BILL ANALYSIS
AB 889
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Date of Hearing: April 14, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS AND WILDLIFE
Jared William Huffman, Chair
AB 889 (Jones) - As Introduced: February 26, 2009
SUBJECT : Open-space preservation: Bushy Lake and Urban
American River Parkway
SUMMARY : This urgency bill amends and updates the American
River Parkway Plan (ARPP) via the American River Parkway
Preservation Act (ARPPA) and the Bushy Lake Preservation Act
(BLPA). Specifically, this bill :
1)Declares that the County of Sacramento (County) and the City
of Sacramento (Sacramento) adopt by way of resolution, and the
City of Rancho Cordova (Rancho Cordova) endorses by resolution
the American River Parkway Plan.
2) Expands the American River Parkway (Parkway) from a 23 mile
greenbelt to a 29 mile open-space greenbelt in the American
River floodplain.
3)Directs that the California Exposition and State Fair (Cal
Expo) Board of Directors shall preserve the California
Exposition floodplain in a manner consistent with a state park
and consistent with the ARPP.
4)Directs that the Cal Expo Board of Directors shall preserve
and manage, or provide pursuant to an agreement with the
appropriate managing entity of the Parkway, for the management
of the Bushy Lake area in accordance with the land use
designations and policies of the ARPP.
5)Makes declarations regarding parking on the Parkway.
6)Repeals a section which created an in-line skating trial
period in the Parkway that required action by the County
Supervisors and Sacramento City Council by December 1, 2000.
7)Makes legislative findings regarding the nature and history of
the Parkway and its value to the region.
EXISTING LAW establishes the ARPP in the ARPPA and the BLPA.
AB 889
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FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS : The ARPP is a regulatory document that provides
policy direction for resource conservation, recreation use and
development, adjacent land uses and administration of the
Parkway. The Parkway is a 29 mile greenbelt in the American
River floodplain, 350 acres of which is owned by Cal Expo. The
rest of the Parkway overlaps an area owned by the County,
Sacramento, and Rancho Cordova. The ARPP has been adopted by
the County board of Supervisors and by Sacramento as an element
of their General Plans. In 1985, enactment of the ARPPA and the
BLPA codified the County's parkway plan in state law.
AB 889 amends the Public Resources Code to reflect the adopted
2008 ARPP, making them consistent with one another. The 2008
ARPP adds new environmental considerations, additional
recreational user groups, interpretive educational
opportunities, and other concepts to the 1985 ARPP. Some
examples of the 2008 ARPP policies include increased aquatic and
terrestrial habitats, preservation of the lower American River's
scenic recreation value, and improved bicycle and pedestrian
paths that visually harmonize with their surroundings. The 2008
ARPP was developed over six years and reflects comprehensive
stakeholder group participation, including state, local, and
federal agencies, members of the public, and advocacy
organizations.
The California Exposition and State Fair supports AB 889, but
notes that it has some minor concerns with the bill in its
current form, and is working with the County and other
stakeholders to produce amendments to AB 889 that will eliminate
those concerns. Cal Expo's concerns relate to the parking area
open to parkway users for public access. The author has
expressed the intention to adopt amendments that reflect the
collaboration of Cal Expo and the County prior to AB 889 leaving
the Assembly.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
County of Sacramento (Sponsor)
City of Sacramento
California Exposition and State Fair
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME)
AB 889
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American River Parkway Volunteer Equestrian Patrol
Save the American River Association (SARA)
Opposition : None submitted
Analysis Prepared by : Lindsey Scott-Florez / W., P. & W. /
(916) 319-2096