SCR 23, as amended, Gaines. Paul J. Lunardi Memorial Highway.
This measure would designatebegin insert a specified portion ofend insert State Highway Route 267 in thebegin delete Counties of Nevada andend deletebegin insert County ofend insert Placer as the Paul J. Lunardi Memorial Highway. The measure would also request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs.
Fiscal committee: yes.
P1 1WHEREAS, Paul J. Lunardi was bornbegin delete Sept.end deletebegin insert on Septemberend insert 30,
21921, in Roseville, California, and lived his entire life at the family
3home on Earl Avenue; and
4WHEREAS, Upon his graduation from Roseville High School,
5Lunardi enlisted in the United States Coast Guard during World
6War II. After the war, he was elected to the Roseville City Council
7in 1950 and 1954, winning the mayoral seat in the latter year; and
8WHEREAS, During his tenure on the city council, Lunardi was
9instrumental in the adoption of a city charter for the
10council-manager form of government and successfully established
11a community hospital, developed a municipal fire department,
12established an updated street lighting system, obtained central
P2 1valley federal power for the city, and expanded sewage, water,
2and electric distribution systems. His outstanding record of
3achievement earned Lunardi a highly coveted “Outstanding Young
4Men of California” award presented by the State Junior Chamber
5of Commerce on January 8, 1955; and
6WHEREAS, Lunardi’s entry into politics “was just sort of
7accidental,” and as he used to say, “I just kind of expressed myself
8about what was happening in Roseville”; and
9WHEREAS, Lunardi was elected to the State Assembly in 1958,
10representing the 6th Assembly District, which spanned 11 mountain
11counties. He served in the Assembly until 1963 when he was
12elected to the State Senate to represent the 7th Senate District,
13which included the Counties of Sierra, Nevada, and Placer. He
14retired in 1966 due to redistricting; and
15WHEREAS, One of Lunardi’s proudest accomplishments was
16his legislation designating the ghost town of Bodie as a State
17Historic Park. Bodie is now listed on the National Register of
18Historic Places and is one of the best preserved and most visited
19(200,000 people a year) ghost towns in the nation; and
20WHEREAS, Lunardi introduced the first bill in the state’s
21history to assess farmland at a lower tax rate. The bill later passed
22with the help ofbegin delete Assemblymanend deletebegin insert Assembly Memberend insert John Williamson
23and is now known as the Williamson Act; and
24WHEREAS, Skiers and mountain residents still benefit from
25one of Lunardi’s major legislative accomplishments that designated
26the “Truckee shortcut” as State Highway Route 267, that links the
27City of Truckee to Kings Beach. Prior to 1965, the road was
28regularly closed by snow in the winter. Lunardi’s legislation
29enabled the road to remain open year-round, worth millions of
30dollars to the area’s tourism and ski industries, andbegin delete allowingend delete
31begin insert allowedend insert for the development of Northstar Ski Resort; and
32WHEREAS, Lunardi was honored in 2008 when his hometown
33of Roseville dedicated a park in his name, to honor his civic
34begin delete achievements,end deletebegin insert achievementsend insert and his dedication to the community
35where he lived his entire life; and
36WHEREAS, Lunardi passed away peacefully on January 11,
372013, atbegin delete the age of 91,end deletebegin insert 91 years of ageend insert and was laid to rest in his
38beloved Roseville, California; and
39WHEREAS, Designatingbegin insert a portion ofend insert State Highway Route
40267, that links the City of Truckee to Kingsbegin delete Beachend deletebegin insert Beach,end insert as the
P3 1begin delete “Paulend deletebegin insert Paulend insert J. Lunardi Memorialbegin delete Highway”end deletebegin insert Highwayend insert would be an
2appropriate
honor for this visionary leader who fought to develop
3this highway; now, therefore, be it
4Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
5thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designatesbegin insert the
6approximately 4.2 mile portion ofend insert State Highway Routebegin delete 267,end deletebegin insert 267end insert
7 thatbegin delete links the City of Truckee toend deletebegin insert ends atend insert Kings Beach, in the
8begin delete Counties of Nevada andend deletebegin insert
County ofend insert Placer, as thebegin delete “Paulend deletebegin insert Paulend insert J.
9Lunardi Memorialbegin delete Highway”;end deletebegin insert Highway;end insert and be it further
10Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested
11to determine the cost of erecting appropriate signs, consistent with
12the signing requirements of the state highway system, showing
13this special designation and, upon receiving donations from
14nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs; and be it
15further
16Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
17this resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author
18for appropriate distribution.
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