BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1962|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 1962
Author: Chesbro (D)
Amended: 6/9/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE : 4-0, 6/16/10
AYES: Aanestad, Kehoe, DeSaulnier, Price
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cox
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/13/10 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Real property: parks and open space:
irrevocable offers of
dedication
SOURCE : California Council of Land Trust
Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and
Open Space
District
DIGEST : This bill allows property owners to make
irrevocable offers of dedication of real property or
interests in real property to a regional park and
open-space district, with the consent of the district's
board of directors.
The property owner must formally record the offer in the
same manner as a real property conveyance. Once recorded,
the offer is irrevocable and the district's board may
accept it at any time.
CONTINUED
AB 1962
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ANALYSIS : Existing law authorizes a regional park and
open space districts broad statutory authority to acquire
real and personal property, including property interests
such as easements. These districts usually need
majority-voter approval before they can convey interests in
real property that is dedicated for parks or open space.
This bill allows property owners to make irrevocable offers
of dedication of real property or interests in real
property to a regional park and open-space district, with
the consent of the district's board of directors.
The property owner must formally record the offer in the
same manner as a real property conveyance. Once recorded,
the offer is irrevocable and the district's board may
accept it at any time.
This bill allows a district's board of directors to
terminate an offer of dedication by majority vote only if
the board makes two findings:
1. The offer was never accepted and, therefore, the offer's
termination does not constitute a conveyance of an
interest in real property dedicated for park and open
space purposes.
2. Now or in the future, the district cannot effectively
use the real property or interest in real property for
park or open space purposes.
This bill declares that its procedures are an alternative
to other laws.
Comments
When cities and counties approve proposed development
projects, they can impose conditions, including the
dedication of land or the payment of impact fees.
Developers often need years to fulfill these conditions.
Sometimes cities and counties require property owners to
donate land or easements to regional park and open space
districts. Some districts wait until it is certain that a
project will succeed before they accept a developer's offer
AB 1962
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to dedicate land or easements.
Governed ex officio by the Sonoma County Board of
Supervisors, the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation
and Open Space District asks property owners to follow an
existing law for offering dedications to cities and
counties. With the city or county's consent, the property
owner may make an irrevocable offer to dedicate real
property. The city or county can accept the dedication any
time after the property owner formally records the
irrevocable offer. The city or county can abandon the
offer if it follows prescribed statutory procedures.
In Sonoma County, the property owner irrevocably offers the
dedication of an easement to the County of Sonoma and later
the Board of Supervisors accepts the offer. The County
then transfers the easement to the Sonoma County
Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District.
Officials want to streamline this process by having the
property owners make their irrevocable offers directly to
the District.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/16/10)
California Council of Land Trusts (co-source)
Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space
District (co-source)
Cities of Cloverdale, Cotati, Healdsburg, Santa Rosa,
Sebastopol, Sonoma, and Windsor
Marin County Open Space District
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block,
Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Charles
Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De
La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey,
AB 1962
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4
Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries,
Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello,
Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas,
Saldana, Silva, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland,
Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines,
Yamada, John A. Perez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Caballero, Norby, Skinner, Vacancy
AGB:mw 6/16/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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