BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 204
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Date of Hearing: June 27, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Cameron Smyth, Chair
SB 204 (Liu) - As Amended: June 7, 2012
SENATE VOTE : Vote not relevant
SUBJECT : Local alternative transportation improvement program:
State Route 710 in Los Angeles County.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the development of a local alternative
transportation improvement program (LATIP) to facilitate the
sale of excess property owned by the California Department
of Transportation (Caltrans) for the State Route (SR) 710 Study
Area in Los Angeles County. Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation
Authority (Metro), in consultation with Caltrans, to develop
and file an LATIP with the California Transportation
Commission (CTC) to preserve funding to address transportation
problems and opportunities in the SR 710 Study Area.
2)Grants the CTC final authority regarding the content and
approval of the LATIP, provided that the program content and
approval processes are consistent with the CTC's earlier
processes related to LATIPs for SR 84 and SR 238.
3)Directs the proceeds from the sale of excess properties, less
reimbursements and costs as specified, in the SR 710 Study
Area to be allocated by CTC to fund the approved LATIP, and
exempts those proceeds from formulae that generally govern the
distribution of capital improvement dollars for
transportation.
4)Restricts the use of these proceeds to projects for state
highway purposes or for projects in the LATIP that are also in
the local voter-approved transportation sales tax measure.
5)Defines "excess properties" to mean "those properties
previously acquired but no longer required to construct a new
project in the State Highway Route 710 Study Area."
6)Defines the "State Highway Route 710 Study Area" to mean "the
portion of the County of Los Angeles identified through the
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scoping process for the State Highway Route 710 North Gap
Closure Project environmental assessment."
7)Directs Caltrans to maintain a separate account of revenue
derived from the sale of excess properties in the SR 710 Study
Area.
8)Authorizes Metro, with the concurrence of the CTC, to advance
a project in the LATIP using its own funds, prior to the
availability of funds from the sale of excess property.
9)Sets forth the required elements of the LATIP, which shall
include all of the following:
a) A program to provide relocation assistance for certain
residents;
b) A program to provide relocation assistance for all lower
income households, regardless
of their eligibility for assistance as specified, who will be
displaced from their residences because of the sale or
removal of excess property;
c) A program to provide all persons or families who are not
otherwise eligible as specified, with relocation advice and
moving expenses; and,
d) A program to provide replacement housing units for
persons and families of low or moderate income at an
affordable cost, as specified.
10)States that the provisions of this bill shall not reduce or
limit any requirements for the provision of housing for
persons or families of low or moderate income as contained in
any other provision of law.
11)Prohibits state highway account funds from being expended for
planning or implementing the housing provisions of the LATIP.
12)Prohibits excess property or the proceeds from its sale from
being used for housing purposes, although excess property may
be used for housing purposes after it is sold by Caltrans.
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EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes Caltrans to sell, contract to sell, sell by trust
deed, or exchange real property or interest therein acquired
by the state for highway purposes, if that property is no
longer necessary for those purposes, in the manner and upon
terms, standards, and conditions established by the CTC.
2)Authorizes the CTC, in cooperation with the regional
transportation planning agencies, to prescribe Study Areas for
analysis and evaluation by those agencies and guidelines for
the preparation of the regional transportation plans.
3)Authorizes specified cities and counties to, in order to
resolve local transportation problems resulting from the
infeasibility of planned state transportation facilities on
certain state highway routes, develop and file with the CTC an
LATIP that addresses transportation problems and opportunities
in the county that was to be served by the planned facilities.
4)Creates Metro and makes it responsible for, among other
things, the establishment of overall goals and objectives to
achieve optimal transport service for the movement of goods
and people on a countywide basis.
5)Imposes various requirements on LATIPs, including the
requirement that Caltrans is required to maintain a specified
account for each LATIP into which it will deposit the funds
derived from the sale of the respective excess properties.
6)Requires a specified LATIP to include various housing
programs, including, but not limited to, relocation
assistance, relocation advice and moving expenses, and
replacement housing units.
7)Directs the proceeds from the sale of excess properties, less
specified costs, to be allocated by CTC to fund the approved
LATIP.
8)Sets provisions for governing LATIPs to require that the
programs provide relocation assistance and replacement housing
for persons affected by implementation of the LATIP.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed fiscal.
COMMENTS :
1)This bill authorizes the creation of a local transportation
program, the LATIP, that will use the proceeds from the future
sale of excess property in the SR 710 Study Area to support
relocation assistance and affordable replacement housing for
those displaced by the sale while returning Caltrans-owned
housing units to private ownership. The measure is similar to
provisions previously enacted to support the sale of excess
property and care of displaced residents in both the Hayward
SR 238 bypass corridor and in the SR 84 corridor. This bill is
sponsored by Metro.
2)According to the author, "Ýt]he completion of State Highway
Route 710 is a highly controversial and litigated project in
Los Angeles County. The 4.5 mile, uncompleted portion of
Route 710 in question transects neighborhoods and communities
in Los Angeles, Alhambra, South Pasadena, and Pasadena. Over
half a century ago, ÝCaltrans] began property acquisition to
complete the 710 project and now owns 587 homes within the
original surface route corridor. More than 400 of these homes
are occupied by tenants for whom Caltrans serves as landlord,
but many remain vacant and in disrepair. Dissatisfaction with
Caltrans' maintenance and management of the properties has
been ongoing?
In the last decade attention has focused on the construction of
a tunnel, rather than a surface route, to complete the
freeway. Meanwhile, local traffic congestion continues to
build and impact local environmental quality. A tunnel route
would require less surface area and fewer properties to be
destroyed; increasing the opportunity for the Caltrans owned
homes to be declared excess and sold, thereby returning them
to private ownership and the tax rolls. Current law, known as
the Roberti Bill, establishes terms and conditions for the
sale of properties to current tenants and affordable housing
entities. SB 204 does not alter this statute. Rather, it
provides that proceeds from the sale of the homes be allocated
to fund local transportation improvement projects in the State
Highway Route 710 Study Area."
3)SR 710 is a major north-south interstate freeway running 23
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miles through Los Angeles County. The freeway runs from Long
Beach to Alhambra, stopping short of the originally planned
terminus in Pasadena. Construction of the segment between
Alhambra and Pasadena, through South Pasadena, has been
delayed for decades due to community opposition. The freeway
gap is seen by many as a source of significant traffic
congestion in northeastern Los Angeles and the northwestern
San Gabriel Valley as there are no north-south freeways in
this area.
4)From a local government perspective, the important features of
this bill are the authorization to sell excess state-owned
homes to individuals, and the funding of local programs to
help those displaced by the sale.
According to a June 21, 2012, article from the LA Times, some
local officials - such as the South Pasadena City Council -
support the potential sale of excess properties in the SR 710
Study Area and view the proposed sale as an opportunity to
increase neighborhood vitality by increasing home ownership.
Under existing law, current tenants and past owners would be
the first in line to buy should Caltrans put the homes on the
market.
The LA Times article notes that such a sale may be years away:
a required environmental report is still being completed, and
"Caltrans Ýstill] would not be free to sell the homes until
the Federal Highway Administration accepted the proposed route
for a tunnel or whatever project was approved and the state
determined which properties were excess and therefore
available to be sold."
The same article also points to questions about the
maintenance of Caltrans-owned homes, stating that "Assemblyman
Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) launched a state
investigation last year into maintenance costs after seeing
bills for roofing that averaged $71,000 each, well above
private-sector costs. The findings from that probe - which
will look at maintenance costs, evaluate alternatives to state
ownership and determine the amount of property taxes that
could have been collected in the last five years had the homes
been privately owned - are expected to be released Ýin 2012]."
According to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, that
report is scheduled to be released in August.
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5)The second important local government element of this bill is
the creation of the LATIP relocation and housing programs.
This bill would require the LATIP to provide relocation
assistance to specified residents, particularly low-income
individuals who will be displaced by the proposed sales.
Individuals not otherwise eligible for relocation assistance
must still be provided with relocation advice and moving
expenses. The program also requires the LATIP to provide
replacement housing units for persons and families of low or
moderate income at an affordable cost, in an amount that
matches or exceeds the number of units displaced. Program
funds cannot, however, be used for housing purposes directly.
6)This bill is double-referred to the Assembly Committee on
Transportation, where it will be heard on June 25, 2012.
7)According to the Assembly Committee on Transportation, the
bill should be amended to require Metro to secure the
concurrence of Caltrans in addition to the CTC prior to
advancing a project in the LATIP in order to be consistent
with rules for other LATIPs and to ensure coordination and
cooperation amongst the involved agencies. The Assembly
Transportation Committee Analysis notes that "Ýt]he author has
agreed to take this amendment but, because of looming
legislative deadlines, the amendment will have to be taken in
the Assembly Appropriations Committee."
8)The following past bills have also addressed the development
of LATIPs:
AB 1386 (Hayashi), Chapter 291, Statutes of 2009, directed the
proceeds from the sale of excess properties in the SR 84 and
SR 238 corridors to a special fund to be used to implement
LATIPs in these corridors.
AB 1462 (Torrico), Chapter 619, Statutes of 2005, authorized
designated local agencies in Alameda County to follow an
existing process to develop and file a LATIP with the CTC as a
means of resolving a local transportation dispute surrounding
proposed improvements on SR 84.
SB 509 (Figueroa), Chapter 611, Statutes of 2004, reinstated the
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opportunity for a LATIP to be developed for the SR 238
corridor.
9)Support arguments : According to the sponsor, "Ýt]his bill
would require that revenues received for the sale of excess
property along the State Highway Route 710 study area be
allocated to these planned improvements within the corridor?We
fully support the successful passage of SB 204 which will
allow Metro to work closely with Caltrans and the CTC to
develop and implement a plan to help deliver transit and
highway improvement projects specifically in the State Highway
Route 710 study area."
Opposition arguments : None on file.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
ÝSPONSOR]
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Hank Dempsey / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958