BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 968
          Author:   Hill (D)
          Amended:  5/27/14
          Vote:     21


           SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER COMMITTEE  :  7-2, 4/8/14
          AYES:  Pavley, Evans, Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Monning, Wolk
          NOES:  Cannella, Fuller

           SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE  :  5-2, 4/22/14
          AYES:  Jackson, Corbett, Lara, Leno, Monning
          NOES:  Anderson, Vidak

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  5-2, 5/23/14
          AYES:  De León, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
          NOES:  Walters, Gaines


           SUBJECT  :    Public lands:  Martin's Beach property:  access road

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill directs the State Lands Commission  
          (Commission) to enter into negotiations with the owner of the  
          property known as Martin's Beach to acquire a right-of-way or  
          easement for the creation of a public access route.  If the  
          Commission is unable to reach an agreement to acquire a  
          right-of-way or easement and the owners do not voluntarily  
          provide public access by January 1, 2016, this bill will direct  
          the Commission to acquire such a right-of-way or easement by  
          eminent domain.
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           ANALYSIS  :    

          Existing law:

          1.Establishes the Commission in the Natural Resources Agency and  
            prescribes the functions and duties of the Commission.

          2.Specifies that the Commission has jurisdiction over various  
            state lands, including coastal lands.

          3.Authorizes the Commission to acquire a right-of-way or  
            easement across private land in certain circumstances.

          This bill:

          1.Directs the Commission to consult, and enter into any  
            necessary negotiations, with the owners of the property known  
            as Martin's Beach, consisting of two parcels of land, APN:   
            066-330-230 and APN: 066-330-240, in the unincorporated area  
            of the County of San Mateo, to acquire a right-of-way or  
            easement for the creation of a public access route to and  
            along the shoreline, including the sandy beach, at Martin's  
            Beach at the South Cabrillo Highway.

          2.Allows the owners of the property to voluntarily provide  
            public access to and along the shoreline at Martin's Beach  
            upon terms acceptable to the Commission.

          3.Provides that if the Commission is unable to reach an  
            agreement to acquire a right-of-way or easement and the owners  
            do not voluntarily provide public access by January 1, 2016,  
            the Commission shall acquire by eminent domain a right-of-way  
            or easement for the creation of a public access route to and  
            along the shoreline, including the sandy beach, at Martin's  
            Beach at the South Cabrillo Highway in accordance with the  
            procedures set forth under the Eminent Domain Law.

          4.Directs the Commission to enter into consultation and  
            negotiation with local stakeholders, including, but not  
            limited to, local and regional government and governmental  
            entities, to address the ongoing management and operation of  
            any property acquired pursuant to this bill.


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          Background
           
          The Commission has authority over California's sovereign lands  
          and the Commission administers these lands pursuant to statute  
          and the public trust doctrine.

          The public trust doctrine is a common law doctrine that  
          specifies the state's authority as sovereign to exercise  
          continuous supervision and control over the navigable waters of  
          the state, tidelands, and non-navigable tributaries to navigable  
          waters.  The doctrine includes the protection of maritime or  
          water dependent commerce, navigation, and fisheries, and the  
          preservation of the lands in their natural state for scientific  
          study, open space, wildlife habitat, and water-oriented  
          recreation.  Incidental uses that directly promote trust uses or  
          that lend themselves to the public's enjoyment of trust lands  
          are also permitted.  These may include facilities that serve  
          visitors, such as parking lots, hotels and restaurants.

          In specific circumstances, the Commission may enhance public  
          access to or along navigable waters (see, for example, Public  
          Resources Code (PRC) Sec. 6307) to justify certain actions.   
          Additionally, PRC Sec. 6210.9 gives the Commission specific  
          authority, where there is no access available to public trust or  
          similar lands, to obtain a "right-of-way or easement across  
          privately owned land or other land that it deems necessary to  
          provide access to such public land" via condemnation.  The  
          Commission has never exercised that authority since receiving it  
          in 1975.

          The California Constitution (Article X, Section 4) states that  
          "no individual, partnership, or corporation, claiming or  
          possessing the frontage or tidal lands of a harbor, bay, inlet,  
          estuary, or other navigable water in this state, shall be  
          permitted to exclude the right of way to such water whenever it  
          is required for any public purpose, nor to destroy or obstruct  
          the free navigation of such water; and the Legislature shall  
          enact such laws as will give the most liberal construction to  
          this provision, so that access to the navigable waters of this  
          state shall be always attainable for the people thereof."   
          Further, the Coastal Act (PRC Sec. 30000 et seq.) requires  
          maximizing public access to the coast and recreational  

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          opportunities.

          Martin's Beach is located on the Coast of San Mateo County  
          approximately eight miles south of Half Moon Bay.  Seventy-five  
          foot cliffs are located on both the north and south ends of the  
          beach.  Access to the beach is via a private road (Martin's  
          Beach Road) from Highway 1.  There are approximately 45 cabins  
          on long-term lease adjacent to the beach area.  Prior to July  
          2008, a single family had owned Martin's Beach and the  
          surrounding land for over 100 years.  At various times the  
          family allowed the public access to the beach by vehicle,  
          according to documents filed during recent litigation.  A  
          parking area was maintained near the beach and parking fees were  
          charged.  Facilities available included a general store,  
          restaurant and restrooms.  These uses and development pre-date  
          the passage of the Coastal Act.  Documents submitted during  
          litigation state that the store and restaurant were closed by  
          the end of the 1980s.  In July 2008, two parcels totaling 89  
          acres from Highway 1 west to the coast and encompassing most of  
          Martin's Beach and all of Martin's Beach Road were sold for  
          $37.5 million.

          The new owners of the two parcels are Martins Beach 1, LLC and  
          Martins Beach 2, LLC (MB12).  Vinod Khosla, the prominent  
          venture capitalist, and his family are behind these two LLCs.   
          In fall 2009 or at some point thereafter, local management of  
          MB12 closed and locked a gate on Martin's Beach Road at Highway  
          1, and repainted a roadside sign indicating the beach, among  
          other actions.  According to the local management, the road and  
          parking area were in disrepair and it was uneconomic to provide  
          a parking attendant at the beach.  Considerable local  
          controversy ensued as activists and political figures sought to  
          obtain public access to the beach again.  There are numerous  
          news stories describing trespassing by surfers and others as  
          well as attempts by stakeholders to negotiate renewed public  
          access.

          MB12 have been sued twice in an effort to obtain public access  
          to the beach.  Friends of Martin's Beach LLC sued for public  
          access to the tidelands, beach parking area and access along the  
          Martin's Beach Road invoking, in part, the public trust doctrine  
          and provisions of the state's constitution (CIV517634, San Mateo  
          County Superior Court).  The case was decided in favor of MB12  
          in October 2013, although the final order has not yet been  

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          issued.  News reports indicate there will be an appeal.   
          Additionally, the Surfrider Foundation has filed a citizen's  
          suit under the Coastal Act to compel public access (CIV520336,  
          San Mateo County Superior Court).  A trial is scheduled for May  
          2014 in this suit.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

           Unknown one-time costs, likely in the hundreds of thousands to  
            low millions from the General Fund for the purchase of a  
            right-of-way or easement for access to the public lands at  
            Martin's Beach.

           Unknown ongoing costs from the General Fund for the  
            maintenance of the right-of-way or easement.

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  5/27/14)

          Black Surfers Collective
          California Coastal Commission
          California Coastal Protection Network
          Coastside Beach Coalition
          Committee for Green Foothills
          Environmental Action Committee of West Marin
          Ocean Conservancy
          San Mateo County
          Save the Waves Coalition
          Sierra Club California Coastal Committee
          Surfrider Foundation
          Wildcoast

          ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    The author states that this bill was  
          introduced "to try and provide a pathway for compromise so the  
          public can once again access Martin's Beach. [?] Local residents  
          and Californians have been deprived of this natural treasure for  
          long enough. [?] This bill tries to bring the landowner to the  
          table to reach a compromise since they have been unresponsive to  
          other efforts.  I hope a compromise can be reached because no  
          one wants to use eminent domain; however, to me there is no  
          better or more appropriate use for eminent domain."


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          According to the California Coastal Commission, "An opportunity  
          to secure permanent public access to such a significant stretch  
          of beach adjacent to major urban areas without the cost, time  
          delays and uncertainty of litigation is worthy of pursuing, and  
          acquisition here under the terms of this bill would appear to be  
          consistent with the Constitutional and statutory direction to  
          maximize access."


          RM:e  5/27/14   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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