BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1124|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1124
Author: Negrete McLeod (D)
Amended: 8/20/10
Vote: 27
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/13/10
AYES: Pavley, Hollingsworth, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Padilla,
Simitian, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cogdill, Huff
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 22-6, 5/28/10
AYES: Alquist, Calderon, Cedillo, Corbett, Correa,
DeSaulnier, Ducheny, Florez, Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal,
Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Romero, Simitian,
Steinberg, Wolk, Wright, Yee
NOES: Ashburn, Dutton, Hollingsworth, Huff, Strickland,
Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Aanestad, Cogdill, Cox, Denham, Hancock,
Harman, Oropeza, Runner, Walters, Wiggins, Vacancy,
Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 8/23/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Land conservation: California Wildlife,
Coastal, and Park
Land Conservation Act
SOURCE : Author
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DIGEST : This bill authorizes San Bernardino County to
exchange lands purchased with state park bond funds if the
county meets certain requirements relating to conservation
easements and deed restrictions on lands retained, sold and
acquired.
Assembly Amendments authorize San Bernardino County to sell
or exchange property it owns within Chino Agricultural
Preserve that was purchased with grant funds from the
California Wildlife, Coastal, and Park Land Conservation
Act, delete a requirement that the county use all the
proceeds from each sale only for the acquisition of
replacement land or conservation easements within the Chino
Agricultural Preserve, and require the county to preserve
all lands and conservation easements acquired or dedicated
in perpetuity for agricultural preservation, including
community gardens, agricultural heritage projects,
agricultural and wildlife education or wildlife habitat, or
for open-space conservation purposes.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Proposition 70, approved by the voters in 1988,
authorized $776 million in general obligation bond funds
for various land conservation purposes, including $185.4
million to the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR)
for grants to local agencies, of which $20 million was
allocated to San Bernardino County for acquisition of
land primarily through the use of conservation easements
within Chino Agricultural Preserve. Proposition 70
required any applicant for grants under Proposition 70 to
agree to maintain and operate the property in perpetuity.
2.AB 2063 (Negrete McLeod), Chapter 377, Statutes of 2004,
authorized the County of San Bernardino to sell property
acquired with Proposition 70 funds if proceeds from the
sale were used to acquire replacement land within Chino
Agricultural Preserve, and the county prepares a detailed
land plan approved by the Board of Supervisors, there is
no net loss of acreage or habitat value as a result of
the exchange, the county holds a public hearing, and the
county receives an independent appraisal of the lands to
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be sold and acquired and makes these appraisals available
to the public.
This bill:
1. Authorizes San Bernardino County to sell or exchange
property it owns within Chino Agricultural Preserve that
was purchased with grant funds from the California
Wildlife, Coastal, and Park Land Conservation Act of
1988 (Proposition 70) if the following conditions are
met:
A. The sale or exchange satisfies the original
purposes of the grant agreement between the county and
DPR, as modified by this bill;
B. The sale meets conditions of existing law requiring
an amount equal to the sale proceeds or fair market
value of the property sold to be used by the grantee
for the same purposes;
C. The County preserves all lands and conservation
easements acquired or dedicated in perpetuity for
agricultural preservation, including community
gardens, agricultural heritage projects, agricultural
and wildlife education or wildlife habitat, or for
open space conservation purposes;
D. The County, by April 1, 2011, places a deed
restriction on each property it acquired with
Proposition 70 funds. The deed restriction shall be
written for the purposes described in c) above,
recorded with the county recorder, and in effect until
either a conservation easement is recorded on the
property or the county sells or exchanges the
property;
E. The County adopts and implements a land plan that
meets specified conditions.
2. Prohibits the County from selling, exchanging, or
acquiring replacement land or conservation easements
unless and until it has adopted a detailed land plan.
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3. Requires the County to adopt a detailed land plan by
December 31, 2011 that identifies each parcel acquired
with Proposition 70 bond funds, and identifies the
parcels which will be sold, exchanged, purchased and
retained.
4. Requires the detailed land plan to maximize connectivity
of lands to the extent feasible and practicable, to
include an environmental review in compliance with the
California Environmental Quality Act, and if the plan
results in any net loss of acreage or habitat value, to
identify additional land within the Chino Agricultural
Preserve to compensate for that loss. Requires that the
land plan and environmental review demonstrate that
there will be no net loss in acreage or habitat value,
and that the county acquire or dedicate additional land
or conservation easements within the preserve if
necessary to compensate for any loss by no later than
one year following the sale of the last property to be
disposed.
5. Requires that the plan be provided to DPR for review and
approval no less than 90 days prior to the county's
adoption. Requires DPR if it does not approve or
disapprove the land plan within 45 days of receipt, to
provide written comments setting forth its concerns or
suggested modifications that could lead to DPR approval.
6. Requires the County to hold a public hearing before the
County Board of Supervisors on the plan.
7. Requires the County, by April 1, 2012, to record a
conservation easement on each property retained, and
within 90 days of acquisition on any property acquired.
Requires that the easements be in perpetuity and
approved by DPR.
8. Requires the County prior to closing any real property
transaction with respect to the land plan, to submit
independent appraisals to DPR for concurrence with state
appraisal standards, and requires that the County make
the appraisals available to the public no later than 60
days following sale or exchange of the last property.
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9. Provides that if the County fails to adopt a detailed
land plan by December 31, 2011 as required, the County
may apply to DPR for an extension of time. If the county
fails to apply for an extension of time, or DPR does not
approve an extension, the county shall be required to
record conservation easements, as approved by DPR, on
all lands purchased with Proposition 70 bond funds
within the Chino Agricultural Preserve by June 1, 2012.
10.Requires the County to provide a report to DPR on all
expenditures and revenues from all the sales or
exchanges of land under the land plan. Authorizes the
County, if there are unexpended proceeds, to propose a
plan to DPR for expenditure of the funds for
acquisitions or capital improvements to land or
easements purchased with grant funds. With the exception
of revenues from the sale or exchange of land,
authorizes the county to use all income generated from
the properties it owns within the preserve for
acquisition of additional replacement land within the
preserve or for improvement, operation and maintenance
of existing or replacement land within the preserve.
11.Provides that this bill does not exempt the County from
the requirements of the California Environmental Quality
Act.
12.Declares that this bill is an amendment to Proposition
70 within the meaning of that act and consistent with
its purposes.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
Minor, absorbable costs to DPR to review and approve the
county's land plan, extension requests and conservation
easements and to review land value appraisals.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/24/10)
California Council of Land Trusts
Planning and Conservation League
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
Proposition 70 required that all property purchased with
the bond monies be protected and maintained in perpetuity.
"Unfortunately, not all of the land purchased with Prop 70
has been protected as intended. San Bernardino County is a
case in point. The County purchased 37.26 acres for the
Chino Agricultural Preserve in 1991 but still has not taken
the necessary actions to place the easement on the land."
The author refers to a County resolution and correspondence
from DPR to the county indicating the county's obligation
to place easements on the purchased properties, however
easements have not yet been placed. The author contends
that this bill will remedy this problem.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The County of San Bernardino
opposes this bill because they believe this bill will
hamper their plans to conduct a land exchange, as
authorized by AB 2063, in order to create a consolidated
section of preserved land within the Chino and Ontario
agricultural preserves where they plan to construct a
Cultural Heritage Center. The county contends that, "The
current Proposition 70 properties are loosely situated and
have created isolated parcels, some of which lack public
access. The sporadic location of these properties have no
public value."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield,
Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles
Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De
La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava,
Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,
Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,
Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico,
Tran, Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Evans, Furutani, Norby, Vacancy, Vacancy
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CTW:nl 8/24/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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