BILL NUMBER: SB 422 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 99
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JULY 15, 2015
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR JULY 15, 2015
PASSED THE SENATE JULY 6, 2015
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY JUNE 29, 2015
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, 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, 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 authorize the authority to acquire, but not to
take by eminent 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.
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 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. 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.
(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.
(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.
(d) The authority shall not validly convey 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. 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 that is already owned by a public agency for open-space
use. For purposes of this section, "owned" includes 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 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.