BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1818
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 5, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 1818 (Blumenfield) - As Amended: April 19, 2010
Policy Committee: Natural
ResourcesVote:6-3
Water, Parks and Wildlife 9-1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill creates the Upper Los Angeles River and Watershed
Program (ULARW Program), administered by the Santa Monica
Mountains Conservancy (SMMC). Specifically, this bill:
1)Creates the ULARW Program, administered by SMMC to address
resource protection, public recreation, water conservation,
and water quality goals of the Upper LA River watershed.
2)Allows the program to include specified projects if they are
consistent with the San Gabriel and Los Angeles River
Watershed and Open Space Plan. Among authorized projects are
those identified by the City of Los Angeles in its LA River
Revitalization Master Plan or by the County of Los Angles in
the LA River Master Plan; projects recommended by the advisory
committee created by this bill and approved by SMMC; and
projects recommended by SMMC.
3)Creates the Upper Los Angeles River and Watershed Program
Protection Account within the SMMC Fund and allows certain
SMMC bond and other funds to be transferred into it.
4)Creates the 15-member Upper Los Angeles River and Watershed
Protection Program Stakeholder Advisory Committee (ULARA
committee), to facilitate public participation and advise on
projects undertaken by SMMC.
5)Adds the chair of the ULARA committee to the board of the
SMMC, increasing the conservancy's board from nine to 10
members.
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6)Requires SMMC to fund implementation of this bill using
existing state fiscal resources and allows the conservancy to
accept money or services donated by any qualified public or
private entity that shares the mission or objective of the
ULARW Program.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Minor, absorbable ongoing costs to SMMC to fund the activities
of the ULARA committee. (Special funds or bond funds.)
2)Cost pressure of an unknown amount, but potentially in the
millions of dollars. This is because creation of the ULARW
Program expands the number of projects eligible for a fixed
amount of funding. In addition, inclusion of projects in the
program may seem to prioritize those projects over other
eligible projects not included in the program. Cost pressure
will result to the extent program projects receive funding
they otherwise would not have received to the detriment of
other eligible projects. (Bond funds or special funds.)
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author claims there is no state program that
addresses the LA River's needs from a watershed perspective.
By establishing this program, the author contends, SMMC can
help to organize the intense stakeholder interest in projects
within and adjacent to the river and help to implement the LA
County River Master Plan and the City of Los Angeles River
Revitalization Plan. The author notes that this bill is
modeled after the San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program
of the State Coastal Conservancy.
2)Background.
a) A River Still Runs Through It. The LA River flows from
San Fernando Valley and through the Los Angeles metropolis
before entering the Pacific Ocean at Long Beach. In
response to severe floods in the earlier part of the last
century, much of the river was lined with impervious
material. Today, the river is a concrete canal for much of
its 50-mile run. Warehouses and industrial sites abut its
banks. For the most part, the region's 7 million plus
inhabitants cannot see the river, let alone enjoy it.
AB 1818
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Regional leaders have, nonetheless, recognized the
potential ecological, recreational and social value of the
river, and there are numerous plans to restore it. In
1996, the County of Los Angeles developed a "Los Angeles
River Master Plan," a multi-objective program that
identifies the river's primary purpose as flood protection.
Similarly, the City of Los Angeles has its "LA River
Revitalization Master Plan." The city describes the plan
as "a 25-to-50 year blueprint for transforming the?river
into an 'emerald necklace' of parks, walkways, and bike
paths, as well as proving better connections to the
neighboring communities, protecting wildlife, promoting the
health of the river, and levering economic reinvestment."
Upper River, Lower River-a Watershed Divided . The state,
has established two land conservancies to protect and
conserve land in and around the LA River and the mountains
that surround much of it. One conservancy-SMMC-was created
in 1979 to encourage conservation and recreation around the
upper portion of the LA River watershed. The other
conservancy-the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers
and Mountains Conservancy-came to exist in 1999 and has
jurisdiction over the lower portion of the LA River.
Despite this legal division of the LA River watershed,
state policy requires the two conservancies to operate
consistent with the San Gabriel and LA River Watershed and
Open Space Plan adopted by the boards of both
conservancies.
b) The State Coastal Conservancy and the SF Bay Area
Conservancy Program . There exists within the State Coastal
Conservancy a program known as the San Francisco Bay Area
Conservancy Program. Created in 1997, the program seeks to
coordinate conservation and restoration efforts in the Bay
Area. This was seen as necessary because San Francisco Bay
did not fall within the jurisdiction of any conservancy.
Thus, the Bay Area differs from the LA River watershed in
that the latter is within the jurisdiction of two state
conservancies and subject to numerous coordinated planning
efforts.
3)Support. This bill is supported by the Audubon Society and
the Mountains and Recreation Authority-the bill's sponsor.
These proponents contend the bill will help to organize the
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intense stakeholder interest in projects within, and adjacent
to the river and help to implement the LA County River Master
Plan and the City of Los Angeles River Revitalization Plan.
4)Opposition. The bill is opposed by the City Project, an
environmental justice organization active in the Los Angeles
area. City Project argues that the program described in the
bill should benefit all people living within the LA River
watershed, not just those that inhabit the upper river. City
Project notes that, compared to the upper river area, the
lower LA River is home to more poor people and more people of
color, both of whom tend to have less access to open space and
suffer disproportionately from the negative effects of
environmental degradation.
Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081