BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1273
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 1, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
K.H. "Katcho" Achadjian, Chair
AB 1273 (Ting) - As Amended: April 24, 2013
SUBJECT : Tidelands and submerged lands: City and County of San
Francisco: Pier 30-32: multipurpose venue.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the Port of San Francisco to approve a
mixed-use development on the San Francisco waterfront at Pier
30-32 that includes a multipurpose venue for events and public
assembly, if certain conditions are met. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Establishes the Pier 30-32 Revitalization Act.
2)Amends Section 5 of Chapter 489 of Statutes of 2001, as
amended by Section 2 of Chapter 68 of the Statutes of 2003, as
follows:
a) States that the Legislature, in the exercise of its
retained power as trustee of the public trust, and in view
of the unique circumstances existing at Pier 30-32 on the
San Francisco waterfront and the considerable statewide
public benefit and promotion of the public trust that will
be brought about by the preservation, improvement, and
modernization of the pier related to the construction of a
new multipurpose venue for events and public assembly,
establishment of maritime uses, improved public access,
public use and enjoyment of the site, establishment of
venue-supporting or trust retail uses on the side, and
additional public trust benefits, hereby authorizes the
Port to approve a mixed-use development on the San
Francisco waterfront at Pier 30-32 that includes a
multipurpose venue for events and public assembly if the
Port finds that all of the following conditions are met:
i) The mixed-use development is designed to attract
people to the waterfront, increase public enjoyment of
the San Francisco Bay, encourage public trust activities,
and enhance public use of trust assets and resources on
the waterfront;
ii) The mixed-use development is designed to provide
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multiple significant views of the Bay Bridge and the San
Francisco Bay from a variety of elevations and vantage
points, including significant views of the Bay Bridge and
the San Francisco Bay from the interior concourses of the
multipurpose venue and views of the Bay Bridge from
certain seating areas within the multipurpose venue;
iii) The multipurpose venue facility is located to
minimize interference with public views of San Francisco
Bay to the extent feasible;
iv) The multipurpose venue facility provides free public
access to patrons and nonpatrons alike to exterior
portions of the building from which the public can view
the San Francisco Bay, subject to reasonable limitations
based on security. In addition, to encourage the public
to come to the bay's edge, the design of the multipurpose
venue shall provide significant free public views of the
inside of the multipurpose venue from the outside, and
the operator of the multipurpose venue shall be required
to allow the public to view the inside of the
multipurpose venue from the outside during events
whenever feasible;
v) The mixed-use development is designed to achieve and
enhance maximum feasible public access to and minimum
fill in the bay in a manner that is consistent, as
determined by Bay Conservation and Development Commission
in its separate permit process, with the Special Area
Plan, the McAteer-Petris Act, and the Bay Plan;
vi) The mixed-use development includes significant
public plazas open to the public on a substantially
permanent basis that can be accessed via public
pedestrian promenades at the site that encourage public
use of the site and provide a variety of views of the San
Francisco Bay and the San Francisco cityscape;
vii) The mixed-use development includes continuous public
access around the perimeter of Pier 30-32 open to the
public year round, with limited exceptions for temporary
safety-, security- and maritime-based interruptions, and
includes an interpretive program to enhance the public's
enjoyment of the site;
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viii) The mixed-use development includes a significant and
appropriate maritime program, which shall be consistent
with the Special Area Plan and shall include, but is not
limited to:
(1) A city fire station and berthing facilities
for city fire boats, or in lieu thereof, one or more
other maritime uses on the north side of Pier 30-32;
(2) Facilities for berthing at the east end of
Pier 30-32, including facilities that can accommodate
periodic use by cruise or other deep draft vessels, or
other facilities that promote the deep water berth at
Pier 30-32
(3) Facilities that enable direct public access to
the water by human-powered vessels or swimmers, if
feasible, on the south side of Pier 30-32, or
water-oriented recreational uses facing the Brannan
Street Wharf open water basin; and,
(4) Water-transit docking or berthing facilities
for water taxis, ferries, or both.
ix) Any nonmaritime office space on Pier 30-32 is
limited to 70,000 square feet, and any nonmaritime office
space provided on Pier 30-32 is for use only by the
primary tenants of the multipurpose venue for events and
public assembly, the venue, supporting or trust retail
uses on Pier 30-32, and the operation and management of
the open space and other public facilities on Pier 30-32;
x) All retail venues on Pier 30-32 are limited to
venue-supporting or trust-retail uses;
xi) Any parking included on Pier 30-32 is limited to 500
spaces, located under actives uses on Pier 30-32,
substantially screened from public view, and designed so
that ingress and egress avoids material interference with
pedestrian, wheelchair, and bicycle traffic along Herb
Caen Way and material interference with the public's
access to and use of the open space on the surface of the
pier. Parking shall be designed to accommodate visitors
to the site and shall not be reserved for residential
use;
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xii) Public trust-consistent events, uses, and
programming are offered regularly at the site of the
mixed-use development. The site shall be made available
to the Port or its designee for those events on at least
15 days per year, including at least three days on which
the multipurpose venue shall be made available to the
Port or its designee for those events. These events
shall include free and low-cost visitor-serving events
xiii) A public community room is available at the site for
free or low-cost use by members of the public statewide,
without preference to local residents or organizations;
xiv) The development of the site is required to be
consistent with a plan to address anticipated sea-level
rise through year 2050, which shall include enforceable
strategies incorporating an adaptive management approach
to sea-level rise for the duration of the ground lease
term;
xv) The development approved for Seawall Lot 330
includes a hotel or other visitor-serving uses that the
Port finds will materially enhance public trust uses on
Pier 30-32 and the San Francisco waterfront;
xvi) If a multipurpose venue for events and public
assembly is approved and constructed on Pier 30-32, the
Port shall submit and present at a properly noticed
public State Lands Commission meeting a trust program
report to the State Lands Commission, no later than five
years from the date of the opening of the multipurpose
venue, and every five years thereafter through the term
of the ground lease for the multipurpose venue, that
contains all of the following information:
(1) A list and description of the trust-related
events and programming that have occurred at the site
of the mixed-use development and in the multipurpose
venue over the preceding five-year period, including
the dates on which the events occurred or the
multipurpose venue was made available for those
events, and identifying any free and low-cost
visitor-serving events;
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(2) A description of the efforts made by the Port,
its tenants, and subtenants to publicize the
availability of Pier 30-32, including the multipurpose
venue, for trust-related events and other efforts
undertaken to solicit such events;
(3) A description of the maritime program on those
portions of Pier 30-32 within the purview of the Port
or the City, including a list of the facilities
constructed, identification of any tenants, licensees,
or other operators of the maritime facilities, and a
description of the nature and frequency of the
maritime use;
(4) A description of the tenants and use of the
nonmaritime office space and the use of the public
community room on Pier 30-32; and,
(5) Any other information specifically requested
by the State Lands Commission that pertains to the
City or Port program of trust uses for Pier 30-32 and
that is reasonable obtainable by the City or Port.
xvii) The Port, and the City, if applicable, shall work
cooperatively with the executive officer of the State
Lands Commission to develop an implementation plan if the
executive officer, upon review of the trust program
report, determines both of the following:
(1) That Pier 30-32 is not being used for at least
13 trust-related events annually at the site as a
whole or is not being used for at least three
trust-related events annually at the multipurpose
venue, as specified; or that the City or the Port has
not implemented the maritime program for Pier 30-32
for its intended purpose; and,
(2) That the Port, or the City, as applicable has
not taken effective action to achieve the objectives
specified in (1) above.
xviii) The executive officer of the State Lands Commission
shall provide written notice to the Port and the City of
a determination requiring the development of an
implementation plan, including the bases for that
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determination. An implementation plan shall ensure that
the objectives are met for the next five-year reporting
period and shall be consistent with the terms and
conditions set forth in governmental approvals for
development of the project and in then-existing leases
and other contracts affecting use of the site, including
rights of leasehold mortgagees under those contracts.
xix) In conjunction with the Port's report, the tenant of
the multipurpose venue shall submit and, if requested by
the executive officer of the State Lands Commission,
present at a property noticed Commission meeting, an
informational report to the Commission describing how the
event program at the multipurpose venue is meeting the
objectives for use of that venue, as specified.
b) Deletes requirements relating to the cruise ship
terminal and the Brannan Street Wharf.
3)Amends Section 4 of Chapter 489 of the Statutes of 2001, as
follows:
a) Adds findings and declarations to this section that
declares unique circumstances at Pier 30-32 on the San
Francisco waterfront and that the act sets no precedent for
any other location or project in the state, including on
the San Francisco waterfront or in San Francisco Bay, as
follows:
i) The pier is an approximately 13-acre facility
centrally located along the waterfront and with a natural
deep water berth along its east face. However the poor
structural condition of Pier 30-32 currently limits the
use of the pier to automobile parking and occasional,
temporary use as a tertiary berth for cruise ships and
other deep draft vessels. The pier has a limited
remaining useful life. The Port estimates that the cost
of removing the pier would exceed $45 million.
ii) Preserving Pier 30-32 requires a substantial capital
investment to improve the piles and decking to modern
seismic standards. The Port estimates that the cost of
rehabilitating the pier substantially exceeds the Port's
estimates of the pier's fair market value. The Port does
not have adequate funding in its 10-year capital plan for
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the costs to improve or to remove the pier due to limited
Port resources and competing Port priorities, including
the completion of a new international cruise terminal at
Pier 27 and the preservation of historic maritime
resources in the Port's jurisdiction. The Port must
conserve Port revenue to support those maritime uses and
public improvement for which private investment is not
economical.
iii) Over the past decade, the Port has sought to
preserve and develop Pier 30-32 through public-private
partnerships. In 2001, the Legislature authorized the
development of Pier 30-32 with a new cruise ship
terminal, office space, and retail space. The Port's
1998 assessment evaluated alternative locations for a new
cruise ship terminal and concluded that Pier 30-32 was
the most viable site for a new cruise terminal in San
Francisco because of its position adjacent to deep water,
site configuration, and development considerations. The
Port solicited proposals and selected a developer for a
cruise ship terminal at Pier 30-32. The developer
subsequently abandoned that project after determining
that the financial investment required to improve the
substructure of Pier 30-32 was cost prohibitive, and no
other developer could be found who was willing to accept
assignment of the development rights for the project.
The Port has since identified Pier 27 as the preferred
location for its new cruise ship terminal in San
Francisco, and construction of the terminal building is
currently underway.
iv) In 2011, the America's Cup Event Authority proposed
to improve Pier 30-32 to host racing teams and
hospitality facilities during the America's Cup in 2013,
and to acquire long-term development rights to Pier
30-32. Those planned facilities were ultimately
relocated to other piers due primarily to the cost of
rehabilitation the substructure of Pier 30-32.
v) The Port now proposes a mixed-use development at
Pier 30-32, which will further public use, access, and
enjoyment of the tidelands and surrounding water at this
location by providing a multipurpose venue for events and
public assembly, coupled with public access, open space,
and venue-supporting or trust retail uses; significant
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maritime facilities, including an occasional berthing
area for large vessels; bay-oriented recreational
activities; and limited ancillary parking as reasonable
necessary to meet the visitor-serving needs of the
mixed-use development, including the multipurpose venue,
all of which are designed to preserve and improve public
and visual access to the bay and its shoreline.
vi) Pier 30-32 is ideally situated to provide public
access to and enjoyment of the waterfront and bay. It is
within walking distance of the Ferry Building, the San
Francisco Giants baseball stadium, and regional transit
hubs, including the Transbay Transit Center, which is
under construction, has unmatched views of the Bay and
the Bay Bridge, and is immediately adjacent to the
Brannan Street Wharf project, which will provide a 58,700
square foot pile supported park over the bay, consistent
with the Special Area Plan. The Brannan Street Wharf
project is currently under construction and is
anticipated to be completed by June 2013. The value of
the Brannan Street Wharf as a recreational resource is
diminished by the current condition and use of Pier
30-32, which cannot support dedicated public access on
the pier and full realization of the Brannan Street Wharf
Open Water Basin.
vii) The inclusion of significant public access
improvements, maritime facilities, and venue-supporting
or trust retail uses, together with a multipurpose venue
for events that bring people from around the state to the
waterfront to use and enjoy the public trust assets of
San Francisco, enhances and promotes the trust uses of
the tidelands location.
viii) The Port estimates the cost of the construction of
the substructure and related improvements required to
make Pier 30-32 useable for the proposed mixed-use
development is in excess of $120 million, which
significantly exceeds the Port's appraised fair market
value of the pier. The Port plans to finance the
substructure costs with private capital and the following
public revenue sources: the proceeds from the sale or
lease of Seawall Lot 330 pursuant to AB 418, rent credits
for the lease of Pier 30-32 to the developer of the
venue, property tax increment from an infrastructure
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financing district, and possibly special taxes from a
community facilities district. Construction of the
multipurpose venue structure will be entirely privately
financed and will not require any expenditure of money
from the city's general fund, or from other city or Port
funds.
ix) There are presently few visitor-serving amenities in
the vicinity of Pier 30-32. The Port's efforts to
develop its property for hotel use have been
unsuccessful. The development of the multipurpose venue
at Pier 30-32 and the termination of the trust use
restrictions at Seawall Lot 330 would create substantial
new demand for visitor-serving uses at that location and
would make those uses financially feasible as part of an
overall residential and mixed-use development at Seawall
Lot 330. Also, Seawall Lot 330 presents an opportunity
to enhance the trust value of the project on Pier-32 by
attracting more people to the waterfront and providing
accommodations to the people from both the San Francisco
region and other areas of the state through
visitor-serving uses, which may include visitor-serving
retail, restaurants or hotel use, or any combination of
these.
b) Deletes findings and declarations related to Pier
30-32's use as a cruise ship terminal.
4)Amends Section 7 of Chapter 489 of the Statutes of 2001, as
amended by Section 3 of Chapter 68 of the Statutes of 2003, to
read:
a) Any legislative or regulatory requirement for findings
of consistency with the public trust doctrine or the Burton
Act trust under the Special Area Plan, the Bay Plan, or any
other applicable statute, regulation, or plan shall be
deemed satisfied if the Port has made a finding that the
Pier 30-32 development is consistent with the requirements
of Section 5 of this act. Except with respect to a finding
of consistency with the public trust doctrine, nothing in
this act is intended to limit the authority and discretion
of BCDC to approve or deny permits for the multiuse
development plan on Pier 30-32, as specified, including the
authority and discretion of BCDC to impose conditions on
the permits for the project. This act shall not limit the
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authority and discretion of BCDC to enforce permits issued
for the projects in this act.
5)Amends Section 14 of Chapter 489 of the Statutes of 2001 to
specify that this act does not alter the obligations of the
city or the Port under the California Environmental Quality
Act (CEQA), including any obligation to consider alternatives
to a project proposed for Pier 30-32 or Seawall Lot 330.
6)Provides that if a mixed-use development at Pier 30-32 that
includes a multipurpose venue for events and public assembly
has not been approved within 10 years of the effective date of
this act, the provisions of specified sections of this act
shall become inoperative as of the date that is 10 years from
the effective date of this act.
7)Makes the following changes to definitions section contained
in the bill:
a) Defines "AB 418" to mean Chapter 477 of the Statutes of
2011;
b) Defines "America's Cup" to mean the 34th America's Cup;
c) Deletes the definition of "boundary of the Port of San
Francisco;"
d) Revises "McAteer-Petris Act" to mean Title 7.2 of the
Government Code, as that act may be amended from time to
time;
e) Revises "public trust" or "trust" to mean the common law
public trust for commerce, navigation, and fisheries;
f) Revises the definition of "Seawall Lot 330" to mean any
portion of the parcel, as specified; and,
g) Defines "trust retail uses" to mean visitor-serving
retail and restaurant establishments and similar retail
uses that facilitate and encourage public use of the
waterfront.
8)Finds and declares that a special law is necessary and that a
general law cannot be made applicable within the meaning of
Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution
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because of the unique circumstances applicable only to the
trust lands described in this act.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Protects, pursuant to the common law doctrine of the public
trust (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, 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 State Lands Commission (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 public agencies.
3)Grants, in trust, state public trust lands to over 80 local
public agencies 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.
4)Pursuant to the Burton Act, grants to the Port, in trust, the
public trust lands in the harbor of San Francisco for purposes
of commerce, navigation, and fisheries and subject to other
terms and conditions specified in the act.
5)Pursuant to Chapter 489 of the Statutes of 2001 (AB 1389,
Shelley) and Chapter 68 of the Statutes of 2003 (AB 605, Yee),
authorizes the Port to approve a cruise ship terminal
development on the San Francisco waterfront at Pier 30-32,
which would include general office and retail use.
6)Pursuant to Chapter 477 of the Statutes of 2011(AB 418,
Ammiano), frees the public trust restrictions from Seawall Lot
330 (which is across the Embarcadero from Pier 30-32) and
authorizes the transfer of the property to a private party
subject to specified conditions.
7)Pursuant to the McAteer-Petris Act, establishes the
jurisdiction of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and
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Development Commission (BCDC) to include, among other things,
the San Francisco Bay and a shoreline band consisting of all
territory located between the shoreline of San Francisco Bay
and a line 100 feet landward of and parallel with that line.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)The primary purpose of this bill is to have the Legislature
authorize a mixed-use development project, which, among other
things, includes a multipurpose venue (the Golden State
Warriors' basketball arena) and on a pier built on tide and
submerged lands (public trust lands) located in San Francisco.
The project proposed in this bill includes two related
components on separate Port parcels: Piers 30-32 and Seawall
Lot 330. These parcels are located along the San Francisco
waterfront between the Bay Bridge and AT&T Park.
Pier 30-32 consists of an approximately 553,778-square foot
(about 13 acres) pile-supported structure along The
Embarcadero roadway. The Pier 30-32 platform consists of
obsolete, pile-supported pier structures that are physically
no longer capable of serving most trust-related purposes
without substantial modification and repair. Preserving the
pier requires a substantial capital investment to improve the
piles and decking to modern seismic standards.
According to a feasibility study prepared for the City and
County of San Francisco, the proposed project will involve the
Golden State Warriors rehabilitating Piers 30-32 and
constructing a new privately financed, state-of-the art
multi-purpose venue with seating for 17,000 to 19,000 persons,
capable of being used as an event venue and for other public
assembly uses, including conventions, Warriors' home games,
performing arts, and other purposes, along with public open
space (at least 50 percent of Piers 30-32), waterfront access
improvements, parking facilities (630 parking spaces),
visitor-serving retail and restaurants (105,000 square feet),
maritime access, and other related uses. The Golden State
Warriors also plan to build a team practice facility (21,000
square feet), plus a community room (10,000 square feet) and
event management and team operations space (40,000 square
feet) on Piers 30-32. The Warriors will finance and build
these improvements under a fair market rent ground lease from
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the Port, and complete them by the fall 2017.
Seawall Lot 330, which is across the Embarcadero roadway from
Piers 30-32, is approximately 101,330 square feet (about 2.3
acres) of filled tidelands. In 2011, AB 418 (Ammiano)
terminated the public trust use restrictions from Seawall Lot
330, declaring that the parcel is not necessary for public
trust purposes.
As part of the project, the Golden State Warriors will
construct improvements on the undeveloped portion of Seawall
Lot 330. The Port will convey fee title to Seawall Lot 330 to
the Warriors for fair market value consideration if certain
conditions are met; otherwise, the Port will enter into a 75
year ground lease with the Warriors for the appraised fair
market rent consideration for that site. The Warriors'
preliminary plans for this parcel include retail (33,000 to
34,000 square feet), parking (200 to 300 spaces), residential
units (100 to 130 units), and a hotel (200 to 250 rooms).
2)The bill asserts that the project is consistent with the
common law public trust. The challenge with this assertion is
that the common law Public Trust Doctrine, as interpreted by
the U.S. Supreme Court, places limitations on the
Legislature's authority to use trust lands for nontrust
purposes. A basketball arena, which is a major feature of the
project, is not a traditional public trust use-it does not
involve water related commerce, navigation, or fishing.
However, there are examples of nontrust uses on public trust
lands that have been deemed legitimate by the courts because
they are incidental to and accommodate other trust uses.
Additionally, the courts have recognized that the public trust
doctrine is flexible to address changing public needs related
to public trust lands.
Please see the Assembly Natural Resources Committee analysis
for the full discussion on common law public trust issues.
Significant amendments were taken in that Committee in order
to make the project consistent with the Public Trust Doctrine
and to maximize public access to and public views of the San
Francisco waterfront and the Bay.
3)According to the author, "The Port of San Francisco, through
the City and County of San Francisco, holds 7.5 miles of the
San Francisco Bay waterfront, including the Piers 30-32 site,
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in trust for the people of the State of California. As a
local trust grantee, the Port ensures that uses of trust lands
are consistent with commerce, navigation, and recreation, or
incidental uses that directly promote trust uses and public
enjoyment of waterfront areas, such as restaurants, hotels,
and visitor-serving retail.
"The Port has made several attempts over the past decade to
utilize public-private partnerships for preservation and
economic development of Piers 30-32. In 2001, the legislature
enacted AB 1389 to facilitate the development of a cruise ship
terminal and large mixed use office space at the site.
However, the project never began construction due to the
site's poor structural condition and higher than projected
substructure improvement costs. The cruise ship terminal
project has since been relocated to Pier 27. In 2011, the
America's Cup Event Authority proposed to rehabilitate Piers
30-32 to host its racing teams, but similarly relocated
construction to other piers due to the site's high
substructure improvement costs.
"As it now stands, Piers 30-32 has a remaining useful life of
less than 10 years and would require either $68 million in
preservation and seismic upgrades to maintain public safety,
or $45 million to remove the decaying piers entirely. In
light of these circumstances, the City and County of San
Francisco has determined that a recent proposal to locate a
multi-purpose venue at Piers 30-32 is the best option to
promote public enjoyment of the waterfront and provides the
needed revenue to preserve the site in furtherance of the
public trust. The design of the proposed multi-purpose venue
is guided by public trust principles in consultation with the
State Lands Commission and the San Francisco Bay Conservation
and Development Commission, as well as by examples of
successful public assembly uses built on tidelands and piers
over water throughout the state. The proposed multi-purpose
venue would rehabilitate the pier, modernize maritime
facilities, and create new opportunities for open space and
public access to the waterfront, all while generating
approximately 8,000 new jobs and $500 million in annual
economic output for the region."
4)In May of 2012, the Golden State Warriors, NBA Commissioner
David Stern and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee officially
announced that the Bay Area's only NBA team is trying to move
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back to San Francisco. According to news reports, the
earliest the team could leave Oakland would be 2017, when the
lease at Oracle Arena is up.
5)A joint opposition letter from the Mayors of several East Bay
Cities (Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond, and San Leandro) notes
that this bill diminishes the authority of both the State
Lands Commission and the Bay Conservation and Development
Commission in the project approval process. The letter states
that "removing from BCDC or the State Lands Commission any
real role in scrutinizing a massive commercial development on
the Bay would run directly contrary to the very purposes of
these two bodies, each of which has decades of experience
balancing the sometimes competing interests of developing and
preserving the waters, tidelands and submerged lands under
their jurisdictions."
6)State Lands Commission issued a letter on April 26, 2013 to
the author of this bill in relation to several statements made
about the State Lands Commission's role in the proposed mixed
use development project at Piers 30-32. The letter from the
Executive Officer of the Commission states:
While the Commission has not taken a formal position on AB
1273 at this time and staff remains neutral on the bill, the
purpose of this letter is to provide context concerning the
Commission's jurisdiction relating to sovereign land granted
in trust to local jurisdictions, and in particular, the
proposed development at Piers 30-32 addressed on AB 1273?
Under the Burton Act, the Port of San Francisco is not
generally statutorily required to obtain Commission approval
for a project proposed on granted public trust lands under the
Port's jurisdiction, including the proposed development at
Piers 30-32 addressed in AB 1273. Only on rare occasions has
specific Commission approval been required for activities
undertaken by the Port. However, the City and Port of San
Francisco and Commission staff have a long history of working
together in a cooperative and collaborative manner to further
and enhance public trust purposes along the San Francisco
waterfront. Examples include the Giants Ballpark, the Ferry
Building, Pier 1, Piers 1 , 3 & 5, the Exploratorium at Piers
15-17, and the development at Candlestick/Hunters Point and
Treasure Island.
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Consistent with this past history, City and Port staff
initiated discussions with Commission staff early on in the
development of the proposed project addressed in AB 1273.
Given the Legislature's previous involvement on Piers 30-32
through Chapter 489, Statutes of 2001, as amended in 2003, as
well as its involvement in Seawall Lot 330 across the
Embarcadero from Piers 30-32, and the significant complexities
of the proposed mixed use development, Commission staff
believes it is appropriate for the City to seek legislative
authorization for the development of Piers 30-32, which
includes a multipurpose public assembly venue. Your office
and City and Port staff have worked closely with Commission
staff on drafting language for AB 1273 to ensure that the bill
promotes public trust purposes. While there are still some
outstanding issues to be resolved, given our past history with
the City and Port, as well as assurances by your office and
City and Port staff, I am confident that we will continue to
work closely on future amendments to AB 1273 to ensure that
the bill furthers public trust needs and purposes at Piers
30-32 and is in the best interests of the people of
California.
1)The San Francisco Water Alliance, in opposition, writes that
"This legislation enables an entertainment complex to be built
over San Francisco Bay waters. Yet, San Francisco Bay waters
are not the exclusive toy of any one City or County that
touches its shores. Some nine counties, dozens of cities, and
their millions of citizens have an interest in, and the right
to be heard and substantively consulted about, what happens in
or on our Bay waters. That regional right is enshrined in the
McAteer-Petris Act which declares "the bay operates as a
delicate physical mechanism in which changes that affect one
part of the bay may also affect all other parts." With
regard to tidelands, the regional nature of bay-related
decisions is demonstrated by the control given to the State
Lands Commission to ensure consistency with the public trust
doctrine that governs shoreline development.
"Under AB 1273, members of County Boards of Supervisors,
interested Mayors, and local officials are deprived of the
opportunity to fully participate in the evidentiary and
routine processes of the State Lands Commission, the state
agency specifically established to deal with important
regional shoreline issues. The proponents of this bill seek
to avoid the need to obtain a finding of "Public Trust
AB 1273
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Consistency" from the State Lands Commission. Instead, they
ask the legislature to intervene in a local land use decision
and empower the local project sponsor to make a public trust
consistency finding -- but do not constrain the project
sponsor to adhere to a process that is even substantially
similar to what would be required in a proceeding before the
State Lands Commission. This would set bad precedent."
1)Support arguments : Supporters argue that the construction and
ongoing maintenance of this new state-of-the-art sports and
entertainment facility will be a major contributor for the Bay
Area economy, as it is expected to create a large number of
construction related jobs and the many ongoing related service
jobs.
Opposition arguments : Opponents argue that the bill does not
protect public access on Piers 30-32 and public enjoyment of
the Bay and that the bill is premature given that no detailed
project or rationale has yet been examined and vetted through
any public process.
1)This bill was heard in the Assembly Natural Resources
Committee on April 15, 2013, and passed on a 7-2 vote.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
City and County of San Francisco [SPONSOR]
A Philip Randolph Institute, San Francisco and Western Region
Asbestos, Lead and Old Laborers, Local Union No. 67
Bay Area Council
Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco
Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 3, California
Brightline Defense Project
Building Owners and Managers Association of San Francisco
California Labor Federation
California State Association of Electrical Workers
California State Council of Laborers
California State Pipe Trades Council
CAL Insurance & Associates, Inc.
Charity Cultural Services Center
Golden State Warriors
Hotel Council of San Francisco
AB 1273
Page 18
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union 6
International Union of Operating Engineers, Local Union No. 3
Laborers' International Union of North America, Local Union No.
261
Mission Hiring Hall
San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
San Francisco Citizens Initiative for Technology & Innovation
[sf.citi]
San Francisco Deputy Sheriff's Foundation
San Francisco Fire Department
San Francisco Travel Association
Sign Display and Allied Crafts, Local Union No, 510
State Building and Construction Trades Council of California
Sustainable Futures
United Association of Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Sprinkler
Fitters, Local Union No. 483
United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing
and Pipe Fitting Industry
United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local
Union 22
Western States Council of Sheet Metal Workers
Young Community Developers, Inc.
Individual letters (7)
Opposition
Mayors of the Cities of Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond and San
Leandro
San Francisco BayKeeper
San Francisco Tomorrow
San Francisco Waterfront Alliance
Save the Bay
Sierra Club California
Analysis Prepared by : Debbie Michel / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958