BILL ANALYSIS �
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