BILL ANALYSIS �
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| SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER |
| Senator Fran Pavley, Chair |
| 2011-2012 Regular Session |
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BILL NO: AB 1847 HEARING DATE: June 12, 2012
AUTHOR: Lowenthal URGENCY: No
VERSION: March 19, 2012 CONSULTANT: Alena Pribyl
DUAL REFERRAL: No FISCAL: Yes
SUBJECT: City of Long Beach: grant of public trust lands.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING LAW
Early in its history, the California Legislature statutorily
transferred tide and submerged lands in trust to cities and
counties, which were then required to develop harbors to further
state and national commerce. These lands are monitored by the
State Lands Commission (Commission) to ensure uses are
consistent with the public trust. The dynamic nature of the
interface of waterways (ocean, rivers, bays, lakes, etc.) with
adjoining lands makes the determination of the common boundaries
between public trust lands and private property a complex issue.
In addition, because many early land descriptions and surveys
were vague or faulty, great confusion can arise as to property
rights along waterways. To meet these problems, the Commission
has developed programs to establish boundaries between public
and private lands. Research has concentrated on assembling data
from historic maps and surveys, libraries and archives,
interviews with historians and long-time residents of the
affected areas, and recent on-site surveys. The result of such
studies for a particular parcel of land may be a "boundary line
agreement" or a negotiated "title settlement" in which the
State's interest in the parcel is exchanged for other land or
monies for future land acquisitions.
Existing Law:
1) Protects, pursuant to the common law public trust
doctrine, the public's right to use California's waterways
for commerce, navigation, fishing, boating, natural habitat
protection, and other water oriented activities. The
public trust doctrine provides that filled and unfilled
tide and submerged lands and the beds of lakes, streams,
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and other navigable waterways (i.e. public trust lands) are
to be held in trust by the state for the benefit of the
people of California.
2) Requires the Commission to be the steward and manager of
the state's public trust lands. The Commission has direct
administrative control over the state's public trust lands
and oversight authority over public trust lands granted by
the Legislature to local governments.
3) Authorizes the Commission to lease public trust lands,
enter into boundary line agreements, and, in limited
circumstances, exchange public trust lands for non-trust
lands.
4) Has granted state public trust lands to over 80 local
public agencies (a.k.a. local trustees/grantees) to be
managed for the benefit of all the people of the state and
pursuant to the public trust doctrine and terms of the
applicable granting statutes. The City was granted certain
public trust lands pursuant to Chapter 676, Statutes of
1911, Chapter 102, Statutes of 1925, Chapter 158, Statutes
of 1935, and Chapter 138, Statutes of 1964.
From 1902 to 1979, the Pike Amusement Center occupied a section
of the Long Beach coast. Over time, city expansion projects
pushed the coast farther out, stranding the original Pike
Amusement Center inland. In 2001, the State Lands Commission
approved a land exchange agreement with the City of Long Beach
for a variety of lands, including the land formerly housing the
original Pike Amusement Center. Construction of a new shopping
center on the original grounds of the Pike Amusement Center
began shortly after the land exchange was approved and was
completed in 2003. However a third party lawsuit over the
exchange came up, and after a lengthy court battle, the
Commission was forced to table the exchange in 2008. Thus, the
shopping center now sits on land held in trust by the City of
Long Beach for the State Lands Commission; a shopping center is
not consistent with the public trust doctrine. The land is
currently separated from water by more than 500 feet of fill,
bulkheads, and lanes of Shoreline Boulevard and is no longer
useful as public trust land.
In 2011, the State Lands Commission and the City of Long Beach
negotiated and agreed on a land exchange, which includes the
10.24 acre Pike parcel. The agreement returned the Pike parcel
(Trust Termination parcel) to the State Lands Commission, who
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then quitclaimed its public trust interests in the land, and
transferred the parcel to the City of Long Beach. In exchange,
the Commission received the Public Trust Parcels, which include
38.37 acres of land consisting of 1) a bluff-top park, adjacent
to existing public trust land, fronting the Pacific Ocean (the
Bixby Park Public Trust Parcels); 2) a tidal lagoon and
surrounding beach that was sold into private ownership over one
hundred years ago (the Colorado Lagoon Public Trust Parcels);
and, 3) an open space area that is proposed to become an open
channel that will not only provide wetland habitat but also
return tidal flow to the lagoon (the Marine Stadium Channel
Public Trust Parcels). The Commission determined that these
parcels have significant public trust value based on their
location, history, and current and proposed uses. The Commission
will lease the three Public Trust Parcels to the City, who will
act as a Trustee for the Public Trust Parcel and manage and
spend local trust revenues to improve the land.
PROPOSED LAW
This bill finalizes a land exchange agreement between the State
Lands Commission and the City of Long Beach. The bill will grant
three Public Trust Parcels to the City of Long Beach, thus
bringing these lands into the same management as the rest of the
City's granted public trust lands. Specifically this bill:
1)Grants in trust to the City all the right, title, and interest
of the state in public trust lands known as the Bixby Park
Public Trust Parcels, the Colorado Lagoon Public Trust
Parcels, and the Marine Stadium Channel Public Trust Parcels
(collectively referred to as the "Public Trust Parcels").
2)Terminates the leases issued from the State Lands Commission
to the City for the Public Trust Parcels.
3)Requires the City to hold, operate, and manage, in trust for
the benefit of the statewide public, the Public Trust Parcels
in accordance with the common law Public Trust Doctrine and
the terms, trusts, and conditions pursuant to Chapter 676 of
the Statutes of 1911, Chapter 102 of the Statutes of 1925,
Chapter 158 of the Statutes of 1935, and Chapter 138 of the
First Extraordinary Session of the Statutes of 1964, as
amended.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT
The agreement between the State Lands Commission and the City of
Long Beach included a provision to pursue legislation to include
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the three public trust parcels in the City of Long Beach's
statutory tidelands trust grant. This bill fulfills that
requirement.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION
None received
SUPPORT
City of Long Beach
State Lands Commission
OPPOSITION
None Received
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