BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 384
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Date of Hearing: April 12, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Mary Hayashi, Chair
AB 384 (Chesbro) - As Amended: April 5, 2011
SUBJECT : State forest land: Jackson Demonstration State
Forest.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the City of Fort Bragg (City) and the
County of Mendocino (County) to acquire up to 17 acres of the
Jackson Demonstration State Forest (JDSF) to develop a solid
waste transfer station, as part of a three-way property transfer
set at fair market value. Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes the Department of General Services (DGS), with the
approval of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
(CAL FIRE), to transfer up to 17 acres of JDSF from CAL FIRE
to the City or County, to build a solid waste transfer
station, and further:
a) Authorizes the City or County to take title to up to 17
acres of JDSF within five years from the date an agreement
is executed;
b) Requires the City or County to build a solid waste
transfer station within 10 years of taking title of up to
17 acres of JDSF or the land reverts back to CAL FIRE; and,
c) Requires that the existing Caspar Landfill cease to
accept solid waste once the solid waste transfer station
opens.
2)Authorizes DGS, with the approval of the Department of Parks
and Recreation (DPR) to transfer 12.6 acres in Russian Gulch
State Park (RGSP) to CAL FIRE for compensation for the loss of
up to 17 acres of JDSF.
3)Authorizes the City or County to give DPR the grant of a
restrictive covenant on 60 acres of City and County property
on the northern boundary of the RGSP which is currently a
closed landfill and small volume transfer station, and a
99-year option for DPR to buy 35 acres of City and County
property for $1.
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4) Requires the entity acquiring title to the 17 acres of JDSF
property to:
a) Reimburse the state for the difference in the appraised
value of the assets to be exchanged, if the state is found
to be receiving less value, and for reasonable
administrative costs to complete the transfer of title;
and,
b) Be responsible for compliance with the California
Environmental Quality Act.
5)Makes the three-way land transfer subject to DGS's
determination that it is in the state's best interests.
6)Creates the following definitions:
a) "City" to mean the City of Fort Bragg;
b) "County" to mean the County of Mendocino;
c) "Entity acquiring title" to mean either the city or
county, whichever exercises the option to take title to
JDSF; and,
d) "Property" to mean the certain property described as the
easterly 17 acres, more or less, of that portion of
Mendocino County Assessor's Parcel Number 019-150-05 which
is north of State Highway 20, located in a portion of the
JDSF.
7)Makes legislative findings and declarations relating to the
City and County's objectives to build a solid waste transfer
station and the three-way land transfer.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes DGS, subject to legislative approval, to sell,
lease, exchange, or transfer various specified properties for
current market value, or upon terms and conditions as DGS
determines are in the state's best interests.
2)Authorizes CAL FIRE to engage in the management, protection,
and reforestation of state forests.
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3)Authorizes DPR to have control of the state park system.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Purpose of this bill . According to the author's office, "This
bill would authorize JDSF, RGSP, the County, and the City, to
engage in a triple land swap in order for the County to build a
new solid waste transfer station on the JDSF property."
Background . The City and County are looking for a site to
build a commercial transfer station for solid waste management.
Currently, the Fort Bragg area does not have a long-haul
transfer station, and in order to dispose of its trash for its
15,000 residents, must collect trash in Waste Management (WM)
short-haul collection trucks that use detachable pods. Each pod
holds up to five tons of trash, first collected at the Fort
Bragg Haulers Yard, then detached and transported three at a
time, in 15-ton trips, to the Willits Transfer Station (WTS).
The solid waste is dumped, repackaged, and reloaded once more in
transfer trailers carrying 25 tons to its final destination at
the Portero Hills Landfill (PHL) in Solano County. The entire
journey is approximately 120 miles from the Fort Bragg Haulers
Yard to the PHL.
The City and County are looking for a site to build a local
transfer station to eliminate inefficiencies in costs, fuel
consumption, and emissions, and to directly haul trash from the
Fort Bragg area to the PHL without stopping at the WTS. The
Mendocino Solid Waste Authority (Authority) states that in 2008,
the City generated 14,300 tons of trash, which cost $89.93 per
ton, or a total of approximately $1.3 million under a WM
contract for transportation, handling and disposal of garbage
from Fort Bragg to WTS and PHL. A new Fort Bragg transfer
station would deliver solid waste at a cost of $78.57 per ton,
or a total of approximately $1.1 million annually, by directing
haul from the City to the PHL. The Authority remarks that this
would result in an annual cost savings of $162,563.
Also, the WM pod collection trucks are no longer manufactured
and current pod trucks are operating with scavenged parts, and
could cease operation at any time. If this occurs, solid waste
will have to be hauled even less efficiently to the WTS and
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annual costs would rise to approximately $1.6 million unless a
new Fort Bragg transfer station is available. WM's collection
contracts for the Fort Bragg area expire in 2014 and the City
and County want to have a new long-haul transfer station open by
that date.
The City has been looking for a site for a local transfer
station. While the Caspar Landfill is a viable option, it is in
close proximity to a residential neighborhood, poses a potential
public nuisance by bordering state park, and has unsatisfactory
and unfixable access roads. Right now, the Caspar Landfill is a
small-volume self-haul landfill for residents only. A siting
study identified 17 acres of JDSF as a prime location because
the land has no timber crop, recreational function, or adjoining
uses that would conflict with a transfer station.
The City, County, CAL FIRE, and DPR have had positive
conversations about the benefits of a three-way land transfer.
This bill requires authorizes the land transfers at fair market
value, and allows each party, pending completion of the
appraisals, to compensate for the difference in value to
complete the deal or to reject the deal altogether.
Support . According to the sponsor, the Authority, "One of the
most serious inefficiencies in our county's solid waste
management is the lack of a commercial transfer station in the
Fort Bragg coastal area. Solid waste is being hauled a long
distance in small payloads. This increases costs and harms the
environment through unnecessary truck trips and unnecessary
greenhouse gas emissions?
"Our comprehensive study identified 17 acres at the edge of
JDSF, which is essentially unused, surplus, and irrelevant to
the purposes of JDSF, as a possible transfer station site. AB
384 would provide an option to the County and City to acquire
this site in exchange for full value given to the state,
following environmental review and consideration of all
alternatives."
Double-referred . This bill is double-referred to Assembly
Natural Resources Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
AB 384
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Mendocino Solid Waste Management Authority (sponsor)
Associated California Loggers
City of Mendocino
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Joanna Gin / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301