BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1374
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 10, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
SB 1374
(Lara) - As Amended August 2, 2016
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Policy |Water, Parks and Wildlife |Vote:|11 - 4 |
|Committee: | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| |Local Government | |5 - 3 |
| | | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill authorizes the establishment of the Lower Los Angeles
River Recreation and Park District (Park District) subject to
existing laws governing recreation and park districts, including
their formation. Specifically, this bill:
1)Subjects the establishment of the Park District to
SB 1374
Page 2
requirements of the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government
Reorganization Act (the Act).
2)Establishes an initial Board of Directors consisting of 11
members as follows:
a) The City Councils of each of the following cities may
appoint one representative: 1) City of Vernon; 2) City of
Maywood; 3) City of Bell; 4) City of Bell Gardens; 5) City
of Cudahy; 6) City of Lynwood; 7) City of Compton; 8) City
of Paramount; and 9) Long Beach.
b) The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (Board of
Supervisors) may appoint two public members
3)Specifies the Board of Directors may be reorganized by an
election pursuant to existing law.
4)Requires the powers and duties of the Park District provided
under the existing Recreation and Park District Law to be
subject to the review and approval of the Los Angeles County
Local Agency Formation Commission upon formation, change of
organization, or reorganization under the Act.
5)If established, provides the Park District with the additional
authority to:
a) Promote the development of open space and parks along
the Lower Los Angeles River.
b) Identify funding and resources to promote the
SB 1374
Page 3
revitalization of the Lower Los Angeles River and open
spaces along the river, for the benefit and enjoyment of
local communities.
c) Acquire, construct, improve, maintain, and operate parks
and open space along the Lower Los Angeles River.
1)Requires the Park District to conduct its activities in
coordination with the Lower Los Angeles River Working Group
and the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains
Conservancy.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Increased costs pressures, potentially in tens of millions to
hundreds of millions of dollars (GF or special fund), to fund
projects along the lower Los Angeles River.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, the purpose of this bill is
to create a special district to facilitate the construction,
improvement and maintenance of parks and recreational
facilities along the Lower Los Angeles River.
2)Background. The LA River is 51 miles long, contained entirely
within the County of Los Angeles, and passes through 13
cities, including 32 miles that stretch across the City of Los
Angeles. The LA River begins in Canoga Park, at the
confluence of Bell Creek and the Arroyo Calabasas, and then
flows mostly east through the San Fernando Valley where it is
SB 1374
Page 4
joined by several tributaries. In Burbank, it enters and
begins skirting Griffith Park, bending sharply southward as it
does so. This stretch of the LA River, down to Elysian Park,
is called the Glendale Narrows, and contains one of only three
stretches of the river with an earthen bottom. After leaving
the Glendale Narrows, the river continues southward through
downtown Los Angeles until it eventually reaches Long Beach
Harbor.
Although planners had envisioned greenbelts interconnecting
parklands along the river as early as the 1930s, the more
recent interest in the revitalization and promotion of the
re-integration of the river and its tributaries into the
adjacent neighborhoods began in the mid-to-late 1980s.
In September 2013, the Army Corps, in conjunction with the
City of Los Angeles, announced the availability of a Draft
Integrated Feasibility Report (Draft IFR) for the Los Angeles
River Ecosystem Restoration Study. In May 2014, the Army
Corps backed the $1 billion alternative in the study to
restore an 11-mile stretch of the LA River from Griffith Park
to downtown Los Angeles.
3)Lower Los Angeles River (LLA). AB 530 (Rendon), Chapter 684,
Statutes of 2015, requires the Secretary of Natural Resources
Agency to appoint the LLA Working Group to develop a
revitalization plan for the Lower Los Angeles River watershed.
The bill requires the LLA Working Group to develop a
revitalization plan to address the unique and diverse needs of
the Lower Los Angeles River. The bill requires the San
Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy
to provide any necessary staffing to assist the LLA Working
Group.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
SB 1374
Page 5