BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 418 Page 1 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 AB 418 Page 2 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 AB 418 Page 3 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 AB 418 Page 4 664, 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 AB 418 Page 5 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