BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 1251 (Gomez) - Greenway Development and Sustainment Act.
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|Version: June 24, 2015 |Policy Vote: GOV. & F. 5 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: July 13, 2015 |Consultant: Marie Liu |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: This bill would allow for the creation of a greenway
easement, which must be considered when assessing land values
for the purposes of property taxation. This bill would also
explicitly allow the open-space element of a general plan to
include greenways, as defined.
Fiscal
Impact:
Unknown costs, at least in the hundreds of thousands of
dollars, if not millions, (General Fund) for increased
Proposition 98 payments needed to replace reduced local
property tax revenues used for schools.
Cost pressures, likely in the millions of dollars, to the
Greenhouse Gas Reduction fund (special) and various special
funds for alternative fuels for greenway projects.
Background: Each city and county is required under existing law to prepare
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and periodically update a comprehensive, long- range, general
plan to guide future decisions. One of the seven required
elements is regarding open space. The open space plan may
include, among other things, open space for the preservation of
natural resources, the managed production of natural resources,
outdoor recreation, and public health and safety. (GOV §65560)
Existing law defines a conservation easement as an easement or
restriction on land for the purpose of retaining the land
predominantly in its "natural, scenic, historical, agricultural,
forested, or open-space condition." (CIV §815.1) A conservation
easement may be held by qualified nonprofit organizations, the
state or a local government, or a Native American tribe. Similar
land restrictions can also be made for scenic and trail purposes
or open-space.
Existing law requires an assessor, when assessing land, to
consider the effect upon the value of any enforceable
restrictions on the uses of the land, including, a recorded
conservation, trail, or scenic easement.
Proposed Law: This bill would create a "greenway easement" that
is perpetual in duration and nearly identical to the terms and
restrictions of conservation easements. "Greenway" would be
defined as a pedestrian and bicycle, nonmotorized vehicle
transportation, and recreational travel corridor that meets
specific requirements, such as that it is adjacent to an urban
waterway, incorporates the significance and value of natural,
historical, and cultural resources, and is publically
accessible. The greenway may incorporate appropriate lighting,
public amenities, art, and other features that are consistent
with the local agency's planning document. A recorded greenway
easement would be required to be considered by an assessor in
the assessment of land values.
This bill would explicitly state that a local government's
open-space element in the general plan may include open space
for the preservation of greenways as a natural resource.
This bill would make several findings and declarations,
including that in regards to the development of a greenway along
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the Los Angeles River and its tributaries, developing a greenway
that promotes sustainability and acts as a transportation
corridor, a city or county may apply for "alternative fuels
funding, greenhouse gas reduction funds, and other land use
funds, as appropriate."
Related
Legislation: AB 1922 (Gomez, 2014) would have expanded the
types of nonprofits who can acquire and hold conservation
easements, defined greenways as a type of open space for the
purpose of an open-space element of a general plan, and would
have made various definitions and findings and declarations. AB
1922 was held on suspense in the Senate Appropriations
Committee.
Staff
Comments: This bill creates a new type of easement that would reduce a
property's value as a use restriction, and will thereby reduce
local property tax revenues. Loss in local property tax revenues
have state fiscal implications as the state guarantees minimum
levels of school funding under Proposition 98. In essence, loss
property tax revenues that would have been used for schools are
backfilled by the state on a one-to-one basis. Given that
property values around urban waterways can be high, staff
believes the statewide costs to compensate local schools for the
loss of local property tax revenues as a result of the easements
could easily be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not
millions.
These would only be new costs to the extent that a greenway
easement would not have qualified as a conservation easement.
While it is unclear the scenario in which a greenway easement
could not also be considered a conservation easements, staff
presumes that such a scenario would exist otherwise creating new
type of easement would be unnecessary. And creating a new type
of easement is one of the main purposes of the bill.
This bill also contains findings and declarations that state
that a city or county may apply for alternative fuels funding or
greenhouse gas reduction funds, as appropriate. The state has
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used the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for purposes including
sustainable communities and clean transportation. Some of the
activities associated with the development of greenways may be
eligible for these funds. However, this bill would add cost
pressures to fund the other activities that would not otherwise
be funded. In regards to the alternative fuels funding, staff is
not aware of alternative fuels funding being used for greenways
under the existing programs. Therefore, the use of alternative
fuel funding for greenways would be an expansion of existing
uses and thus places cost pressures on those funds.
This bill contains codified findings and declarations. In the
interest of code clarity and efficiency, staff recommends this
bill be amended to place the findings and declarations in an
uncodified section of the bill.
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