BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2534
Page 1
(Without Reference to File)
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
2534 (Nazarian)
As Amended June 1, 2016
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Natural |7-0 |Williams, Cristina | |
|Resources | |Garcia, Gomez, | |
| | |Hadley, McCarty, Mark | |
| | |Stone, Wood | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |14-2 |Gonzalez, Bloom, |Bigelow, Gallagher |
| | |Bonilla, Bonta, | |
| | |Calderon, Daly, | |
| | |Eggman, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Roger | |
| | |Hernández, Holden, | |
| | |Quirk, Santiago, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
AB 2534
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| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Establishes the Los Angeles River (River) Regional
Access and Economic Sustainability Working Group (Working Group)
to advance the revitalization of the areas adjacent to the Upper
Los Angeles River. Specifically, this bill:
1)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.
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
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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.
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.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, potential increased costs for the Conservancy to
staff the Working Group and contract for the various
evaluations, likely in the $120,000 range (special fund).
COMMENTS: 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
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
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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.
Analysis Prepared by:
Michael Jarred / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092 FN:
0003365
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