BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2133|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2133
Author: Niello (R)
Amended: 8/20/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE : 4-0, 6/30/10
AYES: Cox, Aanestad, Kehoe, DeSaulnier
NO VOTE RECORDED: Price
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 69-1, 5/24/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Geologic hazards: earthquake fault zoning
SOURCE : University of California
DIGEST : This bill deletes, in existing law, an exemption
from the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act for any
structure owned and operated by the state that is listed on
the California Register of Historical Resources or the
National Register of Historic Places, including the
California Memorial Stadium, and instead, provides a
specific exemption from the Act for the California Memorial
Stadium located on the University of California, Berkeley
campus.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/20/10 add more legislative
intent language, declaring the Legislature's intent to
recognize the California Memorial Stadium's significance,
CONTINUED
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and declare that the Legislature recognizes the exemption
process in the Alquist-Priolo Act for local historical
structures, but notes that state buildings cannot use that
exemption process.
ANALYSIS : The Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act
prevents building on top of active faults. The State
Geologist publishes maps which are the basis for
development regulations within the earthquake fault zones.
The Alquist-Priolo Act does not apply to five types of
projects:
1. Condominium conversions.
2. Structures built before May 4, 1975, unless the
alterations or additions are more than 50 percent of a
structure's value.
3. Alterations or additions where the value is less than 50
percent of a structure's value.
4. Structures damaged by the 1991 Berkeley-Oakland Hills
fire that get state waivers.
5. Alterations that include seismic retrofitting on four
types of structures built before May 4, 1975.
In 2009, the Legislature added a fourth type of structure
to the fifth category - structures owned and operated by
state entities or agencies that are on the California
Register of Historical Resources or the National Register
of Historic Places, including the California Memorial
Stadium. That exemption does not apply unless a state
entity or agency submits a plan of proposed alterations to
the State Geologist (SB 113 [Senate Local Government
Committee], Chapter 332, Statutes of 2009).
This bill deletes the exemption from the Alquist-Priolo
Earthquake Fault Zoning Act for structures owned and
operated by state entities or agencies that are on the
California Register of Historical Resources or the National
Register of Historic Places, including the California
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Memorial Stadium.
This bill declares that the Alquist-Priolo Act does not
apply to the California Memorial Stadium located on the
University of California, Berkeley campus. This bill
declares that the Stadium requires seismic retrofitting
needed to strengthen structures and provide increased
resistance to ground shaking from an earthquake. This bill
further declares that it does not conflict with the intent
or applicability of the Alquist-Priolo Act.
This bill contains the following intent language:
It is the intent of the Legislature to recognize the
historical and architectural significance of the
California Memorial Stadium located on the University of
California, Berkeley campus. Furthermore, the Legislature
recognizes that the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault
Zoning Act (Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 2621) of
Division 2 of the Public Resources Code) provides an
exemption process for local historical structures through
the local planning process; however, buildings owned by
the state, including the University of California, are
not subject to the local planning process and therefore
cannot use this process to obtain an exemption.
The Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act (Chapter
7.5 (commencing with Section 2621) of Division 2 of the
Public Resources Code) shall not apply to the California
Memorial Stadium located on the University of California,
Berkeley campus. However, the Legislature finds and
declares that the California Memorial Stadium located on
the University of California, Berkeley campus, requires
seismic retrofitting, as defined in Section 8894.2 of the
Government Code, which is necessary to strengthen
structures and provide increased resistance to ground
shaking from an earthquake.
This section does not conflict with the intent or the
applicability of any provision of the Alquist-Priolo
Earthquake Fault Zoning Act (Chapter 7.5 (commencing with
Section 2621) of Division 2 of the Public Resources
Code).
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Comments
The University of California sponsored last year's
amendment to the Alquist-Priolo Act. The Hayward Fault
passes directly under the California Memorial Stadium on
the University of California, Berkeley campus. Originally
built in 1923, and now on the National Register of Historic
Places, the stadium seats over 72,000 people. After a 1998
seismic study gave the stadium a "poor" rating, campus
officials started planning seismic and disabled access
improvements.
Concerns over the 2009 amendment caused Governor
Schwarzenegger to issue a statement when he signed SB 113.
The Governor's signing statement said that the proponents
would introduce a bill to satisfy the concerns of the
Governor's Office of Planning and Research, the Department
of Conservation, and the Seismic Safety Commission.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/2/10) (Unable to reverify)
University of California (source)
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/2/10) (Unable to reverify)
Coalition for a Responsible Stadium
Dwight-Hillside Neighborhood Association
Save Strawberry Canyon
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : This bill, pursuant to the
Governor's request, rectifies the broad language that was
added to existing law by SB 113 last year by instead
providing for an explicit exemption only for the California
Memorial Stadium located on the University of California,
Berkeley campus.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Individuals opposed to the bill
have expressed concerns about public safety because of the
potential to increase usage and human occupancy load limits
of the California Memorial Stadium.
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ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes,
Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore,
Hagman, Harkey, Hayashi, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries,
Jones, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Miller, Monning, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, V. Manuel
Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Silva, Skinner, Smyth,
Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,
Torrico, Tran, Yamada, John A. Perez
NOES: Blakeslee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bass, Evans, Hall, Hernandez, Knight,
Nava, Norby, Saldana, Villines, Vacancy
AGB:mw 8/23/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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