BILL NUMBER: SB 422 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 18, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 14, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 6, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Senator Monning
(Coauthor: Senator Beall)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Mark Stone)
FEBRUARY 25, 2015
An act to amend Sections 35100, 35101, 35103, 35120, 35152, and
35153 of, and to amend the heading of Division 26
(commencing with Section 35100) of, and to add Section 35122 to,
the Public Resources Code, relating to the Santa Clara Valley
Open-Space Authority.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 422, as amended, Monning. Santa Clara Valley Open-Space
Authority.
Existing law creates the Santa Clara County Open-Space Authority,
and prescribes the jurisdiction and functions and duties of the
authority. Existing law authorizes the authority, among other things,
to acquire, hold, and dispose of real and personal property, within
the authority's jurisdiction, necessary to the full exercise of its
powers. Existing law further authorizes the authority to take by
eminent domain any property necessary or convenient to accomplish the
purposes of the authority, with the exception of lands in active
ranching, lands in agricultural production, and lands in timberland
production zones that are not threatened by imminent conversion to
developed uses. Existing law provides that the maximum
jurisdiction of the authority shall include all areas within the
county, as provided.
This bill would, in addition, would
authorize the authority to acquire, but not to take by eminent
domain domain, interests in real
property that are without the authority's jurisdiction, necessary to
the full exercise of its powers. The bill would also authorize
the authority's boundaries to be altered by the annexation of
contiguous territory, in the unincorporated area of a neighboring
county, as provided. The bill would change the name of the
authority to the Santa Clara Valley Open-Space Authority and make
conforming changes.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The heading of Division 26 (commencing with Section
35100) of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
DIVISION 26. SANTA CLARA VALLEY OPEN-SPACE AUTHORITY
SEC. 2. Section 35100 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
35100. This division shall be known and may be cited as the Santa
Clara Valley Open-Space Authority Act.
SEC. 3. Section 35101 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
35101. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) In Santa Clara County, open-space preservation and creation of
a greenbelt are immediate high priorities needed to counter the
continuing and serious conversion of these lands to urban uses, to
preserve the quality of life in the county, and to encourage
agricultural activities.
(b) In order to deal in an expeditious manner with the current
serious loss of these properties, the county needs to develop and
implement a local funding program involving properties occupied for
urban purposes which give rise to the need for open-space
preservation that goes significantly beyond current existing funding
that is not adequate to resolve these losses.
(c) It is in the public interest to create the Santa Clara Valley
Open-Space Authority so that local open-space preservation and
greenbelting decisions can be implemented in a timely manner to
provide for the acquisition and maintenance of these properties.
(d) All persons owning developed parcels enjoy the privilege of
using, and benefit from, the availability of open space.
SEC. 4. Section 35103 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
35103. "Authority" means the Santa Clara Valley Open-Space
Authority created pursuant to this division in the County of Santa
Clara.
SEC. 5. Section 35120 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
35120. The Santa Clara Valley Open-Space Authority is hereby
created on February 1, 1993. The maximum jurisdiction of the
authority shall include all areas within the county, except those
areas of the county presently within the boundaries, including the
sphere of influence, of the midpeninsula
Midpeninsula Regional Open-Space District. Each city situated
within the maximum jurisdictional boundaries shall pass a resolution
stating its intent to be included within the authority's jurisdiction
by January 15, 1993. These resolutions shall be transmitted to the
board of supervisors. A city that fails to pass the resolution or
that formally states its intent to not participate shall be excluded
from the authority's jurisdiction. The creation of the authority is
not subject to review by the Santa Clara County Local Agency
Formation Commission.
SEC. 6. Section 35122 is added to the
Public Resources Code , to read:
35122. Notwithstanding Section 35120, after the establishment of
the authority's boundaries, the boundaries of the authority may be
altered by the annexation of contiguous territory, in the
unincorporated area of a neighboring county, pursuant to the
annexation process in the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government
Reorganizing Act of 2000 (Division 3 (commencing with Section 56000)
of Title 5 of the Government Code). The board of supervisors of the
neighboring county shall pass a resolution stating its intent to be
included within the authority's jurisdiction before any territory in
that county may be annexed to the authority.
SEC. 6. SEC. 7. Section 35152 of the
Public Resources Code is amended to read:
35152. (a) The authority may take by grant,
appropriation, purchase, gift, devise, condemnation, or lease, and
may hold, use, enjoy, and lease or dispose of real and personal
property of every kind, and rights in real and personal property,
within or without the authority's jurisdiction, necessary to the full
exercise of its powers. The authority may accept and hold open-space
easements and purchase development credits wherever the authority
may acquire real property.
Priority
(b) Priority for open-space
acquisition should be focused on those lands closest, most
accessible, and visible to the urban area. The remote ranchlands east
of the westernmost ridgeline of the Diablo Range shall be acquired
as permanent open space only through conservation easement purchases
or the granting of lands or conservation easements by owners to the
authority.
Lands
(c) Lands subject to the grant of
an open-space easement executed and accepted by the authority in
accordance with this division are enforceably restricted within the
meaning of Section 8 of Article XIII of the California Constitution.
An easement or other interest in real property may be dedicated for
open-space purposes by the adoption of a resolution by the governing
board, and any interest so dedicated may be conveyed only as provided
in this section.
The
(d) The authority may
shall not validly convey any
an interest in any real property actually dedicated and
used for open-space purposes without the consent of a majority of the
voters of the authority voting at a special election called by the
governing board and held for that purpose. Consent need not first be
obtained for a lease of any real property for a period not exceeding
25 years if that real property remains in open-space or agricultural
use for the entire duration of the lease.
SEC. 7. SEC. 8. Section 35153 of the
Public Resources Code is amended to read:
35153. The authority may exercise the right of eminent domain to
take any property necessary or convenient to accomplish the purposes
of this division, except that it shall not take lands in active
ranching, lands in agricultural production, lands in timberland
production zones that are not threatened by imminent conversion to
developed uses, or lands without the authority's jurisdiction.
Furthermore, the authority shall not acquire any interest in real
property by eminent domain unless the real property is contiguous to
real property which that is already
owned by a public agency for open-space use. For purposes of this
section, "owned" includes any a lease
or other contractual commitment to which the public agency is a
party, to maintain the property in open-space use for a term of at
least 25 years. The right of eminent domain may only be exercised
upon the approval of a four-fifths vote of the governing board. If
the property owner objects to the acquisition of his or her property
by eminent domain, the property owner may, within 30 days of the
governing board's vote, file a written objection with the legislative
body of the city or county in which the property is located. If the
property is located in more than one city or in the county and one or
more cities, the property owner shall file his or her objection with
the legislative body of the city or county which
that includes the larger portion of the property. If the
property owner files a timely written objection, the legislative body
shall consider the objection at a public hearing to be held within
45 days of its receipt. If the legislative body of a city upholds by
a two-thirds vote, or the legislative body of a county upholds by a
majority vote, the objection by determining that the acquisition is
not in the best interests of the public within the authority's
jurisdiction, the authority shall not exercise its right of eminent
domain on that property.