BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      AB 1251


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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING


          AB  
          1251 (Gomez)


          As Amended  April 14, 2015


          Majority vote


           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Committee       |Votes |Ayes                |Noes                |
          |                |      |                    |                    |
          |                |      |                    |                    |
          |----------------+------+--------------------+--------------------|
          |Water           |10-4  |Levine, Dodd,       |Bigelow, Beth       |
          |                |      |Cristina Garcia,    |Gaines, Harper,     |
          |                |      |Gomez, Gray, Lopez, |Mathis              |
          |                |      |Medina, Rendon,     |                    |
          |                |      |Ridley-Thomas,      |                    |
          |                |      |Williams            |                    |
          |                |      |                    |                    |
          |----------------+------+--------------------+--------------------|
          |Local           |9-0   |Maienschein,        |                    |
          |Government      |      |Gonzalez, Alejo,    |                    |
          |                |      |Chiu, Cooley,       |                    |
          |                |      |Gordon, Holden,     |                    |
          |                |      |Linder, Waldron     |                    |
          |                |      |                    |                    |
          |----------------+------+--------------------+--------------------|
          |Appropriations  |12-4  |Gomez, Bonta,       |Bigelow, Gallagher, |
          |                |      |Calderon, Daly,     |Jones, Wagner       |
          |                |      |Eggman, Eduardo     |                    |
          |                |      |Garcia, Gordon,     |                    |
          |                |      |Holden, Quirk,      |                    |
          |                |      |Rendon, Weber, Wood |                    |








                                                                      AB 1251


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          |                |      |                    |                    |
          |                |      |                    |                    |
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          SUMMARY:  Enacts the Greenway Development and Sustainment Act.   
          Specifically, this bill:


          1)Authorizes a tax-exempt nonprofit organization whose primary  
            purpose is the development of a greenway to acquire and hold  
            conservation easements.


          2)Defines a greenway for purposes of this section as, among other  
            characteristics, a pedestrian and bicycle, non-motorized,  
            vehicle transportation and recreational travel corridor with  
            specified requirements.


          3)Adds greenways, as defined in this bill, to the definition of  
            "open-space" land which can be included in the open space  
            element of a county or city general plan.  Identifies the uses  
            of greenways, as a type of open-space land, to include both  
            preservation of natural resources and outdoor recreation.


          4)States legislative findings and declarations regarding the  
            suitability of the area along the Los Angeles River and its  
            tributaries for development of a greenway, the benefits that a  
            greenway that focuses on public private partnerships aimed at  
            establishing a continuous pedestrian bikeway along the River  
            would provide for job creation, economic development, and  
            community revitalization, and the availability of funding  
            sources for these purposes.


          EXISTING LAW:









                                                                      AB 1251


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          1)Authorizes a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that  
            has as its primary purpose the preservation, protection, or  
            enhancement of land it its natural, scenic, historical,  
            agricultural, forested, or open-space condition or use, to  
            acquire and hold conservation easements.


          2)Defines "open space land" for local land use planning purposes.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, state cost pressures, potentially in the hundreds of  
          thousands to millions of dollars (Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund  
          and other special funds) to fund greenways and transportation  
          corridors.


          COMMENTS:  The author's stated purpose in introducing this bill is  
          to promote greenway development in California.  This bill  
          clarifies that a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization whose primary  
          purpose is to develop a greenway, is authorized to acquire and  
          hold conservation easements.  This bill also defines a greenway  
          for these purposes. In addition, this bill adds greenways to the  
          types of open space lands that may be included in the open space  
          element of a county or city general plan.


          The author notes that greenways improve the quality of life in  
          communities by providing connectivity between communities, and  
          important recreational, open space, wildlife, flood management,  
          water quality, air quality, transportation, emergency response,  
          and urban waterfront revitalization opportunities.


          This bill is focused on promotion of greenways generally  
          throughout the state.  As an example of a proposed greenway, there  
          has been significant interest in the potential for development of  
          a Los Angeles River Greenway through public-private partnerships  








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          aimed at establishing a continuous pedestrian/bikeway along the  
          Los Angeles River and its key tributaries.  Supporters of the  
          proposed project highlight the potential for job creation,  
          economic development, and community revitalization that could be  
          fostered by investing in a non-motorized commuter and recreational  
          transit route following the 51 mile Los Angeles River corridor,  
          and connecting existing communities to a network of parks and  
          multi-use trails.  For a more detailed discussion and background  
          on the history of the Los Angeles River, and recent efforts to  
          restore the river and revitalize surrounding communities, see the  
          Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee analysis of AB 1922  
          (Gomez) of 2014.


          This bill is substantially similar to AB 1922 (Gomez) of 2014  
          which was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee, and AB 735  
          (Gomez) of 2014, which proposed to create a Greenway Initiative,  
          including development of a greenway along the Los Angeles River.   
          AB 735 was held in Assembly Appropriations Committee.




          Analysis Prepared by:                                               
                          Diane Colborn / W., P., & W. / (916) 319-2096  FN:  
          0000594