BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1273
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1273 (Ting)
As Amended August 28, 2013
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |59-10|(May 30, 2013) |SENATE: |22-6 |(September 6, |
| | | | | |2013) |
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Original Committee Reference: NAT. RES.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the State Lands Commission (SLC) to approve
a multi-use development on public trust lands in San Francisco
(Pier 30-32) that includes a multipurpose venue (for Golden
State Warriors basketball games and other events), if SLC finds
that certain conditions are met.
The Senate amendments :
1)Delete the provision that would have authorized the San
Francisco Port Commission (Port) to approve the multi-use
development on Pier 30-32, and instead authorize SLC to
approve the development.
2)Add additional conditions that must be met for the development
to be approved, which include the following:
a) Retail uses on Pier 30-32 are limited to trust retail
uses and venue supporting retail uses that do not exceed
10,000 square feet per store and 20,000 feet in the
aggregate;
b) Parking on Pier 30-32, when not in use for events
located along the waterfront within the vicinity of the
multipurpose venue, shall be limited to public parking.
Management strategies for the public parking, including,
but not limited to, time limits and rates, shall be
structured so that the parking is accessible to visitors to
Pier 30-32 and use for residential or commuter parking is
discouraged;
c) The City of San Francisco (City) has filed a notice of
determination for the mixed-use development project at Pier
30-32 under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
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and the City's board of supervisors and the Port have given
the project all necessary local approvals, each following
at least one public hearing;
d) A major permit application for the mixed-use development
at Pier 30-32 has been submitted to the Bay Conservation
and Development Commission (BCDC);
e) In consideration of the conditions, and any other
relevant information considered by the SLC, the mixed-use
development project at Pier 30-32 is otherwise consistent
with the public trust; and
f) The mixed-use development project at Pier 30-32 is in
the best interest of the state.
3)Require SLC staff to consult with BCDC staff prior to placing
an action item on the agenda for SLC to determine whether the
mixed-use development at Pier 30-32 is consistent with the
requirements of this bill.
4)Require the City's environmental analysis pursuant to CEQA to
examine distributed parking alternatives to serve events at
the multipurpose venue designed to minimize traffic impacts on
the Embarcadero and on the Herb Caen Way promenade, including,
but not limited to, parking alternatives on the west side of
the Embarcadero, before finalizing a planned number of parking
spaces.
5) Authorize BCDC's major permit for the development project to
establish a maximum number of parking spaces on Pier 30-32 and
parking management operational measures for that parking,
consistent with the McAteer-Petris Act, the Bay Plan, the
Special Area Plan, and criteria specified in the bill.
6)Require the Pier 30-32 project to include offsite public
benefits that would not ordinarily be required in a major
permit, which benefits shall be developed through a public
process conducted by BCDC and the Port and approved by BCDC.
7)Require SLC's costs to implement this bill to be borne by the
Port or the City according to a budget to be agreed upon by
SLC staff and the Port or the City.
EXISTING LAW :
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1)Protects, pursuant to the common law doctrine of the public
trust (Public Trust Doctrine), the public's right to use
California's waterways for commerce, navigation, fishing,
boating, natural habitat protection, and other water oriented
activities. The public trust doctrine provides that filled
and unfilled tide and submerged lands and the beds of lakes,
streams, and other navigable waterways (i.e., public trust
lands) are to be held in trust by the state for the benefit of
the people of California.
2)Grants, in trust, state public trust lands to over 80 local
public agencies to be managed for the benefit of all the
people of the state and pursuant to the Public Trust Doctrine
and terms of the applicable granting statutes.
3)Grants, pursuant to the Burton Act, to the Port, in trust, the
public trust lands in the harbor of San Francisco for purposes
of commerce, navigation, and fisheries and subject to other
terms and conditions specified in the act.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, no unreimbursed costs. SLC 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.
COMMENTS : The primary purpose of this bill is to have the
Legislature develop a process to approve a mix-use development
project, which includes the Golden State Warriors' basketball
arena, on a pier located on tide and submerged lands (i.e.,
public trust lands) in San Francisco. The challenge with this
project is that the common law Public Trust Doctrine, as
interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court, places limitations on the
state's authority to use trust lands for nontrust purposes. A
basketball arena, which is a major feature of the project, is
not a traditional public trust use-it does not involve water
related commerce, navigation, or fishing. However, there are
examples of nontrust uses on public trust lands that have been
deemed legitimate by the courts because they are incidental to
and accommodate other trust uses. Additionally, the courts have
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recognized that the Public Trust Doctrine is flexible to address
changing public needs related to public trust lands.
This bill imposes several conditions on the development project
that are meant to promote public trust activities. For example,
the bill requires the project to attract people to the
waterfront, increase public enjoyment of the San Francisco Bay,
encourage public trust activities, and enhance public use of
trust assets and resources on the waterfront. Another major
condition requires the project to include a significant and
appropriate maritime program, which may include a city fire
station and berthing facilities for city fire boats; facilities
that can accommodate periodic use by cruise or other deep draft
vessels; facilities that enable direct public access to the
water by human-powered vessels or swimmers; and water-transit
docking or berthing facilities for water taxis, ferries, or
both.
Through this bill, SLC, which is the state agency with the most
expertise on the Public Trust Doctrine, is granted the authority
to determine whether the mix-use development project is
consistent with the public trust.
Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
FN: 0002638