BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1374|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1374
Author: Lara (D), et al.
Amended: 8/19/16
Vote: 21
PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/29/16 (Pursuant to
Senate Rule 29.10)
AYES: Hertzberg, Nguyen, Beall, Hernandez, Lara, Moorlach,
Pavley
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 57-20, 8/23/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: The Lower Los Angeles River Recreation and Park
District
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill authorizes the formation of the Lower Los
Angeles River Recreation and Park District.
Assembly Amendments delete the Senate version of the bill and
add the current language pertaining to the Lower Los Angeles
River Recreation and Park District.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
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1)Enacts the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government
Reorganization Act of 2000 (CKH Act), which:
a) Controls how local officials change the boundaries of
cities and special districts, putting local agency
formation commissions (LAFCOs) in charge of the
proceedings.
b) Directs LAFCOs to ensure that services are effectively
and efficiently delivered, and local governments can only
exercise their powers and provide services where allowed to
by LAFCO, including the formation of new cities and special
districts, modifications of existing boundaries, and
dissolutions of unsustainable special districts.
2)Enacts the Recreation and Park District Law, which:
a) Governs the 95 recreation and park districts in
California.
b) Provides two means for initiating the formation of a
recreation and parks district:
i) By petition signed by 25 percent of the registered
voters in the proposed district's territory, or
ii) By resolution of application by a city or
county that contains the territory proposed to be
included in the district.
c) Requires recreation and park districts to follow the
proceedings contained in the CKH Act and requires the
petition or resolution to be submitted to LAFCO.
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d) Specifies the board membership of recreation and park
districts, based on the territory that the district is
proposed to include.
e) Allows park districts to exercise numerous powers,
including to:
i) Organize, promote, conduct, and advertise community
recreation programs and to acquire, construct, improve,
maintain, and operate recreation facilities; and,
ii) Finance their operations by borrowing money and
incurring indebtedness, levying fees, special taxes, and
benefit assessments, as well as selling general
obligation bonds and forming Mello-Roos community
facilities districts.
3)Establishes 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 (AB 530, Rendon, Chapter 684, Statutes of 2015).
This bill:
1)Authorizes, until January 1, 2019, the formation of the Lower
Los Angeles River Recreation and Park District (District)
pursuant to the CKH Act, and establishes the governance and
powers for the District.
2)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 13 members as follows:
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a) The city councils of each of the following cities may
appoint one representative: Vernon, Maywood, Bell, Bell
Gardens, Cudahy, South Gate, Lynwood, Compton, Paramount,
and Long Beach.
b) The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (Board of
Supervisors) may appoint two public members. Requires one
of the public members to be a representative of a nonprofit
organization serving the Lower Los Angeles River region.
c) The city councils of each of the following cities may
jointly appoint one representative: Commerce, Downey,
Montebello, and Pico Rivera. Requires the one
representative jointly appointed to serve for a two-year
term.
3)Requires a person appointed to the Board to serve at the
pleasure of the city council or Board of Supervisors that made
the appointment.
4)Authorizes the Board to be reorganized pursuant to the
Recreation and Park District Law.
5)Requires the District, in addition to the powers and financing
authority in the principal act which are subject to review and
approval of the Los Angeles County LAFCO upon formation,
change of organization, or reorganization, 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
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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.
Background
The Los Angeles 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 include the Cities of
Vernon, Commerce, Maywood, Bell, Bell Gardens, Cudahy, South
Gate, Lynwood, Compton, Paramount, Carson and Long Beach. The
Lower River is fed by the tributaries Compton Creek and Rio
Honda, which is bordered by the Cities of Commerce, Downey,
Montebello, and Pico Rivera.
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
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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. Some elected officials want to
create a park district to assist in the funding and development
of parks along the Lower Los Angeles River.
Comments
1)Purpose of the bill. Access to parks and open space is linked
to numerous benefits for the public, such as improved air
quality, increased exercise activities, reduced obesity rates,
improved mental health, reductions in urban heating effects,
and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Yet numerous studies have
found that residents along the Lower Los Angeles River are
disproportionally impacted by poor air quality and lack access
to recreational opportunities and outdoor park space. One
obstacle to enhancing access to parks for these communities is
a lack of funding. SB 1374 authorizes the creation of the
Lower Los Angeles River Recreation and Park District with the
authority to levy fees, taxes, or assessments to fund parks
along the Lower Los Angeles River. By providing access to
funding and a single governmental body that represents
affected cities and counties along the Lower Los Angeles River
and possesses revenue-raising authority, this bill will ensure
that residents in those areas have access to the benefits that
many other Californians enjoy.
2)Local needs, local solutions. SB 1374 authorizes the creation
of a new recreation and parks district. However, current law
provides multiple means by which local governments may be
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formed to raise funds for parks without any State action.
First, LAFCOs may create park districts and define their
boundaries. Second, the Joint Exercise of Powers Act allows
two or more public agencies to enter an agreement to jointly
exercise any power held in common by the parties to the
agreement, including the ability to impose taxes, fees, and
assessments. Both of these means allow local governments to
meet their unique needs while considering local
conditions-without Sacramento's involvement.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
Increased cost pressures, potentially in tens of millions to
hundreds of millions of dollars (General Fund or special
fund), to fund projects along the lower Los Angeles River.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/29/16)
City of Bell Gardens
City of Compton
City of Lynwood
City of Maywood
City of Paramount
City of South Gate
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/29/16)
None received
SB 1374
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ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 57-20, 8/23/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau,
Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd,
Eggman, Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,
Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Hadley, Roger Hernández,
Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lopez, Low, Maienschein,
McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Quirk,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone,
Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NOES: Travis Allen, Bigelow, Brough, Dahle, Beth Gaines,
Gallagher, Grove, Harper, Jones, Lackey, Linder, Mathis,
Mayes, Melendez, Obernolte, Patterson, Steinorth, Wagner,
Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Gray, Kim, Olsen
Prepared by:Anton Favorini-Csorba / GOV. & F. / (916) 651-4119
8/29/16 18:52:54
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