BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2534
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 18, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Das Williams, Chair
AB 2534
(Nazarian) - As Amended April 12, 2016
SUBJECT: Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy: working group:
Los Angeles River Greenway
SUMMARY: Establishes the Los Angeles River (River) Regional
Access and Economic Sustainability Working Group (Working Group)
to advance the revitalization of the Los Angeles River in the
San Fernando Valley.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy
(Conservancy) within the Natural Resources Agency (NRA) to
acquire and protect lands within the Santa Monica Mountains
Zone, which is an area of approximately 650,000 acres,
generally encompassing the mountain areas of eastern Ventura
County, western Los Angeles County, and the mountain areas
surrounding the San Fernando, La Crescenta, and Santa Clarita
Valleys.
2)Establishes nine voting members on the Conservancy, three ex
officio members, and six legislative members.
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3)Requires the secretary of NRA to appoint a local working group
to develop a revitalization plan for the Lower Los Angeles
River watershed, called the Lower Los Angeles River Working
Group (LLA Working Group). Requires the LLA Working Group to
develop, through watershed-based planning methods, a
revitalization plan that addresses the unique and diverse
needs of the Lower Los Angeles River. Requires the San
Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy
to provide any necessary staffing to assist the LLA Working
Group.
THIS BILL:
1)Makes various findings about the Los Angeles River in the San
Fernando Valley.
2)Declares the intent of the Legislature to advance the
revitalization of the Los Angeles River in the San Fernando
Valley by addressing the need for public access to the River
and connectivity between businesses in the vicinity of the Los
Angeles River and the Los Angeles River Greenway.
3)Requires the Conservancy to establish the Working Group.
4)Requires the Conservancy to consider requests from local
government entities to have a representative on the Working
Group.
5)Allows the Working Group to include representatives from the
Conservancy, the City of Los Angeles, nonprofit organizations,
environmental organizations, the business community, and city
council districts and legislative districts bordering the
River.
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6)Requires that the Working Group do the following:
a) Review and evaluate public access and connectivity among
businesses along and in the vicinity of the River and the
Los Angeles River Greenway. Specifies that a public
parking garage connectivity should be in the review and
evaluation.
b) Develop practical recommendations related to permanent
connectivity between area businesses, bicycle networks, and
the River and appropriate signage.
c) Prepare a report of its findings and recommendations for
implementation by the Conservancy.
7)Requires the Conservancy to retain experts and provide staff
to assist the Working Group.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
1)Author's Statement:
Currently, Angelenos can visit certain segments of the
River and experience many of the new trails, bikeways,
parkland, and open space, especially in the San
Fernando Valley, without ever realizing how close to
area businesses they may be. An escape from the urban
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congestion is partly what the initial revitalization
efforts were centered on. On the other hand, more
Angelenos would likely visit the revitalized segments
of the River if they knew that there were restaurants,
shops, parking structures, and other attractions a
couple of blocks away. This bill initiates the first
steps in establishing a public-private partnership by
convening a working group of stakeholders to develop
recommendations that will facilitate economic growth
along the River.
2)Conservancy. The Conservancy was established by the
Legislature in 1980. Since that time, it has helped
preserve over 73,000 acres of parkland in both wilderness
and urban settings, and has improved more than 114 public
recreational facilities throughout Southern California.
The Conservancy's mission is statement is:
Through direct action, alliances, partnerships, and
joint powers authorities, the Conservancy's mission is
to strategically buy back, preserve, protect, restore,
and enhance treasured pieces of Southern California to
form an interlinking system of urban, rural and river
parks, open space, trails, and wildlife habitats that
are easily accessible to the general public.
3)LA River. The River begins in Canoga Park at the confluence
of Bell Creek and the Arroyo Calabasas. It flows mostly east
through the San Fernando Valley, where numerous tributaries
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join, to Burbank and Griffith Park. The River flows through
13 cities and is contained within the County of Los Angeles.
It is now almost entirely lined in concrete, although there
are three "soft-bottomed" sections in the Sepulveda Basin (San
Fernando Valley), Griffith Park, and in Long Beach.
Particularly along the lower portion of the River, industrial
activity and railyards are immediately adjacent to the River
and can effectively isolate it from the surrounding
communities.
Although planners had envisioned greenbelts interconnecting
parklands along the River as early as the 1930s, the more
recent interest in the revitalization and promotion of the
re-integration of the River and its tributaries into the
adjacent neighborhoods began in the mid-to-late 1980s. There
was growing recognition that compared to other large American
cities Los Angeles has relatively fewer parks, particularly in
under-represented communities. In the early 1990s, community
activism resulted in the County's Los Angeles River Master
Plan (County Master Plan) in 1996.
The County Master Plan described how economic growth could be
spurred along the River in the county through zoning changes
and the development of open space, recreational, cultural,
artistic, educational, and other opportunities. This River
revitalization aimed to "achieve a better River environment
for future generations in the Los Angeles basin." The Los
Angeles City Council established its own ad hoc committee on
the River in 2002, and the City's Master Plan was released in
2007. Continuing the long-term goals of the County Master
Plan, the City Master Plan also promoted the revitalization of
the River as a solution with many benefits including water
quality and flood control while enabling safe access to the
River and restoring a functional river ecosystem. This bill
creates a workgroup to focus revitalization efforts from the
headwaters of the Los Angeles River at the confluence of Bell
and Calabasas Creeks to Griffith Park.
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4)Amendment. This bill requires the Conservancy to retain
experts to conduct necessary studies and analyses requested by
the Working Group. This could drive up costs and change the
scope of the Working Group. The author and committee may wish
to amend the bill to allow the Conservancy to provide staff
and experts, but not require it to do so.
5)Prior Legislation.
AB 530 (Rendon), Chapter 684, Statutes of 2015, requires
the Secretary of NRA to appoint the LLA Working Group to
develop a revitalization plan for the Lower Los Angeles
River watershed. The bill requires the LLA Working Group
to develop, through watershed-based planning methods, a
revitalization plan that addresses the unique and diverse
needs of the Lower Los Angeles River. The bill requires
the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains
Conservancy to provide any necessary staffing to assist the
LLA Working Group.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Community Conservation Solutions (sponsor)
AB 2534
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Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Michael Jarred / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092