
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 30, 2008
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 30, 2008
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 13, 2008
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 19, 2008
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 12, 2008
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 1, 2008
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 17, 2008
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 7, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 5, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 3, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 10, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member De Leon
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bass, Coto, Hayashi, Hernandez,
Karnette, Mendoza, Nunez, Price, Saldana, Solorio, Soto, Swanson, and
Torrico)
(Coauthors: Senators Cedillo, Corbett, and Padilla)
DECEMBER 4, 2006
An act to amend Sections 5640, 5641, 5642, 5643, 5644, 5645, 5646,
5647, 5648, 5649, 5650, and 5653 of, to amend the heading of Chapter
3.3 (commencing with Section 5640) of Division 5 of, to add Sections
5643.6 and 5652.5 to, and to repeal Section 5651 of, the Public
Resources Code, relating to parks and recreation.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 31, De Leon. Statewide Park Development and Community
Revitalization Act of 2008.
(1) The Urban Park Act of 2006 (act) requires the Department of
Parks and Recreation (department) to establish a local assistance
program to offer grants, on a competitive basis, to various local
entities and nonprofit organizations, as defined, for the acquisition
or development, or both, of urban parks and recreational areas and
facilities. Heavily urbanized counties are authorized to apply for
these grants. The department is required to submit an annual report
to the Legislature on the status of each grant made pursuant to the
act.
This bill would change the name of the act to the Statewide Park
Development and Community Revitalization Act of 2008. A city,
regional park district, district, joint powers authority, or county,
in addition to specified nonprofit organizations, would be authorized
to apply for local assistance program grants. The department would
be required to encourage joint partnerships between agencies to
enhance investment of public resources. The term "critically
underserved community" would replace the term "heavily urbanized
county" for purposes of the act and would be defined to include a
community with less than 3 acres of usable parkland per 1,000
residents or a disadvantaged community, as defined, that can
demonstrate to the Department of Parks and Recreation that the
community has insufficient or no park space and recreation
facilities. The bill would revise the criteria for awarding grants
and revise and create new limitations on grantee allocation of funds,
including repealing a grantee's existing authority to use grant
funds to pay costs associated with remediating toxic materials or
hazardous substances. The bill would require the department, on or
before April 1, 2009, to adopt guidelines to amplify or clarify the
grant criteria or develop a procedural guide for the administration
of the act and the guidance of applicants. The department would be
required to offer technical assistance to all applicants and
potential applicants for grant preparation to encourage full
participation in the grant program.
The bill would delete the requirement for an annual report and
would instead require the department to make certain information
available on the department's Internet Web site 5 business days after
awarding a grant.
The bill would make clarifying and conforming changes to other
provisions of the act.
(2) The Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood
Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006, an initiative
statute adopted by the voters at the November 7, 2006, statewide
general election, among other things, makes $400,000,000 in bond
funds available to the Department of Parks and Recreation for
competitive grants for local and regional parks, and authorizes those
funds to be allocated pursuant to implementing legislation, subject
to certain considerations, including requiring preference to be given
to the acquisition and development of new parks and expansion of
overused parks that provide park and recreational access to
underserved communities.
This bill would state that it is the intent of the Legislature to
make those funds available to the department, upon appropriation, to
award competitive grants pursuant to the Statewide Park Development
and Community Revitalization Act of 2008.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature to make available
to the Department of Parks and Recreation, upon appropriation, four
hundred million dollars ($400,000,000) provided by subdivision (b) of
Section 75065 of the Public Resources Code that shall be used to
award competitive grants to critically underserved communities
pursuant to the Statewide Park Development and Community
Revitalization Act of 2008 (Chapter 3.3 (commencing with Section
5640) of Division 5 of the Public Resources Code).
SEC. 2. The heading of Chapter 3.3 (commencing with Section 5640)
of Division 5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
CHAPTER 3.3. THE STATEWIDE PARK DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY
REVITALIZATION ACT OF 2008
SEC. 3. Section 5640 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
5640. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Statewide Park Development and Community Revitalization Act of 2008.
SEC. 4. Section 5641 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
5641. The Legislature hereby finds and declares as follows:
(a) The program created by this chapter will finance the
acquisition and development of parks and recreation areas and
facilities in the communities that are currently least served by park
and recreation facilities by emphasizing the creation of park space
and recreational opportunities and the expansion of park
accessibility to underserved communities. These underserved
communities are often the same areas that suffer most from high
unemployment and destructive or unlawful conduct by youth.
(b) The program established by this chapter will encourage
community participation in, and a greater sense of responsibility
toward, new parks and recreation areas and facilities, which will
help keep them clean and safe and which will enhance community pride
and sustain neighborhood vitality.
(c) New parks and facilities will provide safe recreational
opportunities for children, positive outlets, and secure sites for
youth, while also meeting the special recreational and social needs
of senior citizens and other population groups.
(d) California suffers from an acute shortage of parks throughout
the state, particularly in poor communities.
(e) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature that the funds
made available through the Statewide Park Development and Community
Revitalization Act of 2008 be used to award competitive grants
statewide to advance certain goals and policies, including, but not
limited to, assisting in the acquisition of park space or the
development of park and recreation opportunities to critically
underserved communities. It is further the intent of the Legislature
that this be accomplished by delivering project funds to neighborhood
and regional park projects in areas of highest need, while offering
technical assistance to all applicants and potential applicants for
grant preparation to encourage full participation in the grant
program.
SEC. 5. Section 5642 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
5642. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
following meanings:
(a) "City" means a city or the City and County of San Francisco.
(b) "Critically underserved community" means a community that
meets either of the following:
(1) Has less than three acres of usable parkland per 1,000
residents.
(2) Is a disadvantaged community, as defined by subdivision (g) of
Section 75005, and can demonstrate to the department that the
community has insufficient or no park space and recreation
facilities.
(c) "District" means one of the following:
(1) A recreation and park district formed under Chapter 4
(commencing with Section 5780).
(2) A public utility district formed under Division 7 (commencing
with Section 15501) of the Public Utilities Code in a nonurbanized
area that employs a full-time park and recreation director and offers
year-round park and recreation services on lands and facilities
owned by that district.
(3) A memorial district formed under Chapter 1 (commencing with
Section 1170) of Division 6 of the Military and Veterans Code that
employs a full-time park and recreation director and offers
year-round park and recreation services on lands and facilities owned
by that district.
(4) The Malaga County Water District exercising powers authorized
under Section 31133 of the Water Code.
(5) A community service district formed under Division 3
(commencing with Section 61000) of Title 6 of the Government Code in
a nonurbanized area that is authorized to provide public recreation
as specified in subdivision (e) of Section 61100 of the Government
Code.
(6) A county service area or zone in the county service area,
within the County of San Bernardino that is empowered to provide
public park and recreation services pursuant to Chapter 2.2
(commencing with Section 25210.1) of Part 2 of Division 2 of Title 3
of the Government Code, that is actually providing public park and
recreation services that was reorganized prior to January 1, 1987,
from a park and recreation district to a county service area or zone.
(7) A regional park district formed pursuant to Article 3
(commencing with Section 5500) of Chapter 3.
(d) "Facilities" includes, but is not limited to, places for
organized team sports, outdoor recreation, and informal turf play;
nonmotorized recreational trails; permanent play structures;
landscaping; community gardens; places for passive recreation,
enjoyment of scenic open space, nature appreciation and study, and
outdoor education; multipurpose structures designed to meet the
special recreational, educational, vocational, and social needs of
youth, senior citizens, and other population groups; recreation areas
created by the redesign and retrofit of urban freeways; community
swimcenters; regional recreational trails; and infrastructure and
other improvements that support these facilities.
(e) Notwithstanding subdivision (k) of Section 75005, "nonprofit
organization" means any nonprofit entity qualified to do business in
California, qualified under Section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the
United States Code, and that has among its primary purposes the
preservation, protection, or enhancement of land or water resources
in their natural, scenic, historical, agricultural, forested, or
open-space condition or use, or the provision of conservation and
environmental education and other recreational, vocational, and
educational services to youth.
SEC. 6. Section 5643 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
5643. (a) The Department of Parks and Recreation shall establish
a local assistance program to distribute grants to the most
critically underserved communities across the state, on a competitive
basis, to eligible cities, counties, joint powers authorities,
districts, and nonprofit organizations for the acquisition or
development, or both, of property for parks and recreation areas and
facilities.
(b) The Department of Parks and Recreation shall encourage joint
partnership projects, if available, between two or more agencies,
including, but not limited to, school districts, nonprofit
organizations, and local governmental agencies in order to enhance
investment of public resources.
SEC. 7. Section 5643.6 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
5643.6. It is the intent of the Legislature that the local
assistance program created by this chapter fund both neighborhood
parks and regional parks and trails.
SEC. 8. Section 5644 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
5644. Eligible applicants for grants pursuant to this chapter are
cities, counties, regional park districts, districts, joint powers
authorities, and nonprofit organizations.
SEC. 9. Section 5645 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
5645. The department may award a grant pursuant to this chapter
only for a project that meets all of the following criteria:
(a) The proposed project will create a new park where one
currently does not exist, a new recreational facility, or new
recreational opportunity.
(b) The applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the
department that the project is located in a critically underserved
community, or in the case of a regional park or trail, the project is
within close proximity to one or more critically underserved
communities.
(c) The proposed project is designed to provide efficient use of
water and other natural resources, which may include, but is not
limited to, projects that use climate-appropriate vegetation, reduce
stormwater runoff, capture and store stormwater, minimize the use of
pesticides and fertilizers, incorporate pervious surfaces into
project design, or use construction methods that use recycled
materials and minimize construction waste.
(d) The amount of the grant applied for, together with any
matching contribution, will meet all the costs of acquiring or
developing, or both, the new park or facilities, or new recreational
opportunities, and when construction of the project is completed, the
new park or facility will be fully usable by the residents of the
critically underserved community.
(e) The project applicant or partnering entities will provide for
public safety and recreational opportunities following project
completion.
(f) Following project completion, the project's weekday and
weekend operating hours will accommodate the needs of the community
residents. Entrance or membership fees shall not significantly deter
use by community residents. Pursuant to receiving these funds, fees
cannot be limited to nonresidents of the community in which the park
space or recreational opportunity is located.
SEC. 10. Section 5646 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
5646. In evaluating applications for grants that meet the
requirements of Section 5645, the department shall assign higher
priority to applications, for each of the following criteria
satisfied:
(a) The project will acquire new parks, develop new parks, expand
overused parks, or create a new recreational opportunity in a
community that has demonstrated insufficient or no park space and
recreation facilities. In evaluating the deficiency level of park and
recreation facilities in a critically underserved community, the
department shall consider the number of acres of usable parkland per
1,000 residents.
(b) The critically underserved community has a significant percent
of persons living at or below the poverty level.
(c) The project will enhance workforce development and employment
opportunities, utilize members of the California Conservation Corps
or certified local conservation corps, if available, or accommodate
outdoor learning opportunities for school pupils or at-risk youth in
the service area.
(d) The project applicant has actively involved the public and
community-based groups in the selection and planning of the project.
SEC. 11. Section 5647 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
5647. (a) The department shall adopt guidelines to amplify or
clarify the criteria specified in this chapter, and may adopt
additional criteria, to supplement those criteria, but the scope of
the additional criteria shall be limited to providing additional
guidance in selecting projects in areas that have the greatest
deficiencies in parks and facilities.
(b) The department shall develop a procedural guide for the
administration of this chapter and the guidance of applicants.
(c) The department shall solicit written comments and hold public
hearings at convenient locations throughout the state on any
guideline or procedural guide that is proposed to be adopted or
developed pursuant to this section.
(d) The department shall offer technical assistance to all
applicants and potential applicants for grant preparation in order to
encourage full participation in the grant program.
(e) The department shall allow grantees to spend no more than 25
percent of the grant amount for project planning, design, compliance
with the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13
(commencing with Section 21000)), and other incidental, but directly
related, construction or acquisition costs.
(f) The department shall adopt the guidelines or develop the
procedural guide on or before April 1, 2009.
(g) Any regulation or procedural guide adopted or developed
pursuant to this section shall not be subject to the review or
approval of the Office of Administrative Law or to any other
requirement of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of
Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
SEC. 12. Section 5648 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
5648. (a) The local assistance program created by this chapter is
intended to include grants for the acquisition or development, or
both, of parcels of property of any size that will serve residents of
a critically underserved community and otherwise meet the
requirements of this chapter. The department shall not assign an
application a lower priority on the basis that the application
proposes the acquisition of a city lot or other small parcel.
(b) A grant may be expended to acquire the fee title, a leasehold,
or other interest in real property. If an application proposes to
acquire less than fee title, the applicant shall demonstrate in the
application, to the satisfaction of the department, that the proposed
project will provide public benefits that are commensurate with the
type and duration of the interest in real property to be acquired.
SEC. 13. Section 5649 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
5649. (a) An eligible nonprofit organization may apply for a
grant on its own behalf or on behalf of an eligible city, county, or
district pursuant to a contract with that city, county, or district
to acquire and develop the park or recreation area. The application
may include a copy of the contract and the resolution or other
authorization for the contract. The contract shall specify
arrangements for the long-term management and operation of the park
or recreation area.
(b) An eligible applicant may apply for a grant to develop
state-owned parklands if the applicant manages those lands under a
contract with the state without state reimbursement for management
costs.
SEC. 14. Section 5650 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
5650. (a) Every applicant for a grant pursuant to this chapter
and the entity that will operate and maintain the property, if that
entity is different than the applicant, shall agree to comply with
all of the following requirements:
(1) To operate and maintain the property developed pursuant to
this chapter so that it is usable by residents of the targeted
critically underserved community. With the approval of the
department, the grant recipient, or its successor in interest in the
property, may transfer its property interest and the responsibility
to operate and maintain the property, in accordance with the terms of
the grant and any applicable law, to a public agency or nonprofit
organization that is able to operate and maintain the property in
perpetuity. Any attempt to make a transfer in violation of this
subdivision is void.
(2) To use the property only for the purposes for which the grant
was made and to make no other use or sale or other disposition of the
property, except as authorized by specific act of the Legislature.
If the use of the property is changed to a use that is not permitted
by the terms of the grant, or if the property is sold or otherwise
disposed of, the grant recipient shall reimburse the state an amount
equal to the amount of the grant, the fair market value of the land
and any improvements constructed with the grant, or the proceeds from
the sale or other disposition, whichever amount is greatest. If the
property that is sold or otherwise disposed of is less than the
entire interest in the property funded with the grant, the grant
recipient shall reimburse the state an amount equal to either the
proceeds from the sale or other disposition of the interest or the
fair market value of the interest sold or otherwise disposed of,
whichever amount is greater.
(b) In lieu of seeking reimbursement pursuant to paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a), the department may impose restrictions on the use of
public park property identical to the requirements for the
preservation of public parks set forth in the Public Park
Preservation Act of 1971 (Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 5400))
with respect to any property used, sold, or otherwise disposed of in
a manner not permitted by the terms of the grant.
SEC. 15. Section 5651 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.
SEC. 16. Section 5652.5 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
5652.5. A grant recipient shall encumber grant moneys within
three years of the date of the approval of the grant and grant moneys
shall be liquidated within eight years from the date of
appropriation.
SEC. 17. Section 5653 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
5653. Five business days after awarding a grant pursuant to this
chapter, the department shall make information available on the
department's Internet Web site regarding the status of the grant and
other relevant information, including, but not limited to, a
geographic breakdown of awarded grants and the overall amount applied
for by all grant applicants, the total amount applied for by awarded
grant applicants, each award amount, and a brief description of the
funded projects.