BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 530
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
530 (Rendon)
As Amended August 31, 2015
Majority vote
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: | 79-0 | (June 3, |SENATE: | 39-1 | (September 2, |
| | |2015) | | |2015) |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: W., P., & W.
SUMMARY: Requires the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers
and Mountains Conservancy (RMC) to staff, and the Secretary of
the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) to appoint, a
working group that is tasked with developing a revitalization
plan for the lower Los Angeles River (Lower LA River).
The Senate amendments change from mandatory to voluntary
specified duties with respect to the Lower LA River working
group (Working Group) and revitalization plan and make other
clarifying changes as follows:
1)Allows, but does not require, the Los Angeles County Board of
Supervisors to consult on formation of the Working Group;
2)Allows, but does not require, other entities named in this
AB 530
Page 2
bill to participate on the Working Group;
3)Directs the CNRA Secretary to consider requests from local
agency representatives to participate on the Working Group.
4)Clarifies that the scope of the revitalization plan is the
Lower LA River watershed.
5)Allows, but does not require that the Lower LA River
revitalization plan be incorporated into the County of Los
Angeles Master Plan for the LA River (County Master Plan).
EXISTING LAW:
1)Designates the LA River as a traditional navigable waterway
protected under the federal Clean Water Act.
2)Establishes the RMC in the CNRA, as a state agency with powers
that include, but are not limited to, the ability to acquire
and manage public lands within the Lower LA River and San
Gabriel River watersheds, and to provide open-space,
low-impact recreational and educational uses, water
conservation, watershed improvement, wildlife and habitat
restoration and protection, and watershed improvement within
the territory.
3)Provides $30 million dollars in Proposition 1, the Water
Quality, Supply, and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014
(Prop. 1) for the RMC and another $100 million in Prop. 1 for
urban rivers and streams including, but not limited to, the LA
River and its tributaries as defined in the RMC Act and the
Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (SMMC) Act, which covers
the upper LA River.
AB 530
Page 3
4)Creates the LA County Flood Control District (LACFCD) and
empowers it to control and conserve flood, storm and other
waste waters of the district; to protect the harbors,
waterways, public highways and property in the district from
flood waters or storm water damage; and, to allow public
access when such access is suitable for education and
recreational purposes and not inconsistent with flood control
and water conservation uses.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)One-time costs estimated between $40,000 and $80,000 to the
General Fund or the Environmental License Plate Fund (special)
for the RMC to staff the Working Group.
2)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.
COMMENTS: This bill would create a planning process for the
Lower LA River, the 19 miles of river that once it leaves
downtown Los Angeles flows through multiple cities until it
reaches the Pacific Ocean at Long Beach Harbor. The LA River is
51 miles long. Currently, the upper 32-mile stretch, which
reaches from the San Fernando Valley to downtown LA and lies
within the City of LA, has its own LA River Revitalization
Master Plan (City Master Plan) released in 2007. The Lower LA
River does not have such a plan.
In the late 1700s, the LA River supported diverse flora and
fauna and much of what is now southern and western Los Angeles
was marsh. Devastating flooding in the 1930s led to the United
States Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) channelizing the
river with concrete as a control measure. In the 1980s,
interest in revitalizing and re-integrating the river corridor
and its tributaries into the adjacent neighborhoods began to
AB 530
Page 4
grow. It was spurred in part by a recognition that compared to
other large American cities LA has relatively fewer parks,
particularly in underserved communities. In the early 1990s,
community activism coincided with LA County beginning a process
that resulted in the 1996 County Master Plan. The County 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.
In 2007 the LA City Council released the City Master Plan for
the river that promoted revitalization 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. In 2010 the United States
Environmental Protection Agency designated the LA River as a
traditional navigable waterway protected under the Clean Water
Act and the Obama administration, under the America's Great
Outdoors initiative, made LA one of seven pilot cities for the
Urban Waters Federal Partnership.
The author states that there is not a revitalization plan
specific to the Lower LA River, although the County Master Plan
included a few projects for cities along the Lower LA River.
The author states that there is now a need for a comprehensive
revitalization plan that focuses more attention and resources on
the Southeast LA County cities which include Vernon, Commerce,
Maywood, Bell, Bell Gardens, Cudahy, South Gate, Lynwood,
Compton, Paramount, Carson, and Long Beach.
Supporters state that this bill starts a conversation about how
the entire LA River can be managed collaboratively as work on
the Lower LA River has lagged behind the upper parts of the
river. Supporters state that there is now a need for a
comprehensive revitalization plan that focuses more attention
and resources on the Southeast LA County cities.
There is no known opposition to this bill.
AB 530
Page 5
Analysis Prepared by:
Tina Leahy / W., P., & W. / (916) 319-2096 FN:
0001784