BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 694
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Das Williams, Chair
AB 694
Rendon - As Amended April 7, 2015
SUBJECT: California Coastal Commission: fees: low-cost
accommodation
SUMMARY: Requires State Coastal Conservancy (SCC) to develop a
program to assist private low-cost accommodations to continue to
provide low-cost accommodations to the public. Requires SCC to
develop a document with a list of potential low-cost
accommodation projects that could be used as options for
mitigation when considering coastal development permits (CDP).
EXISTING LAW:
1)Pursuant to the California Constitution, requires protection
of coastal access, requires maximum access and recreational
opportunities to be provided for all the people consistent
with public safety needs and the need to protect public
rights, rights of private property owners, and natural
resource areas from overuse.
2)Establishes SCC with powers and responsibilities for
implementing and administering various programs intended to
preserve, protect, and restore the state's coastal areas.
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3)Requires SCC to cooperate with the California Coastal
Commission (Commission), other public agencies, and with
nonprofit organizations to meet the policies and objectives of
the California Coastal Act of 1976 (Coastal Act), or a
certified local coastal program (LCP).
4)Requires, pursuant to the Coastal Act, lower cost visitor and
recreational facilities to be protected, encouraged, and,
where feasible, provided. Declares a preference for
developments providing public recreational opportunities.
5)Requires, pursuant to the Coastal Act, a person planning to
perform or undertake any development in the coastal zone to
obtain a CDP from the Commission or local government enforcing
a LCP.
THIS BILL:
1)Requires SCC, subject to the availability of funding, to
develop either a grant or revolving loan program to assist
private low-cost accommodations to meet their operation and
maintenance needs in exchange for an easement or other legally
binding instruments requiring the facility to continue to
provide low-cost accommodations in the future.
2)Creates the Low-Cost Accommodations Program Account to receive
funds for the new SCC program.
3)Requires SCC in consultation with the Commission, Department
of Parks and Recreation (State Parks), and other relevant
coastal public land holders to develop a list of potential
low-cost accommodation projects in each region of the coastal
zone. The list shall include, but not be limited to, the
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following:
a) Specific projects that will increase low-cost
accommodations at State Parks in the coastal zone
consistent with the recommendations of the Parks Forward
Commission.
b) Information on grant programs at SCC that assist public
agencies and non-profits in providing low-cost
accommodations in the coastal zone.
c) Information on the grant or loan program, developed by
SCC.
4)Requires SCC to provide the list to the Commission and
requires the Commission to provide the list to local
governments with LCPs.
5)Requires the Commission to refer to the list for two purposes:
a) Options for mitigation when considering a CDP that
impacts the availability of low-cost accommodations.
b) Options for expending prior commitments of "in-lieu"
public access fees.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
1)Author's statement.
Section 30213 of the 1972 Coastal Act provides that
"lower cost visitor and recreational facilities shall
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be protected, encouraged, and where feasible,
provided."? A 2006 Commission report found that only
8% of overnight accommodations in nine popular coastal
counties were considered low-cost, affirming the
on-going need for effective implementation of Section
30213. AB 694 encourages the Coastal Commission to
improve their current approach to coastal access, and
increases the authority of the State Coastal
Conservancy to protect and develop affordable
accommodations along California's coast.
2)Coastal Commission. The Coastal Act broadly protects public
access for all by protecting and providing for lower cost
public recreational and visitor serving facilities, including
but not limited to, overnight accommodations. As stated in the
Commission's Strategic Plan Vision: "The California coast is
available for all to enjoy through thousands of public
accessways to and along the shoreline, a completed California
Coastal Trail, a well-supported network of parks and open
spaces, and a wide range of visitor-serving facilities,
including lower cost campgrounds, hostels, and hotels."
Section 30213 requires permitted development to protect,
encourage and, where feasible, provide lower cost visitor and
recreational facilities. According to the Commission this
protection is necessary because there is significant pressure
to develop new higher cost accommodations, sometimes by
replacing existing lower or moderate cost facilities. This is
because market demand tends to push prices increasingly higher
in the California coastal zone, where tourism and overnight
accommodations are extremely valuable commodities.
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The Commission has carried out the Coastal Act mandate to
protect and provide lower cost visitor serving accommodations
in various ways. The Commission has certified LCP policies
throughout the coastal zone that implement Section 30213
requirements. Through coastal development permit actions, the
Commission has in some cases denied permit applications for
development that would eliminate existing lower cost
facilities, and has in other cases required low-cost
accommodations to be constructed in conjunction with new
higher cost hotels either on or off site.
The Commission has also collected over $19 million in
"in-lieu" fee mitigation for impacts to low-cost
accommodations, and those fees have resulted in the
development of significant low-cost accommodations along the
California coast, including support for the 260-bed Santa
Monica Hostel, the restoration of Crystal Cove Cottages in
Orange County, and nearly 200 new State Parks campsites.
However, millions of dollars in "in lieu" fees remain unspent,
and the Commission is currently engaged in an effort to
document all past "in lieu" fee requirements. The Commission
partnered with State Parks, SCC, regional agencies, local
governments, and non-profits on project that spend "in lieu"
fees.
The Commission's Strategic Plan action 1.2.2 expresses a need
to work with SCC, State Parks, and other state and local
partners to identify, plan for, and provide new public access
and recreational opportunities and low-cost accommodations
through effective allocation of existing and potential future
"in-lieu" fees. The Commission has had two recent workshops on
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low-cost accommodations, one in December of last year and one
March of this year. During these workshops concerns were
expressed over the unspent "in-lieu" fees and the lack of
low-cost accommodations. At the December workshop, San
Francisco State University Professor Patrick Tierney stated
that many owners of low-cost accommodations in the coastal
zone are nearing retirement and that many private motels and
hotels that are a low-cost option for visitors could be lost
in the near future.
3)Other players. While the federal and local governments also
have efforts to increase low-cost accommodations along the
coast, SCC and State Parks are the two other state agencies
that play a role providing low-cost accommodations. SCC has
targeted the provision of low-cost overnight accommodations
near the coast under part of its Public Access Program since
1985, and assisted nonprofit organizations and local
governmental agencies in developing campgrounds, hostels, and
cabins/cottages along the California Coast. Since the start of
the Public Access Program in 1985, SCC has granted over $9
million to help fund 13 separate projects to enhance low-cost
coastal accommodations. One concern raised by SCC with the "in
lieu" fees provided by the Commission is they are small
relative to the total cost of a low-cost accommodation
project. In addition, "in lieu" fees are a condition of an
individual CDP and often have geographic and nexus
requirements that makes it more complicated to find
appropriate projects for the "in lieu" fees.
Coastal state parks cover 339 miles of Pacific coastline.
State parks along the coast also provide many lower cost
visitor-serving accommodations. The Parks Forward Initiative
stated that more people will visit parks if parks offer a
broad range of affordable overnight accommodations. A key
Parks Forward recommendation is increasing the number,
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variety, and affordability of overnight accommodations. It is
important to increase low-cost accommodations available at
State Parks because cabins on the coastal zone often are
booked through much of the summer season. For example,
occupancy rates at the Crystal Cove Cottages in Crystal Cove
State Park are estimated to be approximately 97%. Cabins often
offer options to disadvantaged Californians that may not have
traditional camping equipment. The Commission has ordered
construction of low-cost accommodations at State Parks as
direct mitigation and has awarded "in lieu" fees for that
purpose.
4)AB 694. Allowing families of all income levels to have access
to California's beaches and coast is a central tenet of the
Coastal Act. AB 694 attempts to expand and preserve the pool
of low-cost accommodations to create more recreation
opportunities for all Californians.
AB 694 embraces many of the recommendations that were either
provided by individual commissioners or the presenters at the
workshops help by the Commission. SCC will be the lead agency
implementing AB 694, which is consistent with their duties
assisting implementation of the Coastal Act. The bill will
develop a unique program that will attempt to preserve private
low-cost accommodations by providing grants or loans to meet
operation and maintenance needs in exchange for a commitment
of continued low-cost accommodations at the facilities. The
program could be funded through private or public funds and
could offer a way to preserve small independent motels and
hotels along the coast that offer low-cost accommodations. By
gaining legally binding agreements to continue to offer
low-cost accommodations, SCC could reduce the pressure for
hotel conversions on the coast. One potential concern that has
been raised by the Commission and SCC with this approach is
any program would need to ensure a public benefit and that any
benefit to a private entity must only be incidental to the
direct public purpose to avoid being a gift of public funds.
AB 694 also requires SCC, in consultation with the Commission,
State Parks, and other relevant coastal public land holders,
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to develop a list of potential low-cost accommodations in the
coastal zone. This list of potential projects would include
recommendations by the Parks Forward Commission, current grant
programs at SCC for public agencies and non-profits, and the
new grant or loan program that will be developed by SCC, as
specified in this bill. This list would be used by the
Commission and local governments with LCPs when considering
CDPs that impact the availability of low-cost accommodations
to assist them with actual examples of what direct mitigations
and appropriate "in-lieu" fee requirements could be. The goal
of this information is to help the Commission and local
governments with LCPs make more informed decisions that result
in the most appropriate mitigation. In addition, AB 694 would
provide the Commission with a list of potential projects to
reduce the backlog of committed "in lieu" fees. It is
important to recognize that "in-lieu" fees and off site
mitigation are just a component of the Commission's duties to
protect low-cost accommodations. The list of potential new
low-cost accommodation projects that will be created by AB 694
should not distract the Commission from protecting existing
low-cost accommodations and requiring low-cost accommodations
on site, where feasible.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file
AB 694
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Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Michael Jarred / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092