BILL ANALYSIS
AB 889
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Date of Hearing: April 29, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 889 (Jones) - As Amended: April 23, 2009
Policy Committee: WPW Vote:13-0
Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill amends and updates the American River Parkway Plan
(ARPP) through the American River Parkway Preservation Act
(ARPPA) and the Bushy Lake Preservation Act (BLPA).
Specifically, this bill:
1)Expands the American River Parkway from a 23-mile greenbelt to
a 29-mile open space greenbelt, consistent with the ARPP and
resolutions adopted by both the City and the County of
Sacramento and with an endorsement by the City of Rancho
Cordova.
2)Directs the Board of Directors of the California Exposition
and State Fair (Cal Expo) to preserve the California
Exposition flood plain for public day use consistent with use
as a state park and with the ARPP.
3)Directs the Cal Expo Board of Directors to preserve and
manage, or provide pursuant to an agreement with the
appropriate managing entity of the American River Parkway, the
Bushy Lake area consistent with the land use designations and
policies of the ARPP.
4)Repeals an obsolete section of statute regarding a trail
period to allow in-line skating on the parkway.
FISCAL EFFECT
The measure codifies existing practice by a state
agency-maintenance of areas within the parkway for specified
recreational uses-and therefore may result in minor, absorbable
costs to Cal Expo.
AB 889
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COMMENTS
1)Rationale. This bill restores consistency between the ARPPA
and the ARPP, which was revised in 2008 after a lengthy
process. The author feels that passage and implementation of
this bill is urgent because Sacramento County has bond funds
that will expire at the end of 2010. The county intends to
use the bond funds to, among other purposes, fund construction
of bathrooms within the parkway, a project that the county
feels will take more than a year to complete. The author
believes that making this measure effective immediately will
allow the county to complete the project before the bond funds
expire. In addition, the author is concerned that the county
may not be able to expend bond funds unless the ARPPA is
consistent with the ARPP.
2)Background. The American River Parkway is a 29-mile greenbelt
in the American River floodplain. The Parkway covers areas of
land owned by the County of Sacramento, the cities of
Sacramento and Rancho Cordova, and a 350-acre area controlled
by Cal Expo.
The ARPP is the governing document for the parkway, and has
been adopted by the County and the City of Sacramento as an
element of their general plans. In 1985, the Legislature
codified the ARPP via passage of the ARPPA.
In 2008, the Sacramento county and city adopted by resolution,
and the City of Rancho Cordova endorsed an updated and revised
ARPP, which had undergone six years of stakeholder
participation and development.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081