BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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Date of Hearing: June 13, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Das Williams, Chair
SB
1172 (Hancock) - As Introduced February 18, 2016
SENATE VOTE: 38-0
SUBJECT: Tidelands and submerged lands: City of Albany
SUMMARY: Repeals the existing granting statute to the City of
Albany (City) to eliminate the requirement that the trust lands
be used in a manner consistent with the obsolete Waterfront Plan
from 1977. Replaces that outdated granting statute with a new
grant of public trust lands that is consistent with the City's
current waterfront improvement plans.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Protects, pursuant to the common law doctrine of the public
trust (Public Trust Doctrine), the public's right to use
California's waterways for commerce, navigation, fishing,
boating, natural habitat protection, and other water-oriented
activities. The Public Trust Doctrine provides that filled
and unfilled tide and submerged lands and the beds of lakes,
streams, and other navigable waterways (public trust lands)
are to be held in trust by the state for the benefit of the
people of California.
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2)Establishes that the State Lands Commission (SLC) is the
steward and manager of the state's public trust lands. SLC
has direct administrative control over the state's public
trust lands and oversight authority over public trust lands
granted by the Legislature to local public agencies (granted
lands).
3)Grants the City three parcels of submerged tidelands along the
San Francisco Bay waterfront for the establishment,
improvement, and conduct of a harbor and other structures and
utilities necessary for the promotion of commerce and
navigation.
4)Require future developments be consistent with the Albany
Waterfront Plan of 1977, which permits recreation-oriented
development, including a small craft marina and retail
complex.
5)Authorizes the City to grant franchises and leases on the
granted land for up to 66 years.
6)Allocates, excess revenue from the granted land as follows:
85% to the General Fund, and 15% to the City.
THIS BILL:
1)Requires the City to submit a trust lands use plan to SLC for
approval on or before January 1, 2022. The plan must describe
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(a) any proposed development, preservation, or other use of
the trust lands; (b) the projected statewide benefit; (c) the
proposed method of financing any development; (d) an estimated
timetable for implementing each phase of the plan; and (e) how
the City proposes to protect the resources and facilities on
the trust lands, particularly from the impacts of sea level
rise.
2)Requires the City to submit a report to SLC on or before
September 30, 2022, and every five years thereafter,
describing how the trust lands have been used.
3)Requires the City to establish an accounting system to track
revenue received from the trust lands and any associated
assets. Any revenue received must be kept separate from other
City money and can only be spent in a way that is consistent
with this bill.
4)Requires the City to get approval from SLC before spending
trust revenues for any large capital improvement project
($250,000 or greater).
5)Requires 20% of trust revenue be transmitted to SLC. Of this
amount transmitted, 80% will be put in the General Fund and
the remaining 20% will be deposited in the Land Bank Fund.
Money in the Land Bank Fund is used to manage SLC granted
lands program.
6)Permits the City to lease the land under certain conditions
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for less than 50 years.
7)Requires, on or before January 1, 2019, SLC to survey,
monument, and record a plat and a metes and bounds description
of the trust lands in the office of the county recorder in the
County of Alameda.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS:
1)Public Trust. The foundational principle of the common law
Public Trust Doctrine is that it is an affirmative duty of the
state to protect the people's common heritage in navigable
waters for their common use. The traditional uses allowed
under the Public Trust Doctrine were described as
water-related commerce, navigation, and fisheries. As a
common law doctrine, the courts have significantly shaped the
Public Trust Doctrine in a number of important ways. Courts
have found that the public uses to which sovereign lands are
subject are sufficiently flexible to encompass changing public
needs. The courts have also found that preservation of these
lands in their natural state, so that they may serve as
ecological units for scientific study, as open space, and as
environments that provide food and habitat for birds and
marine life, are appropriate uses under the common law Public
Trust Doctrine. Courts have also made clear that sovereign
lands subject to the Public Trust Doctrine cannot be sold into
private ownership.
2)Background on Granted Lands. For over 100 years, the
Legislature has granted public trust lands to local
governments so the lands can be managed locally for the
benefit of the people of California. There are over 80
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trustees in the state, including the ports of Los Angeles,
Long Beach, San Diego, San Francisco, Oakland, Richmond,
Benicia, and Eureka. While these trust lands are managed
locally, SLC has oversight authority to ensure those local
trustees are complying with the Public Trust Doctrine and the
applicable granting statutes.
3)The Albany Neck and Bulb. In 1919, the state granted the City
three parcels of submerged tidelands along the San Francisco
Bay waterfront. These lands include what is now known as the
Albany Neck and Bulb portion of the waterfront. The Neck and
Bulb are located at the base of Buchanan Street and protrude
into the bay. That granting statute was later amended
(Chapter 1223, Statutes of 1977) to require future development
is consistent with the Albany Waterfront Plan. The Albany
Waterfront Plan reflected the City's plans at that time for
recreation-oriented development, including constructing a
small craft marina and retail complex. However, the plan was
never implemented.
Since 1977, policy at the local, regional, and state levels
has shifted away from commercial waterfront development on the
publically-owned portion of the Albany waterfront. The City
is currently in the process of developing a new plan for
improving the Albany Neck and Bulb area and transitioning the
area to become part of the McLaughlin Eastshore State Park.
The McLaughlin Eastshore State Park includes tidelands and
upland property along 8.5 miles of shoreline extending from
the City of Richmond in the north to Emeryville and Oakland in
the south. McLaughlin Eastshore State Park is operated by the
East Bay Regional Park District. The Albany Bulb and Neck is
currently open to the public for recreational uses. This bill
would allow the City to enter into an agreement with East Bay
Regional Park District to manage the Albany Neck and Bulb as
part of the McLaughlin Eastshore State Park.
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4)Amendment. This bill requires SLC to conduct a survey to
record a metes and bounds description of the trust lands.
However, the bill already has a detailed land description and
the land has already been surveyed in the past. The author
and committee may wish to consider amending the bill to remove
the survey requirement.
5)Double Referral. This bill has been double referred to the
Assembly Local Government Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
City of Albany
State Lands Commission
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Michael Jarred / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
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