BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1273 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 24, 2013 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mike Gatto, Chair AB 1273 (Ting) - As Amended: April 24, 2013 Policy Committee: Natural ResourcesVote:7-2 Local Government 9-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill authorizes the Port of San Francisco to approve a mixed-use development on the San Francisco Waterfront at Pier 30-32, including a multipurpose event venue - a basketball arena for the Golden State Warriors - if specified public access and environmental conditions are met. FISCAL EFFECT Negligible costs to the State Lands Commission and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. COMMENTS 1)Purpose. This bill is intended to authorize a mix-use development project, including a multipurpose venue on Piers 30-32 built on tide and submerged lands in San Francisco. Among other things, the project would include a professional basketball arena. 2)Background and Rationale. According to the author, the Port of San Francisco includes 7.5 miles of the San Francisco Bay waterfront, including the Piers 30-32 site, in trust for the people of the State of California. As a local trust grantee, the Port ensures that uses of trust lands are consistent with commerce, navigation, and recreation, or incidental uses that directly promote trust uses and public enjoyment of waterfront areas, such as restaurants, hotels, and visitor-serving retail. AB 1273 Page 2 The Port has made several attempts over the past decade to utilize public-private partnerships for preservation and economic development of Piers 30-32. In 2001, the Legislature enacted AB 1389 (Shelley) to facilitate the development of a cruise ship terminal and large mixed use office space at the site. The Pier 30-32 project never was constructed due to the site's poor structural condition and higher than projected substructure improvement costs. The cruise ship terminal project has since been relocated to Pier 27. In 2011, the America's Cup Event Authority proposed to rehabilitate Piers 30-32 to host its racing teams, but similarly relocated construction to other piers due to the site's high substructure improvement costs. Piers 30-32 has a remaining useful life of less than 10 years and would require either $68 million in preservation and seismic upgrades to maintain public safety, or $45 million to remove the decaying piers entirely. In light of these circumstances, the City and County of San Francisco has determined that a recent proposal to locate a multi-purpose venue at Piers 30-32 is the best option to promote public enjoyment of the waterfront and provides the needed revenue to preserve the site in furtherance of the public trust. According to the author, the design of the proposed multi-purpose venue is guided by public trust principles in consultation with the State Lands Commission and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. The proposed multi-purpose venue would rehabilitate the pier, modernize maritime facilities, and create new opportunities for open space and public access to the waterfront, all while generating approximately 8,000 new jobs and $500 million in annual economic output for 3)Public Trust Doctrine. As stated above, the Public Trust Doctrine in California is a common law doctrine that protects the public's right to use the state's waterways for commerce, navigation, fishing, boating, natural habitat protection, and other water oriented activities. This doctrine applies to filled and unfilled tide and submerged lands and the beds of lakes, streams, and other navigable waterways, otherwise known as public trust lands. AB 1273 Page 3 This bill asserts the project is consistent with common law public trust. The Public Trust Doctrine, as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court limits the Legislature's ability to use trust lands for non-trust purposes. However, there are examples of non-trust uses on public trust lands that have been deemed legitimate by the courts because they are incidental and accommodate other trust uses. Additionally, the courts have recognized that the public trust doctrine is flexible enough to accommodate public needs. 4)Support. This bill is sponsored by the City and County of San Francisco and supported by numerous business, labor and law enforcement agencies who argue that the construction and ongoing maintenance of this new state-of-the-art facility will greatly contribute to the Bay Area economy. 5)Opposition. This bill is opposed by environmental organizations and the Cities of Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond and San Leandro who argue that the bill does not protect public access on Piers 30-32 and has not be vetted through a public process. Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916) 319-2081