BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 2651 (Gomez) - Greenway easements
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|Version: May 25, 2016 |Policy Vote: GOV. & F. 6 - 0 |
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|Urgency: Yes |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: June 20, 2016 |Consultant: Mark McKenzie |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 2651, an urgency measure, would specify that
greenway easements may be established to preserve existing
greenways, specify that greenway easements may only be
established in an urbanized area, require new greenway easement
designations to be consistent with existing restoration efforts,
and specify that local agencies must designate easements in the
land use element, rather than the open space element of the
general plan.
Fiscal
Impact:
Unknown net impact on property tax revenues, a portion of
which must be backfilled by the state General Fund. The bill
could potentially both expand opportunities for designating
greenway easements by authorizing them for preservation of
existing greenways in some cases, and reduce opportunities by
limiting greenway easements to urbanized areas. The net
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impacts are unquantifiable, but the bill could potentially
result in a reduction in property tax revenues, approximately
half of which are allocated to schools on a statewide basis.
The state General Fund generally backfills schools for any
loss in property tax revenues, pursuant to Proposition 98.
Minor reimbursable mandate costs, if any, for local assessors
to revise property tax assessments for properties designated
as greenway easements (General Fund). Any local costs to
designate easements in the land use element rather than the
open space element of the general plan would not be
reimbursable.
Background: Existing law, as enacted by AB 1251 (Gomez), Chap. 639/2015,
authorizes certain entities to acquire easements for the purpose
of developing greenways along urban waterways. These "greenway
easements" act as enforceable restrictions on the use of
property that dedicates the land for the purpose of developing
greenways along urban waterways. Greenway easements are
permanent provisions placed into a deed, will, or other legal
instrument and are binding on successive owners of the land.
Local governments must designate greenway easements in the open
space element of the general plan. Urban waterways are defined
as creeks, streams, or rivers that cross developed property or
open space where the relevant local agency's planning document
designates the land as residential, commercial, or industrial.
Existing law defines a greenway as a separate path for bikes and
pedestrians that must be located within 400 yards of an urban
waterway where access to the property has been granted through
some sort of agreement with the property owner or operator of
any facilities on the land. Additionally, a greenway must:
Contain landscaping that (1) improves rivers and
streams, (2) provides flood protection benefits, and (3)
incorporates the significance and value of natural,
historical, and cultural resources as documented in the
local agency's applicable planning document;
Provide nearby communities with easy access to the path
and include features that allow the use of the path, such
as lighting and other public amenities;
Meet any design standards for greenways that are set by
a relevant local agency's planning documents.
Existing law defines a conservation easement as an easement or
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restriction on land for the purpose of retaining the land
predominantly in its "natural, scenic, historical, agricultural,
forested, or open-space condition." 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:
AB 2651, an urgency measure, would make the following changes
to provisions authorizing the designation of greenway easements:
Allow greenway easements to be used to preserve existing
greenways.
Require greenway easements that are used to develop new
greenways to be consistent with relevant restoration
efforts along the urban waterway, if any.
Allow local governments to designate greenways in the
land use element of their general plans.
Provides that greenways may only include public
amenities in "urbanized areas," as defined by the
California Environmental Quality Act.
Staff
Comments: The provisions of this bill are primarily intended to
further the intent of AB 1251, which allowed specified nonprofit
and state and local government entities to designate greenway
easements as recorded enforceable restrictions on the use of
those designated lands for specified purposes. Existing law
requires assessors to consider enforceable restrictions when
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assessing property values, so the designation of greenway
easements can reduce the value of property that contains an
easement.
As noted above, the provisions of AB 2651 both expand
opportunities for designating greenway easements by authorizing
them for preservation of existing greenways (rather than solely
for developing new greenways), as well as limit opportunities
for designating new easements by specifying that greenways may
only include amenities in urbanized areas. It is unclear
whether the bill will result in an overall net increase in
greenway easement designations. To the extent the bill does
result in more greenway easements, AB 2651 could result in a
reduction in the assessed value of the property on which the
enforceable restriction is designated. The state General Fund
must generally backfill any reductions in property tax
allocations to schools.
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