BILL ANALYSIS
AB 694
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Date of Hearing: May 6, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Anna Marie Caballero, Chair
AB 694 (Saldana) - As Introduced: February 26, 2009
SUBJECT : Tidelands and submerged lands: City of San Diego.
SUMMARY : Repeals Chapter 642 of the Statutes of 1929 which
removed the "tidelands" designation on all land shoreward of the
bulkhead in City of San Diego and declared them to be free from
all public trusts and restrictions. Specifically, this bill :
1)Repeals state law concerning tidelands shoreward of the
bulkhead in the City of San Diego and makes these lands, with
the exception of the lots conveyed to the United States by the
City of San Diego within the Navy Broadway Complex, along with
tidelands or submerged lands seaward of the bulkhead, subject
to public trust restrictions.
2)States that the repeal of Chapter 642 may not be construed to
overturn or otherwise nullify the decision in United States of
America v. 15.320 Acres of Land, U.S. Dist. Lexis 21875 or any
title settlement agreement entered into by the State of
California acting by and through the State Lands Commission
(Commission).
3)Requires the Commission to represent the state and cooperate
with the state's local trustees and the United States in
resolving their respective title and boundary issues involving
tidelands and submerged lands, including, but not limited to,
those involved in the 1993 federal Base Closure and
Realignment Law.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Prohibits, under Article X of the California Constitution, all
tidelands within two miles of any incorporated city, city and
county, or town from being granted or sold to a private party,
and prohibits anyone from excluding the right of access to or
navigation of tidelands whenever it is required for any public
purpose.
2)Conveys, pursuant to Chapter 700, Statutes of 1911, certain
tideland parcels to the City of San Diego to be held in public
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trust, without the right to grant or convey such tidelands, on
the condition that it make certain harbor improvements.
3)Authorizes, pursuant to Chapter 250, Statutes of 1913, any
municipality to which tidelands have been granted by the
Legislature to grant portions of such lands to the United
States for the "public purposes of the United States" if
approved by a majority of electors.
4)Removes, pursuant to Chapter 642, Statutes of 1929, the
"tidelands" designation on all land shoreward of the bulkhead
in the City of San Diego and declares them to be free from all
public trusts and restrictions except that the city may not
grant or convey these lands to anyone for any purpose.
5)Permits the city to lease or rent the above-mentioned lands
for a period not to exceed
50 years, and also use, lease, or rent all land lying seaward of
the bulkhead line to any person or corporation for a maximum
of 50 years provided that the use or lease does not interfere
with public trust purposes such as navigation, commerce or
fisheries.
6)Authorizes, pursuant to Chapter 808, Statutes of 1929, any
municipality, upon voter approval, to convey tide and
submerged lands to the United States for "public or
governmental (including military or naval) purposes."
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)AB 694 responds to a federal district court decision in 1991
upholding the Navy's assertion that about 15 acres of the San
Diego waterfront, former tidelands granted to it by the City
of San Diego for exclusive use of the Navy (known as the Navy
Broadway Complex), are free from the public trust and
associated use restrictions pursuant to Chapter 642, Statutes
of 1929. The U.S. brought this case in order to "quiet title"
or settle all claims to the property in order to develop it.
It was opposed by the State of California. The court rejected
the state's position and ruled in favor of the Navy, citing,
in part, the plain, unambiguous language of Chapter 642 and
the fact that neither the Legislature nor a court of law had
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taken any action to invalidate it.
2)AB 694 pertains to the remaining tidelands or submerged lands
in San Diego Bay, both filled and unfilled, subject to Chapter
642 and outside of the Navy Broadway Complex. While the
author has neither the intention nor the authority to overturn
the federal court decision, she does intend, by repealing
Chapter 642, to make explicit the fact that the remaining
tidelands in the City of San Diego are subject to the public
trust and associated use restrictions.
3)It is worth noting that, in Chapters 250 and 808, the state
authorized municipalities to which tidelands had been granted
to then grant portions of those lands to the federal
government, but only for "public purposes of the United
States" (Ch. 250) or "public or governmental (including
military or naval) purposes" (Ch. 808). In the case of the
Navy Broadway Complex, the Navy has entered into a long-term
lease in December 2006 with a private developer to build a new
administration building on part of the property for the Navy's
benefit, and 1.7 million square feet of office space, 1.2
million square feet of hotels, lesser amounts for retail and
"public attraction" space, and a 1.9 acre public park on the
remainder of the land for the developer's benefit. The
Committee may wish to consider whether having the federal
government gain control of state tidelands and then turn them
over to a private developer constitutes "the public purposes
of the United States." The author's office is concerned that
without AB 694, the Navy could assert a similar right to lease
or dispose
of other tidelands for non-trust uses of a similarly
questionable "public" nature.
4)This bill is similar to AB 1832 (Saldana), which the Governor
vetoed last year because it eliminated the authority of local
governments, upon voter approval, to grant tidelands and
submerged lands to the federal government for "public" or
"governmental" purposes. This bill retains this authority.
5)This bill is double-referred to the Committees on Natural
Resources, where it was passed with a 6-0 vote on April 13,
2009, and to Local Government.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
AB 694
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Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Katie Kolitsos / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958