BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 418
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Date of Hearing: April 27, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Cameron Smyth, Chair
AB 418 (Ammiano) - As Introduced: February 14, 2011
SUBJECT : Tidelands and submerged lands: City and County of San
Francisco: Pier 70.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the State Lands Commission to approve and
effectuate a land exchange involving public trust lands within
the Pier 70 area in San Francisco for the purpose
of facilitating the Port of San Francisco's redevelopment plans.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes State Lands Commission (SLC) to approve and
effectuate a land exchange involving public trust lands within
the Pier 70 area in San Francisco provided in part that:
a) The public trust lands exchanged out of the trust (1)
have been filled, reclaimed, and are cut off from access to
waters of the San Francisco Bay, (2) are relatively useless
for public trust purposes, and (3) constitute a relatively
small portion of the granted lands within the city;
b) The lands to be received into the trust have a monetary
value equal to or greater than the monetary value of lands
to be exchanged out of the trust;
c) The exchange will not substantially interfere with trust
uses and purposes, and the lands impressed with the trust
will provide significant benefit to the trust;
d) The applicable state agencies have approved a risk
management plan or remedial action plan sufficient to
protect human health and the environment from hazardous
substances in the Pier 70 area, the Port is in compliance
with the approved plan, and the Port has provided adequate
financial assurances to ensure continuing compliance with
the plan;
e) The Port and San Francisco board of supervisors have
approved the exchange; and,
f) The exchange furthers the purpose of the public trust
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and is in the best interest of the statewide public.
2)Requires SLC to grant the lands received into the trust as a
result of the exchange to the Port. These granted lands are
to be managed by the Port pursuant to the Public Trust
Doctrine and the Burton Act.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the SLC, comprised of the Lieutenant Governor, the
State Controller, and the State Director of Finance.
2)Provides that SLC is the state agency that manages and
protects the state's tide and submerged lands.
3)Requires SLC to carry out its responsibilities consistent with
the Public Trust Doctrine which provides that tide and
submerged lands are reserved for uses associated with
commerce, fishing, navigation, recreation and the environment.
4)Authorizes SLC to administer and control those lands and to
lease, exchange, and otherwise dispose of them as provided by
law, subject to the terms and any considerations established
by SLC for each transfer or exchange of those lands. In most
instances, the Legislature has enacted statutes specifically
authorizing the transfer of particular parcels of state lands
to local jurisdictions for specified public trust uses, such
as navigation improvements, port construction, piers and
wharves, recreation, and public access, and SLC carries out
the transaction and exercises ongoing oversight responsibility
to make sure the grantee complies with the terms of the
transfer and public trust obligations.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Under the Burton Act (Chapter 1333, Statutes of 1968), the
state conveyed certain state tidelands along the San Francisco
waterfront, generally extending from Fisherman's Wharf to
Candlestick Point, to the City and County of San Francisco,
through its Port, in 1969 in trust for public trust and Burton
Act trust purposes, subject to the obligation on the part of
the City and County San Francisco to assume $55 million in
state debt obligations then existing relating to the
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waterfront properties.
2)Tide and submerged lands and the beds of lakes, streams, and
other navigable waterways are held in trust by the state for
the benefit of the people of the state and are to be used to
promote the public's interest in water or water-dependent
activities, such as commerce, navigation, fisheries,
environmental preservation and recreation. SLC is the steward
and manager of the state's public trust lands. Actions of SLC
are subject to the California Environmental Quality Act.
Existing law allows SLC to lease trust lands, enter into
boundary agreements, and exchange public trust lands for
non-trust lands and lift the trust from public trust lands.
SLC must be provided equal value in any exchange. The
Legislature retains the authority to modify uses permitted on
public trust lands.
The Legislature has granted certain public trust lands to local
governments or local agencies for management. A grantee must
manage trust lands consistent with its own granting statutes
and the public trust doctrine. Grantees are generally
entitled to undertake development activities on their trust
lands provided those activities are consistent with the public
trust. The Legislature has retained for the state, by
delegating to SLC, the power to approve land exchanges,
boundary line agreements, and equivalent transactions.
3)Pier 70 is a 69-acre brownfields site on San Francisco's
Central Waterfront. For over 150 years, some portion of this
site has been in use for ship building and repair. The federal
government controlled portions of the site until 1967. Now,
the Pier 70 area is poised to become a unique new San
Francisco neighborhood, while preserving the history that
helped make San Francisco a world class waterfront city.
Following an extensive public planning process, the Port
published its Master Plan for the Pier 70 area in April 2010.
The Port's vision for Pier 70 is to create a vibrant and
authentic historic district that re-establishes the historic
activity level, activates new waterfront open spaces, creates
a center for innovative industries, and integrates ongoing
ship repair operations.
Last year, the Legislature passed AB 1199 (Ammiano), Chapter
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664, Statutes of 2010, which revised the special statute that
controls how local officials can form, finance, and operate an
infrastructure financing district along the San Francisco
waterfront, at Pier 70, on land that is under the jurisdiction
of the Port of San Francisco.
4)The Port acquired Pier 70 parcels from the state, the federal
government, and private parties.
Portions of the site are historic uplands that were never
submerged tidelands subject to the public trust, and several
parcels have been in and out of private and federal ownership,
creating a patchwork of sites subject to public trust
restrictions. AB 418 will authorize the SLC to effect a
public trust swap to rationalize the location of trust
property along the water's edge to promote maritime uses and
public access in these areas.
5)Support arguments: According to the sponsor, the Port of San
Francisco, a trust realignment will make both trust and
non-trust parcels more valuable by enabling major economic
development and waterfront restoration and providing for the
preservation of ongoing ship repair and historic resources,
while creating a vibrant and authentic historic district that
will activate new waterfront open spaces and development.
Opposition arguments: Opposition could argue that the
property being swapped by the SLC may be better off remaining
in the public's trust instead of being transferred to the
City.
6)This bill was heard by the Committee on Natural Resources on
March 21, 2011, and passed with an 8-0 vote.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support Opposition
Port of San Francisco ÝSPONSOR] None on file
Dog Patch Neighborhood Association
Green Trust San Francisco - Central Waterfront
Neighborhood Parks Council
Northern CA District Council of the International
Longshore and Warehouse Union
Potrero Boosters Neighborhood Association
San Francisco Architectural Heritage
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San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council
San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association
Analysis Prepared by : Katie Kolitsos / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958