BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                            Senator Kevin de León, 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