BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 662
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 662 (Hueso)
As Amended January 5, 2012
Majority vote
LOCAL GOVERNMENT 6-2
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|Ayes:|Alejo, Bradford, Campos, | | |
| |Wieckowski, Gordon, Hueso | | |
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|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Smyth, Knight | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires the military Air Installation Compatible Use
Zone (AICUZ) of a military airport within the jurisdiction of an
airport land use commission (ALUC) to provide for reasonable
public comment and participation and specified environmental
review; and, deems an AICUZ inapplicable if these conditions are
not met. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the military AICUZ of a military airport within the
jurisdiction of an ALUC to provide for reasonable public
comment and participation, including a public process that
resulted in the adoption of an environmental impact statement
pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
2)Provides that if an environmental impact statement under NEPA
was done on an AICUZ, which included a public process, then
the airport land use compatibility plan (ALUCP) shall be
consistent with the safety and noise standards in the AICUZ
prepared for that military airport.
3)Provides that if an AICUZ was adopted without a public process
and NEPA review then the ALCUP does not have to be consistent
with the safety and noise standards in the AICUZ.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires each ALUC to formulate an airport land use
compatibility plan that will provide for the orderly growth of
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each public airport and the area surrounding the airport
within the jurisdiction of the commission, and will safeguard
the general welfare of the inhabitants within the vicinity of
the airport and the public in general.
2)Requires the ALUC's airport land use compatibility plan to
include and be based on a long-range master plan or an airport
layout plan, as determined by the Division of Aeronautics of
the Department of Transportation, that reflects the
anticipated growth of the airport during at least the next 20
years.
3)Requires the airport land use compatibility plan to be
consistent with the safety and noise standards in the AICUZ
prepared for the military airport.
4)Requires that, once an ALUC has adopted or amended an ALUCP,
the county - if it has land use jurisdiction within the
airport influence area - and any affected cities must: a)
update their general plans and any applicable specific plans
to be consistent with the ALUC's plan within 180 days; or, b)
take the required steps to overrule all or part of the ALUC's
plan. If a county or city fails to take either action, then
it is required to submit all land use development actions
involving property within the airport influence area to the
ALUC for review.
5)Provides that a local or public agency may propose to overrule
an airport land use commission's action or recommendation
affecting an airport within the jurisdiction of that public
agency after a hearing, by a two-thirds vote of its governing
body if it makes specific findings that the proposed action is
consistent with the purposes of protecting public health,
safety, and welfare, minimizing the public's exposure to
excessive noise, and minimizing safety hazards within areas
around the public airport.
6)Requires local governments to: a) revise their development
permit application forms; and, b) notify branches of the
military when proposed general plan actions and amendments,
and development projects might have an impact on military
facilities and operations.
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FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : An ALUCP is a plan, usually adopted by a county ALUC
or other entity established to accomplish land use compatibility
planning, which sets forth policies for promoting compatibility
between airports and the land uses which surround them.
The AICUZ program is a Department of Defense planning program
that was developed in response to incompatible urban development
and land use conflicts around military airfields. The AICUZ
program has two objectives: a) to assist local, regional,
state, and federal officials in protecting the public health,
safety, and welfare by promoting compatible development within
the AICUZ area of influence; and, b) to protect operational
capabilities from the effects of land uses that are incompatible
with aircraft operations. While prepared by or for a military
installation, the primary users of an AICUZ study are the local
communities surrounding the installation or an offsite location.
Areas contiguous to military installations often provide
attractive land development opportunities. Certain types of
development are not compatible with the high noise and high
potential for aircraft accidents associated with airfield
activities.
Pursuant to SB 1468 (Knight), Chapter 971, Statutes of 2002, the
provisions of the AICUZ become mandatory when incorporated into
the ALUCP. In a letter to the Senate Journal, Senator Knight
wrote "Ýt]he purpose of SB 1468 is to address and resolve urban
encroachment impacts on military activities." Prior to SB 1468
the inclusion of the AICUZ in an ALCUP was voluntary.
ALUCPs and the AICUZ study are interrelated. An ALUCP must be
consistent with the safety and noise standards in the AICUZ
study prepared for a military airport. According to the
Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) Supplement to
the General Plan Guidelines: Community and Military
Compatibility Planning, the AICUZ program "facilitates
involvement of military installations in the local land use
planning process and outreach to local civic groups, realtors,
and other key stakeholders in local government decision-making.
An AICUZ study contains an analysis of accident potential, and
noise produced by military operations. The aircraft noise is
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analyzed using computer modeling that produces noise
compatibility zones. The study also identifies areas of current
and future encroachment based on local land use plans, and
provides local communities with compatible land use
recommendations for consideration in development of their
comprehensive plans and zoning ordinances. The compatible land
use recommendations for aircraft noise have been endorsed and
adopted by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Environmental
Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and
are used nationwide for military and commercial airfields."
In the 2005 case of Muzzy Ranch Co. v. Solano County Airport
Land Use Commission, 125 Cal. App. 4th 810, 23 Cal. Rptr. 3d 60,
2005 Cal. App. LEXIS 25 (Cal. App. 1st Dist., 2005) it was found
that an ALUCP, which in some cases may include an AICUZ, must go
through the appropriate environmental review pursuant to the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Conversely, an
AICUZ prepared by the military is not subject to CEQA or the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). However, it should be
noted that once an AICUZ is incorporated in to an ALUCP, it
cannot be amended. Moreover, an AICUZ is an advisory document
for the military but once adopted into an ALUCP, it is mandatory
for the ALUC and local cities and counties to follow. This
issue is the crux of this bill. The City of Coronado, the
sponsor of this measure, believes that this inconsistency in
environmental review is challenging given that the ALUCP must be
consistent with the AICUZ, which has not gone through a similar
review process.
The current AICUZ for Naval Air Station North Island (NASNI) was
approved by the Navy in January 1984. At that time it was
advisory and the City of Coronado (City) treated it as such.
The Navy is currently finalizing a new AICUZ for NASNI, which
was completed in December 2010, but still requires review and
approval through the Navy chain of command before it will be
released, which could take several more months. The mandatory
application of the AICUZ on zoning and land use regulations in
Coronado could impose significant residential and commercial
development restrictions inconsistent with the City's existing
land uses, zoning regulations and General Plan. Because of
Coronado's unique history as a community predating the
development of military aviation it is unlike other cities.
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Just like CEQA not all projects that go through NEPA need to
receive an environmental impact statement (which is the
equivalent to an environmental impact report under CEQA).
However, the provisions of this bill require that an AICUZ
receive a full environmental impact statement even though a
lesser environmental review under NEPA may be appropriate in
some cases. The Legislature may wish to consider if it is
appropriate to require a full environmental impact statement or
if any appropriate review under NEPA is sufficient.
Existing law provides that a local or public agency may propose
to overrule an ALUC's action or recommendation affecting an
airport within the jurisdiction of that public agency after a
hearing, by a two-thirds vote of its governing body if it makes
specific findings that the proposed action is consistent with
the purposes of protecting public health, safety, and welfare,
minimizing the public's exposure to excessive noise, and
minimizing safety hazards within areas around the public
airport. According to the Airport Land Use Planning Handbook,
written by the Division of Aeronautics in the Department of
Transportation, "a local agency cannot simply overrule an ALUC
determination without first documenting the basis for the
overruling action and relating that basis directly to the
purposes for which the ALUC statutes were adopted. The purpose
of findings is to assure compliance with state law?Findings were
defined in the decision (Topanga Association for a Scenic
Community v. County of Los Angeles (1974) 11 Cal.3d 506) as
legally relevant conclusions that explain the decision-making
agency's method of analyzing facts, regulations, and policies
and the rationale for making the decisions based on the facts
involved. In other words, findings provide the connection
between the evidence in the record, and the decision reached."
Support arguments: The sponsor argues that "since the inclusion
of an AICUZ in the Airport Authority's ACLUP for North Island
Air station does not trigger CEQA, the residents of Coronado
whose properties will be impacted by the plan and associated
zoning requirements do not have a venue to voice their concerns
or even have an opportunity to request changes to the document.
AB 662 attempts to address this problem by ensuring that there
is some process for the public to participate and comment on the
development of the AICUZ."
Opposition arguments: The opposition, the Department of Defense
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and U.S. Coast Guard installations in California, write that
"Ýa]n AICUZ Study is not a decision document; it does not
authorize new air operations nor does it alter existing
operations. It uses standardized methods to develop a public
document that depicts the location of accident potential zones
and noise contours based on existing and future operations, and
makes land use recommendations to promote public safety.
Therefore, given the nature and purpose of an AICUZ Study, the
public participation sought in the amended bill is
inappropriate."
Analysis Prepared by : Katie Kolitsos / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958
FN: 0003005