BILL NUMBER: AB 1922 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 18, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 13, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 1, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 20, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gomez
FEBRUARY 19, 2014
An act to amend Section 815.3 of the Civil Code, to amend Section
65560 of the Government Code, and to add Chapter 10.5 (commencing
with Section 5845) to Division 5 of the Public Resources Code,
relating to open-space lands.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1922, as amended, Gomez. Greenway Development and Sustainment
Act.
Existing law establishes various plans and programs intended to
preserve, protect, and rehabilitate lands adjacent to rivers in the
state.
This bill would enact the Greenway Development and Sustainment
Act, which is intended to promote the development of greenways along
urban rivers in the state, including the development of a
greenway along the Los Angeles River and its tributaries .
The bill would define the term "greenway" for purposes of the bill
and would authorize a city, county, city and county, or
other local government entity to designate lands along a river in its
jurisdiction as a greenway, upon approval of its legislative body by
ordinance or resolution, or by incorporating such a designation into
an adopted general plan element or adopted river master plan, and to
apply for public or private funding available for the development of
a greenway in its jurisdiction, to be used in a manner consistent
with applicable state laws. as a nonmotorized vehicle
transportation and recreational travel corridor that meets specified
requirements and would include greenways in the definition of "open
-space land" for local planning purposes.
Existing law authorizes certain entities and organizations to
acquire and hold conservation easements, including a tax exempt
nonprofit organization qualified to do business in this state that
has as its primary purpose the preservation, protection, or
enhancement of land in its natural, scenic, historical, agricultural,
forested, or open-space condition or use.
This bill would also authorize such a tax exempt nonprofit
organization to acquire and hold a conservation easement if the
organization has as its primary purpose the development of a
greenway.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of
the following:
(1) Open-space land is necessary not only for the maintenance of
the economy of the state, but for, among other purposes, the
enjoyment of scenic beauty, recreation, and the use and preservation
of natural resources. Moreover, the growing population of the state
makes it important that existing open-space resources be preserved
and well maintained, and that access to those resources be ensured
for the health benefits and well-being of the state's population. The
preservation of open-space land is especially critical in urban
areas where the amount of usable open-space land is limited.
(2) Open-space land provides relief from the effects of urban
congestion and opportunities for relaxation, exercise, community
interaction, and the observation and appreciation of wildlife, which
helps to combat both physical and psychological stress. Trees located
on open-space land also provide shade and help reduce ambient
temperatures and restore oxygen to the atmosphere.
(3) Greenways are public infrastructure located along natural
landscape features such as urban watercourses, which, because of
their linear structure, help to physically and psychologically
connect various neighborhoods with one another while providing a
means of habitat connectivity.
(4) Greenways can directly improve the quality of life in
communities by providing important recreational, open-space land,
wildlife, flood management, water quality, air quality,
transportation, emergency response, and urban waterfront
revitalization benefits to those communities.
(5) Greenways can foster livable communities by utilizing public
lands for multiple, complementary purposes, such as placemaking,
connecting diverse communities, reducing dependence on automobiles,
expanding nonmotorized transportation networks with safer routes to
jobs, homes, and schools, encouraging more transit-oriented
development, and facilitating healthier behaviors by providing
opportunities for exercise and the maintenance of a healthy, active
lifestyle.
(6) Greenways can complement and enhance public amenities and
public-serving retail services that provide additional access to
historically underserved communities by attracting residents and
visitors to these areas. Greenways can increase public safety and
foster improved civic vigilance. Greenways in cities throughout the
world have demonstrated the effectiveness and benefits of sustainable
and successful public-private partnerships.
(7) Greenways encourage healthier residential communities by
facilitating development that allows people to live closer to job
centers and use public transportation alternatives.
(8) Greenways reduce the amount of parking necessary for small
businesses because of reduced automobile traffic, encourage the
development of affordable housing in urban areas, and promote walking
and cycling and increased community interaction.
(9) Greenways encourage economic investment and community
revitalization by connecting people in new ways.
(b) The Legislature finds and declares the following with regard
to the development of a greenway along the Los Angeles River and
its tributaries :
(1) The area along the Los Angeles River and its
tributaries is a site that is particularly
suited for the development of a greenway. A Los Angeles River
greenway that focuses on public-private partnerships aimed at
establishing a continuous pedestrian bikeway along the Los Angeles
River and its key tributaries would foster job
creation, economic development, and community revitalization.
(2) A Los Angeles River greenway that establishes a continuous
pedestrian bikeway along the Los Angeles River and its key
tributaries would encourage community revitalization by
investing in an efficient cycling and walking recreational transit
route following the 51-mile Los Angeles River corridor. The greenway
would also connect existing communities along the Los Angeles River
to a network of parks and multiuse public trails.
(3) A Los Angeles River greenway would build upon a long history
of support for a multiuse greenway network along the most significant
river in the nation's second largest city. Since the 1980s,
residents of the Los Angeles area have been advocating for the
development of a trail network along the Los Angeles River. The
County of Los Angeles' Los Angeles River Master Plan in 1996, the
City of Los Angeles' Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan in
2007, the City of Los Angeles Bicycle Plan in 2010, the County of Los
Angeles Bicycle Plan in 2012, and President Obama's prioritization
of the Los Angeles River trail system in the President's America's
Great Outdoors Initiative in 2012 all promote the development of a
river trail system along the Los Angeles River.
(4) A Los Angeles River greenway would build upon a long history
of investment by the state in the development of parks and trails
along the Los Angeles River, including Rio de Los Angeles State Park
and Los Angeles State Historic Park. Moreover, a Los Angeles River
greenway would complement the work of key state entities, including
the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and various other state rivers
and mountains conservancies.
(5) Because of its ability to leverage private investments to
match commitments of public funds, the development of a Los Angeles
River greenway by the City of Los Angeles , working with other
local governments, would allow the state to concentrate and
streamline investments it has already made in communities adjacent to
the Los Angeles River and its tributaries , and would
provide a funding model for types of investments funding greenways
that may be replicated in other priority urban waterways in the
future.
(6) Given By developing a greenway that
promotes sustainability and acts as a transportation corridor, a
city, county, or city and county may apply for alternative fuels
funding, greenhouse gas reduction funds, and other land use funds, as
appropriate.
(7) Given the current fiscal
constraints facing public agencies, it is time for the state to
acknowledge and take advantage of the ability of private sector
investments to sustain public infrastructure at all levels. Efforts
to promote investment in the Los Angeles River trail system should be
encouraged to prevent partial, disjointed, and inefficient
development of the trail system.
(7)
(8) A Los Angeles River greenway would provide a social
and natural resource amenity that would be complete and accessible
to the public in the next seven years, and would be a resource that
could be utilized and enjoyed by children in the Los Angeles area
during their childhood years.
(8)
(9) A Los Angeles River greenway would improve the
conditions of daily life in Los Angeles' urban communities and would
increase the value of the state's investments while providing
critically needed, tangible urban waterway revitalization in the Los
Angeles area.
(9)
(10) A greenway should be established in the area
encompassing the Los Angeles River from its headwaters in the
Community of Canoga Park to a point of discharge into the Pacific
Ocean at San Pedro Bay in the City of Long Beach, with a width of
one-quarter to one mile on both banks and at least one mile upstream
along both banks of its tributaries, as feasible. Within the City of
Los Angeles, the greenway could be coterminous with the area included
in the Los Angeles River Improvement Overlay district.
(10)
(11) The County of Los Angeles' Los Angeles River
Master Plan and the City of Los Angeles' Los Angeles River
Revitalization Master Plan call for the development of a greenway
along the Los Angeles River.
(c) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature in enacting
Chapter 10.5 (commencing with Section 5845) of Division 5 of the
Public Resources Code to promote the development of greenways along
urban rivers in the state through public and private
partnership, including the development of a greenway along the Los
Angeles River and its tributaries .
SEC. 2. Section 815.3 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
815.3. Only the following entities or organizations may acquire
and hold conservation easements:
(a) A tax-exempt nonprofit organization qualified under Section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and qualified to do business
in this state that has as its primary purpose the preservation,
protection, or enhancement of land in its natural, scenic,
historical, agricultural, forested, or open-space condition or use,
or the development of a greenway, as defined in Section 5846 of the
Public Resources Code.
(b) The state or any city, county, city and county, district, or
other state or local governmental entity, if otherwise authorized to
acquire and hold title to real property and if the conservation
easement is voluntarily conveyed. No A
local governmental entity may shall not
condition the issuance of an entitlement for use on the applicant's
granting of a conservation easement pursuant to this chapter.
(c) A federally recognized California Native American tribe or a
nonfederally recognized California Native American tribe that is on
the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage
Commission to protect a California Native American prehistoric,
archaeological, cultural, spiritual, or ceremonial place, if the
conservation easement is voluntarily conveyed.
SEC. 3. Section 65560 of the Government Code is amended to read:
65560. (a) "Local open-space plan" is the open-space element of a
county or city general plan adopted by the board or council, either
as the local open-space plan or as the interim local open-space plan
adopted pursuant to Section 65563.
(b) "Open-space land" is any parcel or area of land or water that
is essentially unimproved and devoted to an open-space use as defined
in this section, and that is designated on a local, regional, or
state open-space plan as any of the following:
(1) Open space for the preservation of natural resources
including, but not limited to, areas required for the preservation of
plant and animal life, including habitat for fish and wildlife
species; areas required for ecologic and other scientific study
purposes; rivers, streams, bays, and estuaries; and coastal beaches,
lakeshores, banks of rivers and streams, greenways, and watershed
lands.
(2) Open space used for the managed production of resources,
including, but not limited to, forest lands, rangeland, agricultural
lands, and areas of economic importance for the production of food or
fiber; areas required for recharge of groundwater basins; bays,
estuaries, marshes, rivers, and streams which
that are important for the management of commercial fisheries;
and areas containing major mineral deposits, including those in
short supply.
(3) Open space for outdoor recreation, including, but not limited
to, areas of outstanding scenic, historic, and cultural value; areas
particularly suited for park and recreation purposes, including
access to lakeshores, beaches, and rivers and streams; and areas that
serve as links between major recreation and open-space reservations,
including utility easements, banks of rivers and streams, trails,
greenways, and scenic highway corridors.
(4) Open space for public health and safety, including, but not
limited to, areas that require special management or regulation
because of hazardous or special conditions such as earthquake fault
zones, unstable soil areas, flood plains, watersheds, areas
presenting high fire risks, areas required for the protection of
water quality and water reservoirs, and areas required for the
protection and enhancement of air quality.
(5) Open space in support of the mission of military installations
that comprises areas adjacent to military installations, military
training routes, and underlying restricted airspace that can provide
additional buffer zones to military activities and complement the
resource values of the military lands.
(6) Open space for the protection of places, features, and objects
described in Sections 5097.9 and 5097.993 of the Public Resources
Code.
SEC. 4. Chapter 10.5 (commencing with Section 5845) is added to
Division 5 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
CHAPTER 10.5. GREENWAY DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINMENT ACT
5845. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Greenway Development and Sustainment Act.
5846. For purposes of this chapter, "greenway"
the following terms have the following meanings:
(a) "Adjacent" means within 400 yards
from the property boundary of an existing urban waterway.
(b) "Greenway" means a
pedestrian and bicycle, nonmotorized vehicle transportation, and
recreational travel corridor that meets the following requirements:
(a)
(1) Includes landscaping that improves rivers and streams,
provides flood protection benefits, and incorporates the significance
and value of natural, historical, and cultural resources, as
documented in the local agency's applicable planning document,
including, but not limited to, a master plan, a general plan, or a
specific plan.
(2) Is separated and protected from shared roadways,
parallels is adjacent to an urban
waterway, and incorporates both ease of access to adjacent
nearby communities and an array of amenities and
services for the users of the corridor and nearby communities.
(b)
(3) Is publicly accessible and
located on a combination of public and
lands or private lands, or a combination of
public and private, lands , if public access to those
lands is provided by lands owned in fee simple, leases, or easements
where public access to those lands for greenway
purposes has been legally authorized by the fee owner of the land
and, if applicable, the operator of any facility or improvement
located on the land, through leases, easements, or other agreements
entered into by the fee owner and the operator of any affected
facility or improvement on the land .
(c)
(4) Reflects design standards with
regarding appropriate widths, clearances, setbacks from
obstructions, and centerlines protecting directional travel,
where appropriate. and other considerations, as
appropriate, that are applicable for each affected local agency, as
documented in the local agency's applicable planning document,
including, but not limited to, a master plan, general plan, or
specific plan.
(d) Incorporates appropriate landscaping, lighting, public
amenities, and art.
(5) May incorporate appropriate lighting, public amenities, art,
and other features that are consistent with a local agency's planning
document, including, but not limited to, a general plan, master
plan, or specific plan.
(c) "Urban waterway" means a creek,
stream, or river that crosses (1) developed residential, commercial,
or industrial property or (2) open space where the land
use is designated as residential, commercial, or industrial, as
referenced in a local agency's planning document, including, but not
limited to, a general plan, master plan, or specific general plan.
5847. (a) A city, county, city and county, or other local
government entity may designate lands along a river in its
jurisdiction as a greenway, upon approval of its legislative body by
ordinance or resolution, or by incorporating such a designation into
an adopted general plan element or an adopted river master plan.
(b) A city, county, city and county, or other local government
entity may adopt ordinances or resolutions that regulate public
health and safety or traffic within a designated greenway in its
jurisdiction.
5848. A city, county, city and county, or other local government
entity may apply for public or private funding available for the
development of a greenway in its jurisdiction, and any funds secured
for that purpose shall be used in a manner consistent with applicable
state laws. Funding that may be secured for the purposes of this
chapter is not limited to parkway, riverway, or other water-related
funds. A city, county, or city and county may also seek
transportation, alternative fuel, greenhouse gas reduction, or other
land use funds for the purposes of this chapter.