BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  SB 1169|
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                              UNFINISHED BUSINESS


          Bill No:  SB 1169
          Author:   Kehoe (D), et al.
          Amended:  8/9/12
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER COMM  :  7-0, 3/27/12
          AYES:  Pavley, Cannella, Fuller, Kehoe, Padilla, Simitian, 
            Wolk
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  La Malfa, Evans

          SENATE FLOOR  :  35-0, 4/12/12
          AYES:  Alquist, Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon, 
            Cannella, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Dutton, Emmerson, 
            Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Hancock, Harman, Hernandez, Huff, 
            Kehoe, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, 
            Pavley, Price, Rubio, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, 
            Vargas, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Corbett, La Malfa, Padilla, Runner, 
            Walters

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  79-0, 8/13/12 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Natural community conservation planning

           SOURCE  :     City of San Diego


           DIGEST  :    This bill converts up to 10,000 acres of 
          remaining designated open-space lands identified in the 
          document "Declaration of the Dedication of Land" to 
          "dedicated" open-space lands in the City of San Diego.
                                                           CONTINUED





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           Assembly Amendments  add Assemblymember Atkins as a 
          coauthor.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law:

          1.Exempts from specified provisions of the act any natural 
            community conservation plan or subarea plan initiated on 
            or before January 1, 2000, or amendment thereto, by 
            Sweetwater Authority, Helix Water District, Padre Dam 
            Municipal Water District, Santa Fe Irrigation District, 
            or the San Diego County Water Authority, which the 
            Department of Fish and Game (DFG) determines is 
            consistent with the approved San Diego Multiple Habitat 
            Conservation Program or the San Diego Multiple Species 
            Conservation Program, if DFG finds that the plan has been 
            developed and is otherwise in conformance with the act. 

          2.Deems certain lands designated as open-space lands as of 
            January 1, 2008, to be dedicated land under the City 
            Charter of San Diego.

          This bill converts up to 10,000 acres of remaining 
          "designated" open-space lands identified in the document 
          "Declaration of the Dedication of Land" to "dedicated" 
          open-space lands in the City of San Diego.

           Background
           
          The City of San Diego has over 10,000 acres of open space 
          owned in fee title by the city, that are eligible for 
          conversion from "designated" open space to "dedicated" open 
          space.  "Dedicated" open space offers greater protection to 
          the land because it cannot be sold or exchanged without a 
          2/3 vote of the people. Open space land that is listed as 
          "designated" may be sold or traded by a vote of the City 
          Council.  Conversion of city open space from "designated" 
          to "dedicated" may be accomplished with a city ordinance or 
          with a statute of the State Legislature.  San Diego has 
          been unable to secure city funding to convert the land from 
          "designated" to "dedicated" open space, thus is seeking a 
          statute from the State Legislature.

          The impetus for this conversion of open space land is that 







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          in 1997, San Diego signed a 50-year agreement with the U.S. 
          Fish and Wildlife Service to conserve approximately 55,000 
          acres of open space within San Diego under the Multiple 
          Species Conservation Program (MSCP).  The MSCP is a 
          long-term habitat conservation planning program that is 
          designed to preserve native habitat for multiple species 
          rather than focusing efforts on one species at a time.  The 
          MSCP works in accordance with the California Natural 
          Community Conservation Planning Act (NCCPA; FGC §2800) 
          which has the stated goals of conserving, protecting, 
          restoring, and enhancing natural communities. San Diego's 
          MSCP has been developed cooperatively by participating 
          jurisdictions/special districts in partnership with 
          federal/state wildlife agencies, property owners, and 
          representatives of the development industry and 
          environmental groups. 

          A report to the city council from 2006 (Report No. 06-168) 
          identified over 16,000 acres of open space within San Diego 
          as eligible for conversion from "designated" to "dedicated" 
          open space.  In 2007, a resolution was unanimously passed 
          by the mayor and city council to support the effort to 
          convert this land to dedicated open space.  That same year, 
          SB 373 (Kehoe) enabled the conversion of approximately 
          6,600 acres of the over 16,000 acres identified in the 
          report, to be converted to dedicated open space.  There 
          still remains about 10,000 acres that need to be converted. 
           Under the NCCPA, the legislature is to provide assistance 
          with the implementation of natural community conservation 
          plans.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No   
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/15/12)

          City of San Diego (source) 
          Azalea Park Neighborhood Association
          California Native Plant Society - San Diego Chapter
          Councilmember David Alvarez, City of San Diego
          Endangered Habitats League
          San Diego Coastkeeper
          Friends of Rose Canyon
          Friends of Switzer Canyon







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          Friends of Tierrasanta Canyons
          Kevin Beiser, Board Member District B, San Diego Unified 
          School District
          La Jolla Community Planning Association
          San Diego Canyonlands
          San Diego Unified School District Board of Education
          Councilmember Marti Emerald, City of San Diego
          Councilmember Todd Gloria, City of San Diego
          Council President Anthony Young, City of San Diego
          San Diego Audubon Society
          Estrada Land Planning, Inc.
          Councilmember Sherri Lightner, City of San Diego
          San Diego County Water Authority
          Environment California


          ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to San Diego Mayor Jerry 
          Sanders and the San Diego City Council, the cost to San 
          Diego to convert the 10,000 acres of land from designated 
          to dedicated open space would be in excess of $2 million. 
          By dedicating these lands via a legislative statute, 
          maximum protection can be afforded to the identified 10,000 
          acres without incurring the estimated $2 million cost.  

          Supporters listed above cite the cost savings to San Diego 
          and the help it will provide in meeting San Diego's 
          regional conservation goals in the MSCP.


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  79-0, 8/13/12
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, 
            Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, 
            Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, 
            Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, 
            Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, 
            Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, 
            Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger 
            Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, 
            Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, 
            Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, 
            Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, 
            Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, 
            Torres, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. 
            Pérez







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          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Valadao


          CTW:n   8/15/12   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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