BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 211|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 211
Author: Simitian (D), et al
Amended: 4/15/09
Vote: 21
SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE : 4-1, 4/1/09
AYES: Wiggins, Cox, Kehoe, Wolk
NOES: Aanestad
SUBJECT : Park district formation: County of Santa Cruz
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill allows the Santa Cruz County Board of
Supervisors to initiate the formation of a regional park
and open space district with boundaries that are
coterminous with the County, except for territory within
the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. The county
supervisors can hold a public hearing, adopt a resolution,
and call the election in lieu of the usual petitions and
local agency formation commission hearings and decisions.
ANALYSIS : Regional park and open space districts can
sell bonds to acquire property by purchase or eminent
domain. They can use general obligation bonds paid for by
higher property tax rates that require 2/3-voter approval,
Mello-Roos Act bonds paid for by special taxes (parcel
taxes) that require 2/3-voter approval, and assessment
bonds paid for by benefit assessments that require the
property owners' approval with weighted-ballots. Some of
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these regional districts have their own directly-elected
boards of directors; county supervisors govern others, ex
officio.
To form a new regional open space district, the proponents
must first get approval from the local agency formation
commission (LAFCO) and then circulate petitions which must
be signed by at least 5,000 registered voters. A
successful petition results in a public hearing by the
county board of supervisors which can approve or disapprove
the request to form the new district. If the county
supervisors approve, then the matter goes to the ballot.
Formation requires majority voter approval.
This bill allows the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors
to initiate the formation of a regional park and open space
district with boundaries that are coterminous with the
County, except for territory within the Midpeninsula
Regional Open Space District. The county supervisors can
hold a public hearing, adopt a resolution, and call the
election in lieu of the usual petitions and local agency
formation commission hearings and decisions.
This bill requires the county supervisors' resolution to:
1.Name the district and explain the reasons for its
formation.
2.Describe the district's financing methods.
3.Specify that a directly-elected board of directors will
run the district.
4.Call the formation election.
5.Specifies that the proposed district shall not have, and
may not exercise, the power of eminent domain pursuant to
Section 5542, or any other provision of law, except if
the property owner declares in writing that the owner
intends to use the provisions of Section 1033 of the
Internal Revenue Code to acquire property similar or
related in service or use as to be eligible for
nonrecognition of gain for income tax purposes
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The bill allows the county supervisors to combine the
formation election with other ballot measures to set the
district's appropriations limit, levy special taxes, or
authorize general obligation bonds.
Comments
In Santa Cruz County, four independent recreation and park
districts and a county-run county service area provide park
services in the unincorporated communities outside the
County's four cities. Although mostly in San Mateo and
Santa Clara counties, the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space
District also overlaps a small corner of Santa Cruz County.
Open space advocates in Santa Cruz County want to form a
countywide regional open space district with a
directly-elected board of directors. Looking to the
statutory precedents created for other counties, they want
permission to expedite the proposed district's formation.
The regional park and open space district law is the
principal act for such well-known agencies as the East Bay
Regional Parks District and the Midpeninsula Regional Open
Space District. Starting in 1972, 10 special bills have
allowed county supervisors to start formation proceedings
for regional open space districts without the sponsors
having to gather more than 5,000 signatures on petitions:
Los Angeles SB 659 (Hill, 1991)
Marin AB 2353 (Bagley, 1972)
Napa SB 1306 (Thompson, 1992)
Riverside SB 486 (Bergeson, 1989)
Sacramento SB 779 (Johnston, 1993)
San Bernardino AB 775 (Eaves, 1990)
Santa Barbara AB 1613 (Lempert, 2000)
Sonoma AB 3630 (Filante, 1990)
Ventura AB 1145 (Jackson, 2002)
As the following table reports, these special bills usually
required the regional open space districts to be
coterminous with county boundaries, usually exempted their
formations from LAFCO review because they would be
coterminous, and usually required the county supervisors to
govern the districts ex officio. The Legislature
prohibited three independent districts from using the usual
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statutory power of eminent domain to condemn private
property.
Regional Open Space Districts With Special Legislation
LAFCO ElectedEminent
County Boundaries ?
review ? board ? domain ?
Los Angeles Coterminous
ExemptSupervisorsYes
Marin Coterminous
ExemptSupervisorsYes
Napa Coterminous Exempt YesProhibited
Riverside Western part Yes
SupervisorsYes
Sacramento* Coterminous
ExemptSupervisorsYes
San Bernardino* Any territory
YesSupervisors Yes
San Diego* Coterminous
ExemptSupervisorsYes
Santa Barbara* Any territory Yes YesProhibited
Sonoma Coterminous
ExemptSupervisorsYes
Ventura* Any territory Yes Or
appointed Prohibited
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- -
Santa Cruz** Nearly ExemptYesYes
coterminous
* District never
formed
** As proposed by
SB 211
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 4/15/09)
Land Trust of Santa Cruz County
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO
Bay Area Open Space Council
California Council of Land Trusts
County of Santa Cruz
Ecology Action
Friends of Santa Cruz County State Parks
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
Save Our Shores
Sempervirens Fund
The Nature Conservancy
Watsonville Wetlands Watch
OPPOSITION : (Verified 4/15/09)
California Association of Local Agency Formation
Commissions
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"Although Santa Cruz County is California's second smallest
county in area, its beaches, mountains, and rivers are
among the prettiest. The County's agricultural land,
forests, and remaining natural habitats are valuable
natural resources. Although state and local parks protect
some of these special areas, there is local interest in
creating a strong and well-funded program to acquire and
preserve more open space. SB 211 gives local voters the
chance to set up an independent special district with that
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focus. Relying on similar legislative precedents for other
counties, the bill allows Santa Cruz County officials to
expedite the formation of a regional open space district.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The California Association of
Local Agency Formation Commissions opposes this bill
because they believe that it circumvents the objectives and
intent of the Cortese Knox Hertzberg Local Government
Reorganization Act.
AGB:cm 4/15/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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