BILL NUMBER: AB 2576	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Williams

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2012

   An act to amend Section 65560 of the Government Code, relating to
local planning.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2576, as introduced, Williams. Local planning: general plan
elements: open-space element.
   Existing law requires every city and county to prepare, adopt, and
amend a general plan stating development policies and including
specified elements, including an open-space element, as defined.
   This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those
provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 65560 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
   65560.  (a) "Local open-space plan"  is  
means  the open-space element of a county or city general plan
adopted by the board or council, either as the local open-space plan
or as the interim local open-space plan adopted pursuant to Section
65563.
   (b) "Open-space land"  is   means  any
parcel or area of land or water that is essentially unimproved and
devoted to an open-space use as defined in this section, and that is
designated on a local, regional or state open-space plan as any of
the following:
   (1) Open space for the preservation of natural resources
including, but not limited to, areas required for the preservation of
plant and animal life, including habitat for fish and wildlife
species; areas required for ecologic and other scientific study
purposes; rivers, streams, bays and estuaries; and coastal beaches,
lakeshores, banks of rivers and streams, and watershed lands.
   (2) Open space used for the managed production of resources,
including but not limited to, forest lands, rangeland, agricultural
lands and areas of economic importance for the production of food or
fiber; areas required for recharge of groundwater basins; bays,
estuaries, marshes, rivers and streams which are important for the
management of commercial fisheries; and areas containing major
mineral deposits, including those in short supply.
   (3) Open space for outdoor recreation, including but not limited
to, areas of outstanding scenic, historic and cultural value; areas
particularly suited for park and recreation purposes, including
access to lakeshores, beaches, and rivers and streams; and areas
 which   that  serve as links between major
recreation and open-space reservations, including utility easements,
banks of rivers and streams, trails, and scenic highway corridors.
   (4) Open space for public health and safety, including, but not
limited to, areas  which   that  require
special management or regulation because of hazardous or special
conditions such as earthquake fault zones, unstable soil areas, flood
plains, watersheds, areas presenting high fire risks, areas required
for the protection of water quality and water reservoirs and areas
required for the protection and enhancement of air quality.
   (5) Open space in support of the mission of military installations
that comprises areas adjacent to military installations, military
training routes, and underlying restricted airspace that can provide
additional buffer zones to military activities and complement the
resource values of the military lands.
   (6) Open space for the protection of places, features, and objects
described in Sections 5097.9 and 5097.993 of the Public Resources
Code.