BILL ANALYSIS
SB 263
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 263 (Tony Strickland)
As Introduced February 24, 2009
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :36-0
LOCAL GOVERNMENT 7-0
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|Ayes:|Caballero, Knight, | | |
| |Arambula, Davis, Duvall, | | |
| |Krekorian, Skinner | | |
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SUMMARY : Includes the Santa Rita Hills Community Services
District as a community services district (CSD) authorized to
limit access to roads it owns to the landowners and residents of
that district.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes the establishment of CSDs to provide various
services to the geographic area within each CSD.
2)Authorizes six CSDs that own roads that are not formally
dedicated to or kept open for use by the public for the
purpose of vehicular traffic to limit access to those roads to
the landowners and residents of that CSD.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : In six other situations, the Legislature has
permitted a CSD to restrict public access to district roads.
The CSDs that use this special power serve private residential
communities. All of these communities are located in
unincorporated areas with limited public services. The
communities formed CSDs so that they could get the services and
facilities they want. The roads within these districts provide
residents and homeowners access to their property.
According to the December 6, 2007, executive officer's report
for the Santa Barbara Local Agency Formation Commission, the
Santa Rita Hills CSD serves a private community that is zoned as
SB 263
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agricultural land. The subdivision includes 35 parcels that
primarily support grazing land and farming. There are only
three to four single family homes in the entire subdivision, and
many parcels are vacant. Currently, there is no easy way to
access the individual parcels within the subdivision, with some
landowners saying they have been unable to use their parcel
because of a lack of road access.
The author states there is no practical reason for the public to
use this road. Allowing the public access would increase the
costs of maintaining the road and would increase security risks
for the subdivision that the CSD encompasses. Therefore, the
author states, the Santa Rita Hills CSD simply wants the same
authority to restrict road access that legislators granted to
similar CSDs.
A CSD, however, is a public agency and roads owned or maintained
by CSDs are public roads. Yet some CSDs prevent the public from
using public roads. No other public agency can restrict access
to its roads regardless of where the roads lead. By lengthening
the list of CSDs that can limit access to their roads, this bill
continues a precedent of allowing public dollars to fund private
roads. The Legislature may wish to consider whether public
agencies should use public funds to exclude the public from a
CSD's roads.
Furthermore, Santa Rita Hills CSD does not have title to the
land upon which this new, paved, private road will sit. Rather,
the Santa Rita Hills CSD possesses an easement across the
properties of every parcel in the CSD. Two of the other six
CSDs that currently maintain private roads also do not own title
to the land upon which the roads sit. The Legislature may wish
to consider whether it is good policy to continue to limit
public access to roads that are on land that the public agency
does not have title to.
In prior legislation, SB 614 (Local Government Committee),
Chapter 529, Statutes of 1995, added Bear Valley and Saddle
Creek CSDs to the list of CSDs permitted to limit access to
district roads. Those two CSDs were the last ones to be added
to the list.
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer R. Klein / L. GOV. / (916)
SB 263
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319-3958
FN: 0001489