BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1089
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Das Williams, Chair
AB 1089
(Eduardo Garcia) - As Introduced February 27, 2015
SUBJECT: Coachella Mountains Conservancy
SUMMARY: Expands the Coachella Mountains Conservancy
(Conservancy) jurisdiction to include the lands of the cities of
Coachella and Indio and expands the membership of the governing
board to include representatives from these cities.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the Conservancy in the Natural Resources Agency
and authorizes the Conservancy to acquire and hold specified
lands in the Coachella Valley and the Coachella Mountains for
open-space, wildlife protection, and recreational uses.
2)Requires the governing board of the Conservancy to consist of
21 voting members, including, among other members, the mayor
or a member of the city council of Cathedral City, Desert Hot
Springs, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Palm Desert, Palm Springs,
and Rancho Mirage, appointed by a majority of the membership
of the respective city council of each city.
AB 1089
Page 2
3)Excludes the incorporated areas of the cities of Coachella and
Indio, as they exist on January 1, 1994, from the jurisdiction
of the Conservancy.
THIS BILL:
1)Deletes the exclusion of the incorporated areas of the cities
of Coachella and Indio, as they exist on January 1, 1994, from
the jurisdiction of the Conservancy.
2)Expands the membership of the governing board of the
Conservancy to include two additional members. The additional
members must be either the mayor or a member of the city
council from the cities of Coachella and Indio.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
1)Author's statement.
When first established, the Conservancy's role was to
protect the biological resources in the mountains
surrounding the Coachella Valley. As a result of the
cities of Indio and Coachella being geographically
located on the valley floor, they were not included in
the Conservancy. When the boundaries of the Conservancy
were expanded to coincide with the Multi Species Habitat
Conservation Plan, which includes the cities of Coachella
and Indio, these two cities were still not included in
the Conservancy board.
AB 1089
Page 3
2)Coachella Valley. The diverse desert landscape of the
Coachella Valley provides habitat for dozens of plant and
animal species, some found nowhere else in the world. The
Valley is also one of the fastest growing areas in rapidly
expanding Riverside County. The Valley has a projected
population growth of 600,000 over the next 10 years. The
Conservancy's mission is to protect the natural and cultural
resources of the Coachella Valley: the scenic, wildlife,
cultural, geologic, and recreational resources. According the
Conservancy, since its inception, the Conservancy and its
partners have conserved over 81,000 acres. The Conservancy has
done trail work and acquisitions on the borders of both the
cities of Coachella and Indio. The Water Quality, Supply, and
Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 (Proposition 1)
allocated $10 million for the Conservancy to do multibenefit
water quality, water supply and watershed protection and
restoration projects. AB 1089 would allow for some of those
projects to be in the cities of Coachella and Indio.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Coachella Mountains Conservancy (Sponsor)
Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy (CVMC)
Friends of the Desert Mountains
AB 1089
Page 4
Granite Construction Co.
Gregory S. Pettis, Mayor Pro Tem, Cathedral City Council
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Michael Jarred / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092