BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: ab 1962
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: allen
VERSION: 3/29/12
Analysis by: Mark Stivers FISCAL: no
Hearing date: June 19, 2012
SUBJECT:
Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District: city or county design
review
DESCRIPTION:
This bill repeals the requirement that the Sonoma-Marin Area
Rail Transit District obtain advisory review of a rail transit
facility project through the design review process of the
relevant city or county.
ANALYSIS:
Current law establishes the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit
(SMART) District for the purpose of providing a unified,
comprehensive institutional structure for the ownership and
governance of a passenger rail system within the counties of
Sonoma and Marin. SMART will provide rail service along 70
miles of the historic Northwestern Pacific Railroad alignment,
serving 14 stations from Cloverdale in Sonoma County to the San
Francisco-bound ferry terminal in Larkspur, Marin County. The
first construction work began in May 2012.
Current law mostly exempts SMART from the general rule that
local agencies comply with all applicable building ordinances
and zoning ordinances of the county or city in which the agency
is situated. Only in the event that SMART participates in the
development of transit-oriented residential or commercial
projects adjacent to its stations must it comply with land use
and zoning regulations of the city or county in which the
project is located. With respect to rail transit facilities
(e.g., stations, platforms, terminals, parking lots, and
connecting bicycle and pedestrian pathways), SMART must comply
only with the design review process of the city or county in
which the facility will be located, and then only for advisory
purposes.
AB 1962 (ALLEN) Page 2
This bill repeals the requirement that SMART obtain advisory
review of a rail transit facility project through the design
review process of the relevant city or county.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose of the bill . With respect to rail transit facilities,
SMART is specifically exempt from having to comply with local
building and zoning ordinances yet is required to comply with
a city's or county's design review processes for advisory
purposes. According to the author, opponents of the project
may use the advisory role of the design review as a delay
tactic, negatively impacting the project's schedule and
increasing costs. To avoid delays and potential cost
increases, this bill repeals the requirement to seek advisory
design review from the city or county for SMART's rail transit
facilities.
The author further contends that SMART already has a design
review process for their rail stations, making a required
hearing by each local design review board redundant and
without benefit. Moreover, 10 of the 12 directors on the
SMART board are city councilmembers or county supervisors,
making then sensitive to local concerns.
2.SMART's design review process . According to SMART, it held a
total of 24 station design workshops, at least one in every
community along the rail corridor, in 2010 and 2011 to
generate input on station site plans and preferences for
station amenities, and these meetings strongly informed
SMART's station designs. Thereafter, at both the 20% and 30%
engineering design levels, SMART distributed its engineering
drawings, including those for stations, to each city and
county and to members of the public and made adjustments based
on the comments received.
SMART continues to solicit input from its local government
partners by distributing construction plans to affected cities
and counties as it develops its designs and through its
Technical Advisory Committee, which is comprised of
representatives of cities and counties and discusses matters
related to design, construction, and operations.
To reinforce its commitment to local input, the SMART board
adopted a resolution in April 2012 that directs the general
AB 1962 (ALLEN) Page 3
manager to submit a letter and station design information to
the county administrator or city manager and the mayor or
president of the board of supervisors of each affected
jurisdiction prior to the time at which station engineering
drawings reach 75% design level in order to seek feedback and
input from the city or county.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 75-0
Local Gov: 9-0
Trans: 13-0
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Wednesday, June 12,
2012)
SUPPORT: Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District (sponsor)
City of Novato
City of Santa Rosa
City of Rohnert Park
County of Marin
County of Sonoma
Flasher Barricade Association
Marin Builders Association
Mayor Debora Fudge, City of Windsor
Mayor Gary O. Phillips, City of San Rafael
Mayor Jake McKenzie, City of Rohnert Park
OPPOSED: None received.