BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2179
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Date of Hearing: April 12, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 2179 (Monning) - As Amended: March 18, 2010
SUBJECT : Tidelands and submerged lands: Cities of Santa Cruz
and Long Beach.
SUMMARY : Grants to the Cities of Santa Cruz and Long Beach all
the right, title, and interest of the state in certain public
trust lands.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Vests within the State Lands Commission (Commission) exclusive
jurisdiction over all ungranted tidelands and submerged lands
owned by the state, and of the beds of navigable rivers,
streams, lakes, bays, estuaries, inlets, and straits,
including tidelands and submerged lands or any interest
therein.
2)Grants to various local entities the right, title, and
interest of the state in and to certain tidelands and
submerged lands in trust for purposes of commerce, navigation,
and fisheries, or other public trust purposes. The Commission
monitors granted lands to ensure compliance with the terms and
conditions of a statutory grant, the California Constitution,
and the Public Trust Doctrine.
3)Pursuant to Chapter 342, Statutes of 1872, and Chapter 1291,
Statutes of 1969, granted to the City of Santa Cruz all the
right, title, and interest of the state in certain public
trust lands.
4)Pursuant to Chapter 676, Statutes of 1911, Chapter 102,
Statutes of 1925, Chapter 158, Statutes of 1935, and Chapter
138, Statutes of 1964, granted to the City of Long Beach all
the right, title, and interest of the state in certain public
trust lands.
5)Authorizes the Commission to exchange with any person or
entity filled or reclaimed tide and submerged lands subject to
the public trust but lacking public trust values for other
lands if the exchange improves public trust uses such as
AB 2179
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navigation, flood control, public access, riparian habitat or
open space; provides a significant benefit to the public
trust; and the monetary value of the lands received by the
trust in exchange is equal to or greater than that of the
lands leaving the trust.
6)In an exchange, requires the Commission to impose the public
trust on the lands or interests in lands it acquires.
THIS BILL :
1)Grants and conveys in trust to the City of Santa Cruz all the
right, title, and interest of the state in certain trust lands
acquired and held by the state and known as: "Volleyball
Parcel," "West Lawn Parcel," and "Trestle Easement."
2)Grants and conveys in trust to the City of Long Beach all the
right, title, and interest of the state in certain trust lands
acquired and held by the state and known as: "Southern Parcel"
and "Street Parcel."
3)Requires both cities to hold, operate, and manage, in trust
for the benefit of the public statewide, the above public
trust lands in accordance with the common law public trust
doctrine and the terms, trusts, and conditions set forth in
the cities' original grant of public trust lands.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : The Legislature has granted public trust lands to 85
cities, counties, and harbor districts. Grantees are required
to manage and use these lands consistent with the terms and
conditions of their statutory grant, public trust values, and
the Constitution subject to the oversight and enforcement of the
Commission.
The Commission is authorized to exchange public trust lands (and
free these lands from trust restrictions) for other lands if the
trust lands have been filled or reclaimed, cut off from
navigation or public access, or no longer serve public trust
purposes. Lands acquired by the state in exchange must, among
other things improve public trust uses, provide a significant
benefit to the public trust, and be of equivalent or greater
monetary value than the lands leaving the trust.
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Newly acquired lands coming into the trust are, by default, held
in trust by the Commission despite the fact that, in this case,
the lands leaving the trust were granted to the Cities of Santa
Cruz and Long Beach. The parcels acquired by the Commission are
being managed by both cities pursuant to 49-year lease
agreements with the Commission.
This bill grants the right, title, and interest of the state in
these parcels to both cities. As trustees, both cities would
manage these parcels consistent with the public trust in
perpetuity and subject to oversight by the Commission.
In the City of Santa Cruz, the Commission exchanged 1.6 acres of
filled and reclaimed land for parcels providing public access to
the Pacific Ocean and San Lorenzo River. In Long Beach, the
Commission exchanged filled tidelands cut off from water for
other lands in order to enhance the physical configuration of
the city's trust land ownership. The Commission also received
$605,000 since the land exchange was not for equal value. This
money was deposited in the Land Bank Fund to purchase other
lands to be put into the trust.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California State Lands Commission
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Dan Chia / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092