BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1374
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Date of Hearing: June 29, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Susan Talamantes Eggman, Chair
SB
1374 (Lara) - As Amended June 16, 2016
SENATE VOTE: Vote not relevant
SUBJECT: The Lower Los Angeles River Recreation and Park
District Act.
SUMMARY: Creates the Lower Los Angeles River Recreation and
Park District. Specifically, this bill:
1)Creates the Lower Los Angeles River Recreation and Park
District (District), and establishes the governance and powers
for the District.
2)Requires the District to be subject to the Recreation and Park
District Law, except as provided by in this bill.
3)Requires, notwithstanding the provisions in the principal act
that specify the selection of the initial board of directors
(Board), the District's initial board of directors to consist
of no more than 11 members as follows:
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a) The city councils of each of the following cities may
appoint one representative:
i) City of Vernon;
ii) City of Maywood;
iii) City of Bell;
iv) City of Bell Gardens;
v) City of Cudahy;
vi) City of Lynwood;
vii) City of Compton;
viii) City of Paramount;
ix) City of Long Beach;
b) The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (Board of
Supervisors) may appoint two public members.
4)Requires a person appointed to the Board to serve at the
pleasure of the city council or Board of Supervisors that made
the appointment.
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5)Requires the District, in addition to the powers in the
principal act, to do all of the following:
a) Promote the development of open space and parks along
the Lower Los Angeles River;
b) Identify funding and resources to promote the
revitalization of the Lower Los Angeles River and open
spaces along the river, for the benefit and enjoyment of
local communities; and,
c) Acquire, construct, improve, maintain, and operate parks
and open space along the Lower Los Angeles River.
6)Requires the District to conduct the activities in 5) above,
in coordination with the Lower Los Angeles River Working Group
and the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains
Conservancy.
7)Requires the initial Board, within a reasonable time, by
ordinance or resolution to adopt a description of the
territory to be included in the District, and any other
information that would be required from the proponents for the
formation of a new recreation and park district under LAFCO
law.
8)Finds and declares that a special law is necessary and that a
general law cannot be made applicable because of the urgent
need for local park space along the Lower Los Angeles River
and the communities through which it passes.
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9)States that no reimbursement is required by this bill because
a local agency or school district has the authority to levy
service charges, fees, or other assessments sufficient to pay
for the program or level of service mandated by this bill.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes Recreation and Park District Law which governs
formation, boundaries, governance, powers and duties, and
finance for recreation and park districts.
2)Authorizes the initiation of the formation of a new recreation
and park district by a petition proposal. Requires the
petition to contain all of the requirements for a petition for
the fomation of a district under local agency formation
commission (LAFCO) law, and to specify the methods by which
the district will be financed, propose a name for the
district, and specify the method of selecting the initial
board of directors.
3)Requires LAFCO, once proponents have filed a sufficient
petition or a legislative body has filed a resolution of
application, to proceed with proposed district formation,
pursuant to LAFCO law.
4)Prohibits LAFCO from approving a proposal that includes the
formation of a district, unless LAFCO determines that the
proposed district will have sufficient revenues to carry out
its purposes.
5)Provides for the composition of the initial board of directors
to be determined based on the territory contained in the
district. Establishes the composition for a district that
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contains unincorporated territory and the territory of one or
more cities to be elected or appointed by the county board of
supervisors and the city councils in which the district is
located. Requires, if the board is to be appointed, the
appointments to be made according to the proportionate share
of population of each city and county within the district.
6)Authorizes a recreation and park district to do the following:
a) Organize, promote, conduct, and advertise programs of
community recreation;
b) Establish systems of recreation and recreation
facilities; and,
c) Acquire, construct, improve, maintain, and operate
recreation facilities, including, but not limited to, parks
and open space both inside and beyond the district's
boundaries.
FISCAL EFFECT: This bill is keyed fiscal.
COMMENTS:
1)Existing Law and Bill Summary. The Recreation and Park
District Law is a principal act that governs the 95 recreation
and park districts in California. As a special district,
recreation and park districts are subject to LAFCO
jurisdiction and are subject to the proceedings contained in
the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act
of 2000. This bill is subject to all the provisions in the
principal act, unless expressly exempted from them.
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Existing law provides for the composition of the Board
depending on the territory encompassed by the District. Board
members may be appointed or elected. This bill establishes an
11-member Board for the District providing the nine specified
cities with one appointment each, and the Board of Supervisors
with two appointments of public members.
Current law authorizes a recreation and park district to
organize, promote, conduct, and advertise programs of
community recreation, establish systems of recreation and
recreation facilities and to acquire, construct, improve,
maintain, and operate recreation facilities, including, but
not limited to, parks and open space both inside and beyond
the district's boundaries. This bill provides additional
powers to the District, and requires the District to promote
the development of open space and parks along the Lower Los
Angeles River, identify funding and resources to promote the
revitalization of the Lower Los Angeles River and open spaces
along the river, for the benefit and enjoyment of local
communities, and to acquire, construct, improve, maintain, and
operate parks and open space along the Lower Los Angeles
River. Under this bill the District must coordinate with the
Lower Los Angeles River Working Group and the San Gabriel and
Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy to fulfill
the duties established by this bill.
2)Author's Statement. According to the author, "The Lower LA
River flows through many disadvantaged communities, where
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residents are disproportionally impacted by poor air quality
from local heavy industry and congested transportation
corridors, and suffer from a severe lack of access to
recreational opportunities and outdoor park space. A recently
released study by the Los Angeles County Department of Parks
and Recreation identified the region around the Lower Los
Angeles River as one of the most park-poor areas in LA County.
"According to the report, the City of Maywood has 0.3 park
acres per 1,000 residents, whereas "the county-wide average is
3.3 acres per 1,000 residents. The City of Bell has just 0.4
acres per 1,000 residents. The City of Cudahy has just 19.8
acres of park space in a city of 24,164 people. Of the 32
parks in the city, one was rated as "good". The other 31 were
rated as "fair" or "poor".
"The single biggest barrier to development of new parks is a
lack of funding. The recently approved state water bond
(Proposition 1) does provide funding opportunities for the
revitalization of the Lower Los Angeles River watershed,
including a $30 [million] direct allocation to the San Gabriel
and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, and a
share of $100 [million] for urban creek restoration. But
those funds are strictly limited to acquisition and
development of facilities, and cannot be used for operation or
maintenance of park facilities. A lack of local resources
often means that parks cannot be developed, or if they are,
they cannot be properly maintained. Parks have many
beneficial impacts on communities; encouraging physical
activity, improving health and fitness, reducing urban heating
effects and air pollution, reducing greenhouse gas emissions
through trees and greenery, and providing important economic
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benefits.
"While the Lower LA River serves an important purpose as a
flood protection and control channel, it also presents a
unique opportunity for open space, urban greening, and as a
recreational resource for the region. With numerous recent
developments, including the creation of a Lower Los Angeles
River Working Group to develop a revitalization plan, the
City's Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan, and
multiple conversations about a new vision for the river, there
is a growing local interest in rejuvenation of the river.
"Through the formation of the [District], working in
collaboration with the Working Group and the San Gabriel and
Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, SB 1374
will help to promote the development of open space and parks
for the benefit of communities along the Lower LA River."
3)Background. The LA River is entirely within the County of Los
Angeles (County). The approximately 32 miles of the River
upstream of the City of Vernon is considered to be the Upper
River and is within the bounds of the City of Los Angeles.
The approximately 19 miles of the Lower River includes the
Cities of Vernon, Commerce, Maywood, Bell, Bell Gardens,
Cudahy, South Gate, Lynwood, Compton, Paramount, Carson and
Long Beach.
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The areas surrounding the River are widely considered to have
relatively few open space and park areas. Particularly along
the Lower River, industrial activity and railyards immediately
adjacent to the River serve to isolate the River from the
surrounding communities.
In the early 1990s, community activism over turning a railyard
adjacent to the River into open space coincided with the
County beginning a process that - after considerable input
from stakeholders and community outreach - resulted in the
County's Los Angeles River Master Plan in 1996. The Master
Plan described how economic growth could be spurred along the
River in the County through zoning changes and the development
of open space, recreational, cultural, artistic, educational
and other opportunities.
The City of Los Angeles' Los Angeles River Revitalization
Master Plan was released in 2007. Continuing the long-term
goals of the County's Master Plan, the Revitalization Master
Plan also promoted the revitalization of the River as a
multi-benefit solution to addressing and enhancing water
quality and flood control while enabling safe access to the
River and restoring a functional river ecosystem. The City's
Revitalization Master Plan focused on the Upper River. The
Lower LA River does not have such a plan.
AB 530 (Rendon), Chapter 684, Statutes of 2015, established
the Lower Los Angeles River Working Group which is tasked with
developing a revitalization plan for the Lower River watershed
and the communities through which it passes by March 1, 2017.
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4)Policy Considerations. The Committee may wish to consider the
following:
a) Limiting LAFCO Powers. The Legislature has delegated
the power to control local boundaries to the 58 LAFCOs.
This bill bypasses LAFCO, and does not require the usual
formation process to occur. This Committee has seen an
increasing number of bills seeking to bypass the LAFCO
process, therefore, the Committee may wish to consider if
this bill is going against legislative intent that
designated fundamental powers to LAFCOs to make these types
of decisions. The Committee may wish to ask the author why
the current LAFCO process is not a viable option for the
formation of the District and why this bill is necessary.
b) Prior Bills that Established a Modified LAFCO Process.
In the past several years, the Legislature has established
a modified LAFCO process or exempted specified requirements
in the LAFCO process for the formation and consolidation of
several special districts following a history of failed
attempts at the local level including, |
AB 2453 (Achadjian), Chapter 350, Statutes of 2014, for the
creation of the Paso Robles Water District; AB 3
(Williams), Chapter 548, Statutes of 2015, for the
formation of the Isla Vista Community Services District;
and, AB 1232 (Huffman), Chapter 518, Statutes of 2010, for
the consolidation of the Sewerage Agency of Southern Marin
and its member districts, after notice and hearing, but
without protest hearings. The Committee may wish to
consider the local politics and history around these issues
which prevented local consensus.
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c) What's Missing? This Committee has heard a number of
bills that contemplate the existence of a special district
that many would argue has outlived its purpose. In light
of those conversations, the Committee may wish to require
that any special district that is established by the
Legislature will have the funding to be able to fulfill its
statutory purpose. Under existing law, LAFCO is prohibited
from approving the formation of a district, unless it can
determine that the proposed district will have sufficient
revenues to carry out its purposes. In absence of this
review at the local level, the Committee may wish to
require this bill to identify a source of funding.
Additionally, the Committee may wish to consider the policy
of establishing a specified governing body for a District
that does not have defined boundaries.
d) LA River Working Group Revitalization Plan. As a result
of AB 530 (Rendon), the LA River Working Group is required
to develop a revitalization plan for the Lower LA River by
March 1, 2017. The Committee may wish to consider, in
light of the working group and the authority granted under
existing law to the cities and the County specified in the
bill, to establish a joint powers authority, if it is
necessary to form a district to accomplish duties that
local governments are already authorized to perform.
5)Committee Amendments. In absence of failed attempts at the
local level, the Committee may wish to encourage the author to
limit the provisions of the bill to specifying the governing
body and powers, but still require the formation of the
District to comply with the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local
Government Reorganization Act of 2000. The Committee
amendments would no longer create the District, but provide
the specified governing body and powers, should there be a
proposal to initiate the formation of the District, pursuant
to process under existing law, and the approval of the
District, pursuant to the LAFCO process under existing law.
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6)Arguments in Support. None on file.
7)Arguments in Opposition. None on file.
8)Double Referral. This bill is double-referred to the Water,
Parks and Wildlife Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Misa Lennox / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958
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