BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 530|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 530
Author: Rendon (D), et al.
Amended: 8/31/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 9-0, 7/14/15
AYES: Pavley, Stone, Allen, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson,
Monning, Vidak, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/27/15
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 6/3/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Lower Los Angeles River Working Group
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill establishes the Lower Los Angeles River
Working Group which will be responsible for developing a
revitalization plan for the Lower Los Angeles River (Lower
River) watershed and the communities through which it passes by
March 1, 2017.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Designates the Los Angeles River (River) as a traditional
navigable waterway protected under the Clean Water Act.
2) Establishes the Los Angeles Flood Control District. The
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Flood Control District and the US Army Corps of Engineers
(Corps) share the responsibility for the operation and
management of the River's flood control and water
conservation facilities.
3) Establishes the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and
Mountains Conservancy (RMC).The RMC's mission is, among other
things, to preserve open space and habitat in order to
provide for low-impact recreation and educational uses,
wildlife habitat restoration and protection, and watershed
improvements within its jurisdiction. The RMC's territory
includes the Lower River.
4) Establishes the Water Quality, Supply, and infrastructure
Improvement Act of 2014 (Proposition 1). Proposition 1
includes $60 million for the River split equally between the
Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the RMC. These funds
are for the purpose of multi-benefit water quality, water
supply, watershed protection and restoration projects for the
watersheds. In addition, River projects are eligible for
certain other Proposition 1-funded purposes, such as the $100
million for urban rivers and streams.
This bill:
1) Directs the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency
(Secretary), in consultation with the Los Angeles County
Board of Supervisors, as specified, to appoint a local
working group, the Lower Los Angeles River Working Group
(working group), to develop a revitalization plan for the
Lower River watershed by March 1, 2017.
2) Requires the Secretary to consider requests from local
agency representatives to participate in the working group.
3) Specifies which organizations may be represented in the
working group including:
a) The RMC,
b) The County of Los Angeles,
c) The Gateway Cities Council of Governments,
d) The Los Angeles Gateway Region Integrated Regional
Water Management Joint Powers Authority,
e) Elected officials from cities riparian to the River,
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and
f) Non-profit organizations serving the region.
4) Specifies that the working group use watershed-based
planning methods to develop the revitalization plan.
5) Specifies that the plan shall include watershed education
programs that help Lower River communities recognize the
value of the river, as specified, recognize the unique and
diverse needs of the these same communities and be consistent
with, enhance and may be incorporated into Los Angeles
County's Master Plan for the River.
6) Directs the RMC to provide necessary staffing to the working
group for plan development.
7) Provides the development and implementation of the plan will
be eligible for any public or private source of funding,
including, but not limited to, from Proposition 1, and
specifies eligible plan implementing entities.
8) Declares the need for this special law.
9) Makes a series of supporting legislative findings.
Background
The River forms from its headwaters in the western San Fernando
Valley and flows easterly across the Valley through Griffith
Park where the river turns to the south, and passes through
downtown Los Angeles and additional downstream cities en route
to its estuary in Long Beach. The River is entirely with the
County of Los Angeles (County).
The approximately 32 miles of the River upstream of the City of
Vernon is considered to be the upper River and is within the
bounds of the City of Los Angeles. The approximately 19 miles
of the Lower River includes the Cities of Vernon, Commerce,
Maywood, Bell, Bell Gardens, Cudahy, South Gate, Lynwood,
Compton, Paramount, Carson and Long Beach.
The areas surrounding the River are widely considered to have
relatively few open space and park areas. Particularly along the
Lower River, industrial activity and railyards immediately
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adjacent to the River serve to isolate the River from the
surrounding communities.
In the early 1990s, community activism over turning a railyard
adjacent to the River into open space coincided with the County
beginning a process that - after considerable input from
stakeholders and community outreach - resulted in the County's
Los Angeles River Master Plan in 1996. The Master Plan
described how economic growth could be spurred along the River
in the County through zoning changes and the development of open
space, recreational, cultural, artistic, educational and other
opportunities. Ultimately over several decades, the River will
be returned to a less-polluted, functioning riparian environment
in as many reaches as possible, while still controlling flooding
and providing recreational opportunities.
The City of Los Angeles' Los Angeles River Revitalization Master
Plan was released in 2007. Continuing the long-term goals of
the County's Master Plan, the Revitalization Master Plan also
promoted the revitalization of the River as a multi-benefit
solution to addressing and enhancing water quality and flood
control while enabling safe access to the River and restoring a
functional river ecosystem. The City's Revitalization Master
Plan focused on the upper River.
Both plans contain a list of River projects to be completed and
seek to re-focus the surrounding neighborhoods on the River to
help form a sense of identity, improve the quality of life and
boost civic pride. Since the Master Plan and Revitalization
Master Plan were developed, numerous River restoration efforts
including the creation of habitat, pocket parks and bikeways
have been undertaken, as well as guidelines established for
signage and other features. In recent years, stretches of the
River have been opened annually for kayaking and other
recreational activities. These activities on the River itself
have received considerable media coverage and have been publicly
popular.
In 2014 the Corps recommended the most extensive restoration
alternative provided by its Los Angeles River Ecosystem
Restoration Feasibility Report be undertaken at an estimated
cost of $1.08 billion. The area to be restored focuses on the
11 mile soft-bottomed stretch of the River from roughly Griffith
Park to downtown called the ARBOR reach.
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Comments
Working group membership. There is overlap/potential overlap
between organizations represented on the working group and on
the RMC's board. These include the County of Los Angeles, the
Gateway Cities Council of Governments, elected officials from
riparian cities, and the non-profit organization. Membership of
the working group is not limited and there is evidence of
significant community interest in River revitalization efforts
(e.g. dozens of non-profit organizations listed as participating
in various revitalization planning efforts).
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 355 (Lara, 2015) revises the board membership of the RMC and
is currently in the Senate's Unfinished Business file.
AB 1205 (Gomez, 2015) establishes the California River
Revitalization and Greenway Development Act which develops a
grant program to distribute auction revenues and Proposition 1
moneys, among others, to the benefit of rivers, as specified.
The bill was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee
Suspense file.
AB 1251 (Gomez, 2015) establishes the Greenway Development and
Sustainment Act which, among other things, provides for greenway
easements. The bill is on the Senate Floor. Assembly Member
Gomez had two earlier related bills (AB 1922 of 2014 and AB 735
of 2013) that both died.
SB 1201 (de León, Chapter 212, Statutes of 2012) provides for
public use of the River by adding education and recreational
purposes to the Los Angeles County Flood Control Act where those
uses are not inconsistent with flood control and water
conservation.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
One-time costs estimated between $40,000 and $80,000 to the
General Fund or the Environmental License Plate Fund (special)
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for the RMC to staff the working group.
Cost pressures, likely in the hundreds of millions of dollars
and possibly over a billion dollars, to the General Fund and
various special funds, to implement the plan.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/28/15)
Anahuak Youth Sports Association
Arroyo Seco Foundation
Audobon California
California Association of Local Conservation Corps
California League of Conservation Voters
California Trout
California Watershed Network
City of Bell
City of Cudahy
City of Lakewood
City of Maywood
City of Paramount
Council for Watershed Health
East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice
Friends of the Los Angeles River
From Lot to Spot
Gateway Cities Council of Governments
Heal the Bay
Linda T. Sanchez, Representative, U.S. Congress
Los Angeles Community Garden Council
Los Angeles Conservation Corps
Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust
Los Angeles River Revitalization Corporation
Mujeres de la Tierra
Pacoima Beautiful
T.R.U.S.T. South LA
The Public Counsel
The River Project
The Trust for Public Land
The Watershed Conservation Authority
TreePeople
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Urban Semillas
Water Replenishment District of Southern California
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/28/15)
Department of Finance
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, "[t]he County
of Los Angeles adopted a Master Plan for the entire Los Angeles
River in 1996. Since then, the City of Los Angeles has done
substantial work on developing a "revitalization plan" for the
upper Los Angeles River, within the City's boundaries. After
almost two decades, the time has come to update the Master Plan,
focusing more attention and resources on the lower Los Angeles
River."
This bill requires the appointment of "a local working group to
develop a "revitalization plan" for the lower Los Angeles River,
just as the upper Los Angeles River has its plan. This
revitalization plan would be consistent with and designed to
enhance the County's Master Plan for the entire river."
"AB 530 starts a conversation about how to improve the lower Los
Angeles River in concert with the revitalization of the upper
Los Angeles River, so that the entire Los Angeles River
watershed could be managed collaboratively."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION:The Department of Finance "is opposed to
this bill because it is unnecessary." The Department notes that
the RMC already coordinates with various private organizations
and public agencies at all levels of government, and that
several planning efforts are already underway.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 6/3/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,
Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,
Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
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Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron,
Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Thurmond
Prepared by:Katharine Moore / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116
8/30/15 19:48:56
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