BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 468| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 468 Author: Kehoe (D) Amended: 8/31/11 Vote: 21 SENATE NATURAL RES. AND WATER COMMITTEE : 5-3, 4/12/11 AYES: Pavley, Evans, Kehoe, Padilla, Wolk NOES: La Malfa, Cannella, Fuller NO VOTE RECORDED: Simitian SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 6-2, 5/3/11 AYES: DeSaulnier, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Pavley, Rubio, Simitian NOES: Gaines, Harman NO VOTE RECORDED: Huff SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-2, 5/26/11 AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Lieu, Pavley, Price, Steinberg NOES: Walters, Runner NO VOTE RECORDED: Emmerson SENATE FLOOR : 24-15, 6/1/11 AYES: Alquist, Calderon, Corbett, De León, DeSaulnier, Evans, Hancock, Hernandez, Kehoe, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio, Simitian, Steinberg, Vargas, Wolk, Wright, Yee NOES: Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Cannella, Correa, Dutton, Emmerson, Fuller, Gaines, Harman, Huff, La Malfa, Strickland, Walters, Wyland NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available CONTINUED SB 468 Page 2 SUBJECT : Department of Transportation: capacity-increasing state highway projects: coastal zone SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill sets forth comprehensive requirements and accompanying authority for development of the North Coast Corridor Project (NCCP) in and near the Interstate 5 corridor in San Diego County. Assembly Amendments (1) clarify that collaboration between agencies include the public works plan and the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) recommend a freeway width alternative no wider the "8+4" lanes to Caltrans, (2) clarify the role of the Coastal Commission regarding it review of rail projects within the North Coast Corridor, (3) define an additional requirement for the development of a public works plan, (4) define the NCCP and how the agreement between agencies is recognized by the Legislature, and (5) delete the requirement that the SANDAG, the North County Transit District, and the California Department of Transportation cooperatively develop a single transit improvement plan for the State Highway Route 5 corridor. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1. Provides that the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has full possession and control of the state highway system. 2. Imposes various requirements for the development and implementation of transportation projects. 3. Authorizes SANDAG to conduct, administer, and operate a value pricing high-occupancy toll lane program on two corridors included in the high-occupancy vehicle lane system in San Diego County. This bill: SB 468 Page 3 1. Makes findings and declarations regarding issues related to development of the NCCP in the coastal zone. 2. Defines key terms, including: A. "8+4 Buffer Alternative" to mean the addition of a multimodal managed lane facility consisting of two lanes on either side of Interstate 5 (I-5) within the North Coast Corridor, separated from general purpose lanes and, to the maximum extent feasible, built within existing rights-of-way owned by the Caltrans. High-occupancy vehicles (HOVs), vanpools, and one or more bus rapid transit routes will have priority in the managed lanes. Furthermore, value pricing techniques will allow single-occupant vehicles to use the facility by paying a toll, as long as single-occupant vehicle use does not negatively impact the transit uses of the managed lanes; the 8+4 buffer alternative is one of the five different alternatives identified in the draft environmental impact report/draft environmental impact statement for the expansion of vehicle capacity on I-5; and, B. "Public works plan" to mean a plan that allows for an integrated regulatory review by the California Coastal Commission (Commission) rather than a project-by-project approval approach. 3. Provides that a public works plan approved for the NCCP within the coastal zone must include all of the elements of the project to be carried out by Caltrans or the SANDAG, including projects related to coastal access, highway, transit, multimodal transportation, community enhancement, and environmental restoration and mitigation; sets forth specific conditions that the public works plan must satisfy. 4. Provides that once the public works plan for the NCCP has been approved and certified by the Commission, subsequent review by the Commission for specific projects will be limited to imposing conditions necessary to ensure consistency with the public works plan. SB 468 Page 4 5. Sets forth comprehensive requirements that the public works plan must satisfy, including providing a process for obtaining coastal development permits, identifying specific project elements, and establishing mitigation measures to be undertaken by SANDAG and Caltrans. 6. Requires Caltrans and SANDAG, for all elements of the NCCP that are in the coastal zone, to comply with specific requirements, including: A. Collaborate with stakeholders; B. Establish a safe routes to transit program; C. Recommend an alternative no larger than the 8+4 buffer alternative as the preferred alternative for I-5 improvements; D. Plan and construct concurrent lagoon crossings, unless construction in phases will result in environmentally superior alternative to concurrent construction; E. Construct concurrent highway and transit projects; and, F. Use revenue from the voter-approved transaction and use tax, commonly referred to as TransNet, to fund improvements on the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo rail corridor. 7. Directs the Commission, Caltrans, and SANDAG to work cooperatively toward completing all design reviews, determinations, and permitting for the NCCP. 8. Makes legislative findings that the Commission's role in this project is to apply a regional or statewide perspective and authorizes a streamlined process related to local coastal programs. 9. Sets forth other parameters to guide the project through the environmental process. SB 468 Page 5 10.Requires Caltrans to suspend any notice of determination issued this calendar year until the project's environmental documents are deemed consistent with provisions of this bill. 11.Provides that this bill's provisions are not to be construed to supersede or in any way lessen the effect or application of the California Coastal Act or to narrow the authority of the Commission to resolve policy conflicts. 12.Authorizes SANDAG to conduct, administer, and operate a value pricing and transit development program in the I-5 corridor; directs any excess revenue to be used directly in the I-5 corridor exclusively for the improvement of transit service and for HOV facilities. Background Caltrans is responsible for the development, operations, maintenance, and reconstruction of state highways, and it also plans and operates through contracts with Amtrak, California's intercity passenger rail service. When Caltrans develops capacity increasing projects, it usually carries out this activity in concert with the regional transportation planning agency for the area in which the project is located. SANDAG is the regional transportation planning agency for the County of San Diego, a single county planning region. SANDAG is responsible for long-term, multi-modal transportation planning, the prioritization transportation projects, and developing fundable transportation capital outlay program. SANDAG also oversees the operation of public transportation services in the county. The Commission, established by voter initiative in 1972 (Proposition 20) and later made permanent when the Legislature adopted the California Coastal Act of 1976, is a 12 member, independent, quasi-judicial state agency with regulatory responsibility for permitting projects constructed in the coastal zone. It oversees the implementation of various policies that address issues such as shoreline public access and recreation, lower cost SB 468 Page 6 visitor accommodations, terrestrial and marine habitat protection, visual resources, landform alteration, agricultural lands, commercial fisheries, industrial uses, water quality, offshore oil and gas development, transportation investments, development design, power plants, ports, and public works. The Coastal Act establishes a band along the state's coastline that varies in width from several hundred feet in urban areas to as much as five miles inland in rural areas of the state, which constitutes the jurisdiction of the Commission. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill will likely result in the need for additional upfront resources at Caltrans (likely exceeding $150,000) for coordination activities related to completion of the public works plan. Caltrans would also incur costs of around $100,000 to support development of the mandated safe routes to transit program. To the extent the framework and processes established in this bill help to expedite individual projects over the life of the NCCP, the state should realize significant administrative and capital outlay cost savings. Any costs to the Commission should be absorbable. SUPPORT : (Verified 8/30/11) Associated General Contractors California Coastal Commission California State Council of Laborers Move San Diego Planning and Conservation League San Diego Association of Governments San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author introduced this bill in response to the proposed widening of I-5 in San Diego County. This bill applies to the entire coastal zone, but the most significant highway project is the San Diego project. In November 2010, the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee held an informational hearing on the SB 468 Page 7 project, which over 200 people attended, in Solana Beach, a city in the NCCP area. Caltrans, SANDAG, and the chair of the Air Resources Board participated. In comments to Caltrans on the I-5 draft environmental impact report (DEIR), the author wrote: "Simply proposing to construct wider freeways to get us through the next 40 years will not do when the level of service would not be improved to a significant level. The public clearly wants realistic transit options and is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as evidence by the strong vote in November, 2010, rejecting Proposition 23 that would have suspended implementation of AB 32 in California". The initiation and development of highway projects is a joint effort between Caltrans and the local regional transportation planning agency, SANDAG in the case of improvements to I-5 in San Diego. I-5 is an important interregional and intracounty highway. Currently, about 200,000 vehicles use the highway on a daily basis, and SANDAG forecasts in 2030 that usage will increase to 300,000 vehicles, a 50 percent increase. Caltrans and SANDAG initiated defining various freeway improvement options in late 1997, with Caltrans approving the actual project alternatives in January, 2000. The environmental analysis of the project alternatives began in 2004. Today, the travel time during commute hours from end-to-end of the 27 mile corridor is 38 minutes. If no improvements are made, SANDAG forecasts the travel time to be 70 minutes in 2030. On the other hand, if a 14-lane freeway (10 conventional lanes and for managed lanes) is constructed, the travel time will be 37 minutes, while constructing a twelve lane freeway, travel time will increase to 45 minutes. The passenger rail service is expected to offer 32 minute service. CTW:kc 9/7/11 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** SB 468 Page 8