BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 384
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Date of Hearing: May 4, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 384 (Chesbro) - As Amended: April 5, 2011
Policy Committee: Business and
Professions Vote: 9-0 (Consent)
Natural Resources 9-0
(Consent)
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes a three-way property transfer involving the
state and either Mendocino County or the City of Fort Bragg.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Authorizes the Department of General Services (DGS) to
effectuate a three-way land exchange, at fair market value,
that would:
a) Grant the City or County a five-year option to acquire
17 acres of the California Department of Forestry's (CDF's)
Jackson Demonstration State Forest for the development of a
solid waste transfer station.
b) Grant CDF a 12.6 acre parcel of the Department of Parks
and Recreation's (DPR's) Russian Gulch State Park, which
will become part of the Jackson Demonstration State Forest.
c) Grant DPR (i) a covenant restricting the use and
activities on 60 acres of the City and County's Caspar
Landfill property located on the boundary of the Russian
Gulch State Park-currently a closed landfill and small
volume solid waste transfer station-and (ii) a 99-year
option to buy 35 acres of the Caspar Landfill property for
$1.
2)Requires the City or County to reimburse the state for any
difference in the appraisal value of the exchanged asset if
AB 384
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the state receives less value in the exchange and to reimburse
the state for reasonable administrative costs incurred to
complete the transfer of title.
FISCAL EFFECT
No net state costs, as the bill requires the state to be
compensated both for its administrative costs and any difference
in land values if the state properties are appraised at less
than the non-state properties.
COMMENTS
Background and Purpose . The City and County are looking for a
site to build a long-haul transfer station for solid waste
management. Currently, the Fort Bragg area lacks such a
facility, thus its trash is collected in short-haul collection
trucks that use detachable pods, each holding up to five tons of
trash. These individual pods are then detached and transported
three-at-a-time over 30 miles to the Willits Transfer Station
(WTS), where 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. This entire journey of 120 miles from the Fort Bragg
Haulers Yard to the PHL is extremely inefficient. The City and
County, whose current solid waste contract is set to expire in
2014, would like a new long-haul transfer station open by that
date.
A 2007 long-haul transfer station siting study done for the
Mendocino Solid Waste Management Authority identified a 17-acre
section of the Jackson Demonstration State Forest as a prime
candidate site. According to the Authority, the only viable
alternative involves building the transfer station on the closed
Caspar landfill, which is located next to the Russian Gulch
State Park. DPR would likely oppose this approach. The problems
with this alternative is that DPR would likely oppose the
project, the surrounding infrastructure is not suitable for
heavy truck traffic, and vehicle miles and fuel consumption
would be higher than at the Jackson Demonstration State Forest
site. After discussions between the County, City, CDF, and DPR,
a plan emerged for a three-way land exchange as authorized by
this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
AB 384
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