BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 1273 (Ting) - Tidelands and submerged lands: City and County
of San Francisco: Pier 30-32: multipurpose venue.
Amended: August 13, 2013 Policy Vote: NR&W 7-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 26, 2013 Consultant:
Marie Liu
This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 1273 authorizes the State Lands Commission
(commission) to approve a mixed-use development on Pier 30-32 in
San Francisco, including a multipurpose venue, if the commission
finds that specific conditions are met.
Fiscal Impact: No unreimbursed costs. The commission is likely
to incur one-time costs in the high tens of thousands to low
hundreds of thousands of dollars over several years to consider
the development and related land swaps. There will be some minor
costs ongoing to monitor trust-consistent uses of the
multipurpose venue. All reasonable costs will be borne by the
Port or the City according to a budget which will be agreed upon
before the commission's work begins.
Background: Chapter 1333 of the Statutes of 1968, otherwise
known as the Burton Act, allowed the granting of the Port of San
Francisco from the state to the City and County of San
Francisco. The Act allows San Francisco to operate, manage,
regulate, and improve the granted lands in a manner consistent
with the public trust. Allowable activities include: activities
for the promotion and accommodation of commerce and navigation;
and the construction, maintenance, and operation of public
buildings, parks, and public educational and recreational
facilities. Revenues from the leases and other uses of the
granted lands are deposited into the Harbor Trust Fund (Harbor
Fund) and may only be used for the management of San Francisco's
granted trust lands.
The Burton Act of 1986 grants the tidelands and submerged lands
along the San Francisco waterfront to the city and county of San
Francisco to be managed and controlled by the San Francisco Port
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Commission (Port) in the public's trust.
Section 3 of Article X of the California Constitution prohibits
all tidelands within two miles of any incorporated city, city
and county, or town from being granted or sold to private
parties unless the Legislature finds that these tidelands are
not used or necessary for navigation. The Legislature may impose
conditions on these sales and grants to protect the public
interest.
AB 418 (Ammiano) Chapter 477/2011 freed the public trust
restrictions from Seawall Lot (SWL) 330 as a package of items
aimed at allowing the Port to make developments and investments
related to the hosting of America's Cup Yacht Race. As a
condition of the sale of SWL 330, the Port would be required to
impress the public trust on other lands on or adjacent to the
San Francisco Bay that has an area equal to or greater than the
area of SWL 330 and is useful for trust purposes, as determined
by the commission. This approval was a departure from the
historic practice of requiring replacement land equal in value.
In 2012, San Francisco entered into an agreement with the Golden
State Warriors to build a new, LEED Gold, multi-purpose facility
at Piers 30-32 capable of being used to host Warriors' home
games, other events including conventions, and expanding public
access to the waterfront, among other things. The approval for
this project involves permitting from Bay Conservation and
Development Commission (BCDC), the Board of Supervisors of the
City and County of San Francisco, and the State Lands
Commission. The project is also subject to CEQA and the project
is currently in the early stages of preparing a draft
environmental impact report. No approvals or reviews have yet
been completed.
Proposed Law: This bill would authorize the commission, until
January 1, 2024, to approve a mixed-use development with a
multipurpose venue on Pier 30-32 in San Francisco so long as
specified conditions are met, including:
The development is designed to attract people to the
waterfront, increase public enjoyment of the Bay, and
enhance public use of trust assets and waterfront resources.
The mixed-use development provides multiple significant
views of the Bay Bridge and the San Francisco Bay including
from inside the multipurpose venue.
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The multipurpose venue is located to minimize interference
with public views of the San Francisco Bay.
The mixed-use development is designed to achieve and
enhance maximum feasible public access to the bay and
minimize fill in a manner that is consistent with the
Special Area Plan, the McAteer-Petris Act, and the Bay Plan,
as determined by BCDC.
The mixed-use development includes a maritime program.
Public trust-consistent events, uses, and programming are
offered regularly at the site of the mixed-use development
at least 15 days of the year, of which at least 3 must
include the multipurpose venue. These events shall include
free and low-cost visitor-serving events.
A community room is available at the site for free or
low-cost use by members of the public without preference to
local residents or organizations.
The development approved for Seawall Lot 330 includes a
hotel or other visitor-serving uses that will enhance the
public trust uses on the waterfront.
The city has filed a notice of determining for the
mixed-use development under the California Environmental
Quality Act and all necessary local approvals have been
given.
The mixed-use development project at Pier 30-32 is in the
best interest of the state.
BCDC, in its determining whether the project is consistent with
the Bay Plan and the Special Area Plan, may consider the offsite
public benefits proposed as part of the development.
The Port would be required to submit a report to the commission
at least every five years that describes the trust-related
events and programming that have occurred at the site over the
past five years and describes the efforts the Port and its
tenants have done to publicize the availability of Pier 30-32
for trust-related events, the maritime program established at
Pier 30-32, and other information that demonstrates preservation
of the public trust by the development. The Port would be
required to work with the commission to develop an
implementation plan if the commission finds that the development
is not being used sufficiently for trust-related events and the
Port has not taken effective action to have more events.
This bill would also allow the conditions for the sale of SWL
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330 under AB 418 to be satisfied by a public trust easement
over, or a fee interest in, a portion of the Baylands Parcel. If
the easement or fee interest covers an area greater than that
required by the sale of SWL 330, the Port may treat the surplus
area as a credit for future trust exchanges.
All reasonable costs of a study or investigation undertaken by
the commission to implement this act shall be borne by the Port
or the City of San Francisco.
This bill also makes extensive findings and declarations
regarding the history of the granted lands in San Francisco,
management issues of those lands, and future development plans
of those lands.
Related Legislation: AB 1389 (Shelley) Chapter 489/2001
authorized the Port to approve a cruise ship terminal
development on Piers 30-32, which included general office and
retail use.
AB 664 (Ammiano) Chapter 314/2011 authorized the America's Cup
racing event to be held at Piers 30-32, although the rate
ultimately re-located to a different location. The bill declared
that the comprehensive re-financing of the district near the
piers and the race furthered the objectives of the Public Trust.
Staff Comments: The commission under existing law has the
ability to approve the mixed-use development and arena described
under this bill should it find that the project is consistent
with the public trust. AB 1273 would establish minimum criteria
for what must be considered in making that trust determination.
Additionally, the extensive findings and declarations in this
bill also would illustrate Legislative support for the opinion
that the project is consistent with the public trust, though the
bill leaves that ultimate decision to the commission.
The commission will incur costs in reviewing the project against
the minimum criteria specified in this bill, particularly
regarding the land exchange. These costs are likely to total in
the high tens of thousands to the low hundreds of thousands,
most likely in the $60,000 to $120,000 range. Under the terms of
the bill, all costs would be covered by the Port and the city
according to a budget that will be agreed upon before work is
begun. Staff notes that it is common for the grantee to pay for
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costs involved in a land exchanges and project consideration,
the commission's is not always fully compensated. This language
would ensure full reimbursement.
The author has proposed amendments to remove all references to
the Baylands Parcel, including the ability to use surplus land
as credit for future land exchanges. Staff notes that although
this language is being struck from the bill, such an exchange of
the Baylands Parcel and SWL 330 could still be authorized by the
commission, should it deem the exchange appropriate, but the
Port would not be able to get credit for surplus land purchased.
Proposed Author Amendments: Remove all references to the
Baylands Parcel and the SFPUC.
Page 3, delete lines 8-10, inclusively
Page 4, delete lines 30-32, inclusively
Page 25, delete lines 8-40, inclusively
Page 26, delete lines 1-6, inclusively