BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1102
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1102 (Allen and Quirk-Silva)
As Amended January 17, 2014
Majority vote
NATURAL RESOURCES 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
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|Ayes:|Chesbro, Jones, Bigelow, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, Allen, |
| |Garcia, Patterson, Stone, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Williams | |Calderon, Campos, Eggman, |
| | | |Gomez, Holden, Linder, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, |
| | | |Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Delays open burning rules restricting the use or
location of a beach fire ring until an approved coastal
development permit (CDP) is implemented. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Delays any rule adopted by the Southern California Air Quality
Management District (SCAQMD) on open burning that restricts
the use or location of a beach fire ring until the public
agency with jurisdiction over that area obtains and implements
an approved CDP consistent with the Coastal Act.
2)Requires the affected public agency to obtain the CDP no more
than two years after the enactment of the open burning rule
adopted by SCAQMD.
3)Requires restrictions on beach fire rings to be subject to the
provisions of this bill notwithstanding existing law that
limits the Coastal Act's jurisdiction over a city or county
authority to declare, prohibit, and abate nuisance.
4)Requires an application for a CDP to remove or restrict the
use of a beach fire ring to include an analysis of
alternatives and mitigation measures that would avoid or
minimize the need to remove or restrict the use of a beach
fire ring.
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5)Declares that it is the state's preference to avoid the net
loss of beach fire rings within a city's jurisdiction.
6)Defines a beach fire ring as a device in which recreational or
ceremonial burning occurs that is located on a beach in the
coastal zone.
7)Applies the provisions of the bill retroactively to March 1,
2014.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Pursuant to the Coastal Act:
a) Requires a person wishing to perform a development in
the coastal zone to first obtain a CDP from the Coastal
Commission (Commission) or a local government with a
Commission-certified local coastal program.
b) In carrying out the California Constitution's protection
of coastal access, requires maximum access and recreational
opportunities to be provided for all the people consistent
with public safety needs and the need to protect public
rights, rights of private property owners, and natural
resource areas from over use.
c) Requires lower cost visitor and recreational facilities
to be protected, encouraged, and, where feasible, provided.
Declares a preference for developments providing public
recreational opportunities.
d) Requires, wherever appropriate and feasible, public
facilities, including parking areas or facilities, to be
distributed throughout an area so as to mitigate against
the impacts, social and otherwise, of overcrowding or
overuse by the public of any single area.
2)Pursuant to SCAQMD's open burning regulations:
a) Effective March 1, 2014, prohibits beach burning,
unless:
i) Particulate matter 2.5 air quality index value of
100 or less has been forecast for the coastal source
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receptor area; and
ii) Beach burning occurs in devices that are:
(1) At least 700 feet from the nearest residence;
(2) At least 100 feet apart from one another; or
(3) At least 50 feet apart from one another, if
there are no more than 15 devices per contiguous beach
area within the city's boundaries.
b) Explains that beach burning devices may not be made
available by a state or local authority if a city or county
has declared, pursuant to existing authority, that
designated beach burning devices within its boundaries
cause a nuisance, as defined by existing law, due to wood
smoke exposure.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Unknown increased costs to the state for reimbursing local
governments mandated to obtain a CDP prior to complying with
Rule 444 likely in the range of several hundred thousand
dollars.
2)Unknown additional costs to the Commission for CDP approval
for activities including burning restrictions based on poor
air quality conditions.
COMMENTS :
Background . There are approximately 765 beach fire rings in Los
Angeles and Orange counties with the overwhelming majority
(approximately 90%) along the Orange County coastline. In the
City of Newport Beach (City), the beach fire rings have been a
part of the recreational experience since the late 1940s or
early 1950s and are recognized as a lower cost visitor and
recreational facility.
In recent years, the City has been the epicenter of a highly
publicized debate over whether fire rings should be protected
because of their recreational value or strictly regulated
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because, among other things, the hazards of wood smoke.
According to the SCAQMD, the health effects from exposure to
household and neighborhood wood smoke have been studied
extensively. The greatest health effect from wood smoke exposure
originates from the fine particles that can cause health
problems ranging from minor irritations such as burning eyes and
runny noses to chronic illnesses such as bronchitis.
The City steps into the ring . On March 13, 2012, the City voted
unanimously "to direct staff to take the necessary steps to
remove the sixty (60) fire rings at Big Corona and the Balboa
Pier areas." The City Council's staff report highlighted the
"health impacts to nearby residents and other beachgoers due to
smoke and particulate matter from the beach fires" and "safety
of fire ring users and other beachgoers when hot ash is not
doused or disposed of properly, or when individuals are injured
after falling near or in a fire ring."
The City goes to the Commission . On October 22, 2012, the City
filed a CDP application with the Commission to remove all fire
rings from the City's beaches. This includes 33 fire rings near
the Balboa Pier and another 27 on a patch of Corona del Mar
State Beach known as Big Corona.
Commission staff recommended denial of the CDP "because removal
of the fire rings would deny the public access to this popular
form of lower cost public recreation." In addition, the report
stated that removing these fire rings "would shift the already
high demand for fire rings to other coastal locations, creating
new access and recreational demands there."
Shortly before the March 6, 2013, Commission hearing on the CDP
application, the Commission was informed that the SCAQMD was
going to address fire rings through an amendment to its own
regulations. In light of this information, the Commission took
no action at the hearing and continued the matter until the
SCAQMD's action is finalized.
SCAQMD regulates fire rings . Prior to July 2013, the SCAQMD's
regulation on open burning (Rule 444) specifically excluded from
its purview "recreational fire or ceremonial fires" and "open
burning of?untreated wood?for the purpose of?[g]enerating warmth
at a social gathering."
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In March 2013, based on knowledge of wood smoke health effects,
the number of existing beach fire rings, proximity of those fire
rings to residences, and the extent of fire ring usage, SCAQMD
staff developed a proposal that would have prohibited beach
burning after January 1, 2015. According to a SCAQMD staff
report, the proposal received significant public comment at a
March 28, 2013, public consultation meeting, as well as via
e-mail, direct mail, and telephone correspondence during the
subsequent public review period. As a result, the proposal was
revised to essentially allow fire rings to remain if they are
"(I) at least 700 feet from the nearest residence; or (II) at
least 100 feet apart from one another; or (III) at least 50 feet
apart from one another, if there are no more than 15 devices per
contiguous beach area within the city's boundaries." This
revised proposal, however, would allow a city or county to ban
fire rings by declaring that they cause a nuisance under
existing law.
On July 12, 2013, SCAQMD approved amending Rule 444 to reflect
the revised proposal. The amendments will be effective
beginning on March 1, 2014. SCAQMD also approved issuing a
request for bids to design and demonstrate up to 25 low-emission
fire rings fueled by sources other than wood such as propane or
natural gas.
SCAQMD claims that fire rings at Dockweiler State Beach,
Huntington City Beach, and Bolsa Chica State Beach are not
expected to be affected by the distance criteria in the amended
Rule 444. However, all 60 of the fire rings in the City "would
have to be better dispersed and/or moved to another beach in the
city to meet the rule's spacing requirements." Additionally, "a
few dozen fire rings at Huntington State Beach and other beaches
would have to be dispersed at greater distances."
The Main Problem . Although Rule 444 applies to all geographic
areas under the SCAQMD's jurisdiction, its impact (by design or
coincidence) appears to be focused on the City's fire rings.
Based on discussions with SCAQMD and Commission staff, it is
apparent that compliance with Rule 444 and the Coastal Act are
not mutually exclusive: if the City spaces out its fire rings
at least 100 feet from each other, it has enough beach area to
keep all fire rings. As such, the policy goals related to air
quality and lower cost visitor and recreational facilities could
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be achieved.
The problem, however, is that the City has not yet submitted a
CDP to the Commission that would space the fire rings out 100
feet from each other. With March 1, 2014, (the date Rule 444's
beach burning rule becomes effective) almost a month away, it
looks like the City will either be in violation of Rule 444 or
have to comply with Rule 444 without a CDP, which would likely
violate the Coastal Act.
This bill will delay Rule 444's effective date until the City
obtains and implements its CDP.
Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
FN: 0003003