BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 694
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Date of Hearing: April 29, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
694 (Rendon) - As Amended April 23, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires the State Coastal Conservancy (SCC), subject
to the availability of funding, to develop a program to provide
loans or grants to meet the operation and maintenance needs of
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private low-cost coastal accommodations in exchange for an
easement or binding agreement to protect the public benefit of
the facility. Additionally, this bill:
1)Requires SCC, in consultation with the Coastal Commission,
Department of Parks and Recreation and other relevant coastal
public land holders to develop a list of potential projects in
each region of the coast.
2)Requires SCC to provide the list to the Coastal Commission and
requires the Coastal Commission to provide the list to local
governments with Local Coastal Plans (LCPs). The Coastal
Commission is required to use projects on the list as options
for coastal development mitigation or in lieu public access
fees.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)GF or special fund cost pressures potentially in the hundreds
of thousands to millions of dollars range to provide the
grants and loans specified in the bill.
2)Minor administrative costs of less than $50,000 for SCC to
develop the program and list.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, although the 1972
Coastal Act requires lower cost visitor and recreational
facilities to be protected, encouraged, and provided, a
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2006 Coastal Commission report found that only 8% of
overnight accommodations in nine popular coastal counties
were considered low-cost. This bill 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)Background. 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.
The Coastal Commission has carried out the Coastal Act mandate
to protect and provide lower cost visitor accommodations in
various ways. Additionally, the Coastal Commission has
certified LCP policies throughout the coastal zone with low
cost accommodation requirements.
Through coastal development permit actions, the Coastal
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.
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3)In Lieu Fees. The Coastal Commission has also collected over
$19 million in "in-lieu" fee mitigation for impacts for
low-cost accommodations, and those fees have resulted in the
development of significant projects 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
un-spent, and the Coastal 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 projects that spend "in
lieu" fees.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
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