BILL ANALYSIS
AB 110
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 13, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Nancy Skinner, Chair
AB 110 (Smyth) - As Amended: January 13, 2009
SUBJECT : Rim of the Valley Trail Corridor: boundary revisions.
SUMMARY : Expands the geographic scope within which the
Conservancy may revise the boundaries of the Rim of the Valley
Trail Corridor (Corridor).
EXISTING LAW :
1)Creates the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (Conservancy)
to protect the natural resources of, and promote recreational
opportunities in, the Santa Monica Mountains. The Conservancy
is authorized to acquire land from willing sellers, and to
provide grants to local governments and non-profit
organizations for planning, acquisition, improvement, and
operation of wildlife habitat and recreation resources within
the Santa Monica Mountains Zone (Zone), as established in
statute.
2)Expanded the boundaries of the Zone twice: first in 1983, to
include the hiking and equestrian trail connections and
accessways following the Rim of the Valley Trail; and again
1989, to include the Santa Clarita Woodlands portion of the
Santa Susana Mountains and other minor boundary adjustments.
3)Required the Conservancy to prepare and adopt a coordinated
trail development plan and recreational access program for the
Corridor by 1990. In order to implement the plan, the
executive director of the Conservancy was authorized to make
minor boundary changes prior to July 31, 1990.
4)Authorizes the Conservancy to revise the boundary of the
Corridor near Placerita Canyon State Park east of State Route
14, including Whitney Canyon and its adjacent watersheds if it
determines, based on scientific information and land use
planning studies, and after holding a public hearing, that
such a revision is necessary.
5)Prohibits any boundary revision in #4 from affecting Elsmere
Canyon or on any decision whether or not to permit Elsmere
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Canyon as a solid waste facility.
THIS BILL :
1)Expands the geographic scope within which the Conservancy may
revise the boundaries of the Corridor to include areas in the
vicinity of the City of Santa Clarita (instead of Placerita
Canyon State Park), including Elsmere Canyon and its
watershed.
2)Authorizes an owner of property located in Elsmere Canyon or
its adjacent watersheds to request of the Conservancy that his
or her property be included within the boundaries of the
Corridor. Upon receipt of the request, the Conservancy may
revise the boundaries of the Corridor to include this
property.
3)Strikes a provision that effectively prohibits the Conservancy
from including Elsmere Canyon in the Corridor.
4)States that the provision in #2 does not affect the inclusion
of the property in the Corridor pursuant to other provisions
of existing law.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the author's office, the intent of this
bill is to add Elsmere Canyon to the Corridor. The Corridor, a
broad planning area encompassing San Fernando and La Crescenta
Valleys, was created to facilitate the development of an
interconnected system of parks, trails, and wildlife corridors
in the Santa Monica, Santa Susana, Sespe, and San Gabriel
Mountains. The backbone of the Corridor is the Rim of the
Valley Trail.
The existing prohibition on the addition of Elsmere Canyon to
the Corridor is the product of a decades-long debate about
whether to site a landfill in Elsmere Canyon. In 1989, Los
Angeles County identified Elsmere Canyon on planning documents
as a potential landfill site. However, in 2004, the owner of
the site, Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI), withdrew its
application for a landfill permit. In March 2007, the company
donated 400 acres of Elsmere Canyon for permanent open space to
the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, a joint
powers authority which includes the Conservancy. BFI sold the
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remaining 800 acres of the canyon to a private developer, who,
according to the author and the Conservancy is willing to
consider requesting the Conservancy to include these acres in
the Corridor (including a parcel within the Corridor does not
obligate the Conservancy to acquire it).
It is unclear why the provision of this bill authorizing this
private developer to request the Conservancy to include his
property in the Corridor is necessary. Any property owner today
could make this request without such authorization. The
author's office has indicated that the intent of this provision
is to encourage this private developer to make such a request.
However, the author and Conservancy have indicated that the
developer is indeed willing to make this request.
REGISERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
City of Santa Clarita
Sierra Club California
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Dan Chia / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092