BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2651
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Date of Hearing: April 19, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS, AND WILDLIFE
Marc Levine, Chair
AB 2651
(Gomez) - As Amended March 29, 2016
SUBJECT: Urban Water and Transportation Environmental
Revitalization Grant Program
SUMMARY: Requires the Natural Resources Agency to establish a
grant program to develop urban creek greenways along the Los
Angeles River, and appropriates $500 million from the State
General Fund for this purpose. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the Natural Resources Agency to establish and
administer a grant program to be known as the Urban Water and
Transportation Environmental Revitalization Grant Program
(U-WATER).
2)Requires the program to provide grants for projects that
develop greenways in areas adjacent to an urban creek and its
tributaries, including projects in areas covered by the San
Gabriel & Lower Los Angeles Rivers & Mountains Conservancy
(RMC), and within areas covered by the Santa Monica Mountains
Conservancy (SMMC).
3)Requires an entity that receives a grant from the U-WATER
program to provide a matching share.
4)Appropriates $500 million from the General Fund to the Natural
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Resources Agency for these purposes. Limits administrative
program costs to no more than 5% of that amount.
EXISTING LAW:
1) Establishes a greenway easement as an interest in real
property created for the purpose of developing greenways
adjacent to urban waterways. Authorizes nonprofit
organizations, public government entities and tribes to
acquire and hold greenway easements.
2)Creates the Los Angeles County Flood Control District
(District) which encompasses all of Los Angeles County
including almost the entire watershed of the Los Angeles
River, as well as several other rivers. Empowers the District
to provide for the control and conservation of the flood,
storm and other waters of the District. Authorizes the
District, among other powers, to provide for the recreational
use of the lands, facilities, and works of the district as
long as those activities do not interfere with, or are not
inconsistent with, the primary use and purpose of the lands,
facilities, and works of the District.
3)Establishes the SMMC and empowers it to:
a) Acquire, improve, and manage real property;
b) Award grants or make interest-free loans to cities,
counties, resource conservation districts, and recreation
and park districts in order to acquire, restore and enhance
properties in furtherance of the goals of the SMMC;
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c) Conduct a study and implement a program to provide
recreational access from downtown Los Angeles and the inner
city to the SMMC zone in order to provide recreational
opportunities for all income and ethnic groups wishing to
enjoy the Santa Monica Mountains. Requires SMMC to
cooperate with the National Park Service, the El Pueblo de
Los Angeles State Historic Park Advisory Committee, the
Department of Parks and Recreation, and the City of Los
Angeles in conducting and implementing the program.
4)Establishes the RMC and empowers the RMC to:
a) Acquire and manage public lands within the Lower Los
Angeles River and San Gabriel River watersheds;
b) Provide open-space, low-impact recreational and
educational uses, water conservation, watershed
improvement, wildlife and habitat restoration and
protection, and watershed improvement within the territory;
and
c) Preserve the San Gabriel River and the Lower Los Angeles
River consistent with existing and adopted river and flood
control projects for the protection of life and property.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriates $500 million from the State General
Fund.
COMMENTS: This bill creates a grant program, to be administered
by the Natural Resources Agency, to fund urban creek greenways
along the upper and lower Los Angeles River and its tributaries.
This bill also appropriates $500 million from the State General
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Fund for these purposes.
1)Author's Statement: The purpose of this bill is to assist Los
Angeles River restoration efforts. The author indicates that
the Los Angeles River Integrated Design Vision is a long term
vision that is anticipated to be a multi-billion dollar
project. "Actualizing this vision will take efforts from
every level of government. The federal government has
assisted through Alternative 20 in the Elysian Valley;
California has assisted through Proposition 1; and Los Angeles
may have a large scale contribution with Measure R2.
Currently, River LA is developing an Integrated Design Vision
for the Los Angeles River that would cost billions of dollars
and would also need cooperation from all levels of government.
This needed cooperation creates an opportunity for California
to help make the dream of the Los Angeles River a reality. It
is uncertain if and when California will pass another water
bond or other type of state bond that would be able to benefit
the Los Angeles River. Also, bond dollars can be
unsustainable and create long term debt for California. This
is why I propose the U-WATER grant. This matching grant would
go to fund greenway projects along the Los Angeles River and
ensure California is directly invested in restoration efforts
of the Los Angeles River."
2)Background: Since the 1930's the Los Angeles River has been
managed as a concrete-lined flood control channel, constructed
by the Army Corps of Engineers and operated by the County of
Los Angeles. In recent years there have been renewed efforts
to develop a vision for revitalization and restoration of the
river that includes restoration of natural vegetation,
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wildlife and greenways along the river. The Los Angeles River
is 51 miles long, contained entirely within the County of Los
Angeles, and passes through 13 cities, including 32 miles that
stretch across the City of Los Angeles. The Los Angeles River
begins in Canoga Park, at the confluence of Bell Creek and the
Arroyo Calabasas, and then flows mostly east through the San
Fernando Valley where it is joined by several tributaries. In
Burbank, it enters and begins skirting Griffith Park, bending
sharply southward as it does so. This stretch of the Los
Angeles River, down to Elysian Park, is called the Glendale
Narrows, and contains one of only three stretches of the river
with an earthen bottom. After leaving the Glendale Narrows,
the river continues southward through downtown Los Angeles
until it eventually reaches Long Beach Harbor. 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, the County of Los Angeles began a process
that resulted in the Los Angeles River Master Plan (Master
Plan) in 1996. The Master Plan vision includes four core
principles: revitalizing the river's ecological and
hydrological functions while maintaining its flood control
requirements; creating a green ribbon through the City with
green strands extending the river's influence into adjacent
neighborhoods; capturing opportunities to benefit neighboring
communities; and, creating value by improving the quality of
life.
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The Upper River: In 2005-07 the City of Los Angeles developed
a "revitalization plan" for the "Upper River", the part of the
river lying within its city limits. The U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, which built the flood channels and oversees the
County's River management, recently approved "Alternative 20"
for restoring the Upper River. The City of Los Angeles is
seeking funding from a broad range of sources to pay for
Alternative 20 restoration.
The SMMC was created in state law in 1980. The SMMC has
primary responsibility for projects in the Santa Monica
Mountains zone, including lands along the portion of the Los
Angeles River located within the City of Los Angeles, and
projects within the coastal zone portion of the zone that
implement park, recreation, conservation, and open-space
objectives. The SMMC has authority to acquire properties and
to award grants.
The Lower River: The lower half of the Los Angeles River and
its tributaries pass through more than 15 smaller cities.
Those cities lack the financial resources to develop plans to
restore the River. Last year, however, the Governor signed AB
530 (Rendon), creating a Working Group to develop a Lower
River "revitalization plan," as the City of Los Angeles
adopted in 2007. Natural Resources Agency Secretary John
Laird recently announced the appointment of the Working Group.
The County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works has
agreed to convene and staff technical and stakeholder groups
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to support the Working Group's efforts. AB 530 requires the
Working Group to complete the plan by March 2017, however,
stakeholders and the County have requested an extension of
time for completion of the Lower River revitalization plan to
February 2018.
The RMC was created in law in 1999, and has jurisdiction over
the lower portion of the Los Angeles River, downstream to the
Long Beach Harbor. The purpose of the RMC is to: a) acquire
and manage public lands within the Lower Los Angeles River and
San Gabriel watersheds, and to provide open-space, low-impact
recreation and education, water conservation, watershed
improvement, wildlife and habitat restoration and protection,
and watershed improvement within the territory; b) to preserve
the San Gabriel River and Lower Los Angeles River consistent
with river and flood control projects; c) acquire open-space
lands, and d) provide for the public's enjoyment and
enhancement of recreational and educational experiences on
public lands in the watershed, consistent with protection of
the lands and resources in those watersheds.
Proposition 1: Proposition 1 included $100 million for
projects to restore and enhance the Los Angeles River.
Proposition 1 requires that this funding must be spent
pursuant to plans adopted by the SMMC and the RMC. The
Natural Resources Agency's Internet Web site on Proposition 1
shows the $100 million to be allocated equally between the two
conservancies at $50 million each. In addition to the $100
million for the Los Angeles River, Proposition 1 also
allocates $30 million to each of the two conservancies.
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Budget Issues: Last year's 2015/16 state budget did not
appropriate any funds from the $100 million in Proposition 1
for the Los Angeles River, but the Legislature did include $25
million from previous bond allocations in last year's budget
for acquisition of a former railyard to become a park along
the river adjacent to Rio de Los Angeles State Park. This
appropriation funded a project in the Alternative 20 plan for
the City of Los Angeles near Glendale.
In this year's budget the Governor is proposing appropriation
of $11 million from Proposition 1 to the SMMC, and $12.5
million to the RMC for Los Angeles River restoration. The
Legislative Analyst Office (LAO) in its review of the
Governor's budget proposal observed that the Governor's
overall plan for the Los Angeles River lacks some detail. The
LAO recommends that the Legislature develop a multiyear plan
for allocating funding for Los Angeles River restoration
efforts. The Assembly Budget Subcommittee in background
materials prepared for subcommittee hearings this month,
agrees with the LAO, and recommends that budget trailer bill
language be considered specifying that the Proposition 1
funding for the Los Angeles River should be equally divided
between the upper and lower river and the two conservancies.
Issues for Committee Consideration: In light of the issues
under consideration before the Budget Committees, the
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unappropriated funds still remaining from Proposition 1 for
the Los Angeles River, and the other funding needs of the
state, the committee may wish to consider whether $500 million
in General Fund support for the Los Angeles River, as proposed
in this bill, is the appropriate amount and fund source for
these purposes at this time. The committee may also wish to
consider whether this bill should be amended to specify that
the grant funds should be equally divided between projects in
the upper river and lower river regions.
Finally, while it is not unprecedented to appropriate funding
through a policy bill, the normal practice of the Legislature
is to appropriate funding through the budget process,
particularly appropriations of this size. Nevertheless, this
committee has recently approved or is considering other bills
which include appropriations. For example, AB 1585 (Alejo)
appropriates $25 million for a water infrastructure project in
the author's district, and AB 2373 (Gray) appropriates $45,000
for irrigation and water use efficiency strategies.
3)Prior and Related Legislation: AB 1205 (Gomez) of 2015
proposed to require the Natural Resources Agency to establish
a grant program for projects adjacent to riparian corridors
that further the California Global Warming Solutions Act of
2006. It also proposed to create the CalRIVER Fund in the
State Treasury. AB 1205 was held in the Senate Appropriations
Committee.
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AB 1251 (Gomez), Chapter 639, Statutes of 2015, establishes a
greenway easement as an interest in real property created for
the purpose of developing greenways adjacent to urban
waterways, and authorizes nonprofit organizations, public
government entities and tribes to acquire and hold greenway
easements.
AB 530 (Rendon), Chapter 684, Statutes of 2015, requires the
Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to appoint, in
consultation with the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
to the extent the board wishes to consult, a local working
group to develop a revitalization plan for the Lower Los
Angeles River watershed, called the Lower Los Angeles River
Working Group.
SB 1201 (DeLeon), Chapter 212, Statutes of 2012, amended the
Los Angeles Flood Control Act in order to provide for the
public use of navigable waterways under the Los Angeles County
Flood Control District's control that are suitable for
recreational and educational purposes, when those purposes are
not inconsistent with their use by the District for flood
control and water conservation.
SCR 101 (Pavley), Chapter 106, Resolutions of 2012, honored
and commended the commitment, energy, vision, and leadership
demonstrated by local, regional, state, and federal government
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agencies, as well as nonprofit and civic groups,
organizations, and associations, in the creation of parks and
the restoration of natural habitats along the Los Angeles
River and its San Fernando Valley tributaries.
4) Support Arguments: None received.
5) Opposition Arguments: None received.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Diane Colborn / W., P., & W. / (916)
319-2096
AB 2651
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