BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1251
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
1251 (Gomez)
As Amended September 4, 2015
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |61-15 |(June 3, 2015) |SENATE: | |(September 10, |
| | | | |27-13 |2015) |
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Original Committee Reference: W., P., & W.
SUMMARY: Enacts the Greenway Development and Sustainment Act.
The Senate amendments:
1)Add a new chapter to the Civil Code regarding Greenway
Easements, that includes all the following:
a) States findings and declarations regarding development
of greenways along urban waterways, including that:
i) The restoration of land in its natural, scenic,
forested, recreational, or open-space condition is among
the most important environmental assets in California;
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ii) That greenways have the potential to improve the
quality of life in, and connectivity between, communities
and provide important recreational, open-space, wildlife,
flood management, greenhouse gas reduction, and urban
waterfront revitalization opportunities; and
iii) That it is the policy of the Legislature and in the
best interest of the state to encourage the voluntary
conveyance of greenway easements to qualified nonprofit
organizations.
b) Creates a new real property interest known as a greenway
easement, defined as an interest in real property
voluntarily created and freely transferable in whole or in
part, for the purpose of developing greenways adjacent to
urban waterways, by any lawful method for the transfer of
interests in real property in the state. Provides that a
greenway easement shall be perpetual in duration, shall
constitute an interest in real property, and that the
particular interests of a greenway easement shall be those
granted or specified in the instrument creating or
transferring the easement.
c) States that a greenway easement means any limitation in
a deed, will, or other instrument in the form of an
easement, restriction, covenant, or condition that is or
has been executed by or on behalf of the owner of the land
subject to the easement and is binding upon successive
owners of the land, for the purpose of developing greenways
adjacent to urban waterways.
d) Authorizes only the following entities to acquire and
hold a greenway easement:
i) A 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization that
has as its primary purpose the preservation, protection,
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or enhancement of land in its natural, scenic,
historical, agricultural, forested, or open-space
condition or use, or the preservation or development of a
greenway.
ii) The state or any city, county, of other governmental
entity authorized to acquire and hold title and real
property, provided the greenway easement is voluntarily
conveyed. Prohibits a local government entity from
conditioning the issuance of an entitlement for use on an
applicant's granting of a greenway easement.
iii) A federally recognized California Native American
tribe or a nonfederally recognized California Native
American tribe that is on the contact list maintained by
the Native American Heritage Commission, as specified, if
the greenway easement is voluntarily conveyed.
e) Provides that all interests not transferred or conveyed
by the instrument creating the greenway easement shall
remain in the grantor of the greenway easement, including
the right to engage in all uses of the land not affected by
the greenway easement nor prohibited by the greenway
easement or by law.
f) Requires that greenway easement instruments be recorded
in the county recorder's office of the county where the
land is located.
g) Provides that greenway easements shall be enforceable by
injunctive relief, and that additionally the holder of a
greenway easement shall be entitled to recover money
damages for injuries to a greenway easement or interest,
and that a court may award attorney's fees to a prevailing
party in an action to enforce a greenway easement.
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h) Provides that nothing in this new chapter shall be
construed to impair or conflict with other laws conferring
the right or power to hold interests in land comparable to
greenway easements, as specified.
i) Provides that a greenway easement is an enforceable
restriction for purposes of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
j) Defines various terms for purposes of this new chapter
on greenway easements.
2)Add greenways to the definition of open space in the
Government Code.
3)Add recorded greenway easements to the list of enforceable
restrictions on land that the tax assessor shall consider in
determining the assessable value of lands.
4)Strike a clause in the findings and declarations that stated
cities or counties that develop a greenway may apply for
greenhouse gas reduction funds.
5)Add language to avoid chaptering out issues with AB 668
(Gomez) of the current legislative session.
6)Add coauthors.
EXISTING LAW:
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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 a conservation easement as an interest in real
property that is perpetual in nature, and is a limitation in a
deed, will, or other instrument that is binding upon
successive owners of such land, and the purpose of which is to
retain land predominantly in its natural, scenic, historical,
agricultural, forested, or open-space condition.
3)Defines an open-space easement as a right or interest in
property that is in perpetuity or for a term of years in
open-space land acquired by a county, city, or nonprofit
organization where the deed or other instrument granting such
right or interest imposes restrictions which, through
limitation of future use, will effectively preserve for public
use or enjoyment the natural or scenic character of such
open-space land. Requires an open-space easement to contain a
covenant running with the land, either in perpetuity or for a
term of years, that the landowner shall not construct or
permit the construction of improvements except as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)Unknown costs, at least in the hundreds of thousands of
dollars, if not millions, (General Fund) for increased
Proposition 98 of 1988 payments needed to replace reduced
local property tax revenues used for schools.
2)Cost pressures, likely in the millions of dollars, to the
Greenhouse Gas Reduction fund (special) and various special
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funds for alternative fuels for greenway projects.
COMMENTS: The author's stated purpose in introducing this bill
is to promote greenway development in California. The Assembly
version of this bill added a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization
whose primary purpose is to develop a greenway, to the list of
entities authorized to acquire and hold conservation easements.
The Assembly version also defined a greenway for these purposes,
and added greenways to the types of open space lands that may be
included in the open space element of a county or city general
plan.
In further discussions regarding the goals of greenway
development, as this bill moved through the legislative process,
it became apparent that the purposes of a greenway easement are
similar to but different in several distinct ways from both a
conservation easement and an open space easement. A
conservation easement generally is seeking to protect lands in
their natural state in perpetuity. An open-space easement seeks
to protect the open-space character of lands but allows for
multiple uses on the land, and does not necessarily exist in
perpetuity. A greenway development, particularly of the type
envisioned for the Los Angeles River, seeks to restore a
disturbed area to its a more natural open-space condition, but
also to allow uses such as trails and bike paths, and to improve
the quality of life for residents living near the urban waterway
by allowing for compatible public access to the greenway once it
is restored. After the investment is made in restoration of the
greenway, there is also a desire to protect that investment from
future development that would be incompatible with the purposes
of the greenway. In recognition of the specific purposes of a
greenway, the Senate amendments create a new chapter on greenway
easements, modelled after existing law regarding open space
easements.
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,
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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 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.
Analysis Prepared by:
Diane Colborn / W., P., & W. / (916) 319-2096 FN: 0002245