BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 968
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 968 (Hill)
As Amended August 18, 2014
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :22-11
NATURAL RESOURCES 6-3 JUDICIARY 7-1
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|Ayes:|Chesbro, Garcia, |Ayes:|Wieckowski, Chau, |
| |Muratsuchi, Skinner, | |Dickinson, Garcia, |
| |Stone, Williams | |Maienschein, Muratsuchi, |
| | | |Stone |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Dahle, Bigelow, Patterson |Nays:|Wagner |
| | | | |
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APPROPRIATIONS 9-5
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|Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, Eggman, | | |
| |Gomez, Holden, Pan, | | |
| |Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, | | |
| |Weber | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Bigelow, Donnelly, Jones, | | |
| |Linder, Wagner | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires the State Lands Commission (SLC) to enter
into negotiations to acquire a public access right-of-way or
easement to the beach located at the Martins Beach property
south of Half Moon Bay. If negotiations fail, or if the owner
fails to voluntarily provide public access, authorizes SLC to
acquire by eminent domain a right-of-way or an easement to and
along the beach.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Declares, pursuant to the California Constitution, that the
right of eminent domain exists in the state to all frontages
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on the navigable waters of the state.
2)Prohibits, pursuant to the California Constitution, an
individual claiming or possessing the frontage or tidal lands
of navigable waters from excluding the right of way to such
waters whenever it is required for any public purpose or from
destroying or obstructing the free navigation of such water.
Requires the Legislature to enact such laws as will give the
most liberal construction to this provision, so that access to
the navigable waters of this State shall be always attainable
for the people thereof.
3)Protects, pursuant to the common law doctrine of the public
trust, the public's right to use California's waterways for
water-dependent commerce, navigation, fishing, boating,
natural habitat protection, and other water-oriented
activities. Provides, pursuant to the public trust doctrine,
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.
4)Requires SLC to be the steward and manager of the state's
public trust lands. Gives SLC 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.
5)If SLC has public land, including lands subject to the public
trust for commerce, navigation, and fisheries, to which there
is no access available, authorizes SLC to acquire by purchase,
lease, gift, exchange, or, if all negotiations fail, by
condemnation (i.e., eminent domain), a right-of-way or
easement across privately owned land or other land that it
deems necessary to provide access to such public land.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Potential one-time General Fund (GF) costs, likely in the
hundreds of thousands to low millions of dollars if SLC
purchases a right-of-way or easement.
2)Potential ongoing GF costs for the operations and maintenance
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if SLC purchases a right-of-way or easement.
COMMENTS :
Background. The Martins Beach property is a 53-acre beachfront
property located on Highway 1 south of Half Moon Bay. There is
a road on the property commonly referred to as Martins Beach
Road that leads from the entrance on Highway 1 and to the beach.
Martins Beach Road is the only road to the beach. The beach is
sheltered from the north and south by high cliffs that stretch
out into the Pacific Ocean forming an isolated cove. As a
practical matter, there is no reasonable access from other
beaches to the north or south as Martins Beach is separated from
other beaches by the high cliffs. Short of rappelling down the
cliffs, the only access is by Martins Beach Road (a private
road) from the east or by boat from the off-shore Pacific Ocean
tidelands to the west. There are also 45 cabins on long-term
leases (through approximately 2021) that sit above the beach on
a bluff that rises 180 feet above the ocean.
The beach was recently purchased on July 22, 2008, by two
limited liability companies (hereinafter referred to as Martins
Beach, LLC). The former owners of Martins Beach, the Deeney
Family, owned the beach for over 100 years and welcomed the
public to the beach with "open arms" upon payment of a fee.
Martins Beach was a popular community beach that was used for
picnicking, fishing, surfing, and other recreational uses under
the business run by the Deeney family whereby they charged a fee
for entry to the beach; originally $0.25. The Deeney family
also provided a general store and public restrooms. This
changed when Martins Beach, LLC purchased the property, closed
the gate to the road, and put security guards on the beach.
Martins Beach, LLC has attempted to support criminal prosecution
of those who are allegedly trespassing on the property.
In response, a group of citizens staged rallies and generated
press coverage in an attempt to regain public access to the
beach. Eventually public access related lawsuits were filed
against Martins Beach, LLC. One case has been brought by the
Surfrider Foundation asserting that Martins Beach, LLC violated
the California Coastal Act by not applying for a coastal
development permit when closing the road to the beach. This
case is currently pending in the trial court. Another case
brought by Friends of Martins Beach claims, under several legal
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theories, that the public has the right to traverse the property
to access the beach. This case is currently on appeal after the
trial court ruled in favor of Martins Beach, LLC.
The California Coastal Commission (CCC), who is not a party to
either suit referenced above, sent a Notice of Violation to the
property owner in 2011 for closing the gate and denying public
access. According to CCC staff, they have been in conversation
with the owner about how to resolve the violation, but no
agreement has been reached and progress has been slow.
In light of the lack of progress, CCC initiated a prescriptive
rights documentation process in July 2014 and posted a
"Prescriptive Rights Survey" on its Web site asking anyone who
has accessed and used the beach in the past to submit
information to help the CCC document historic public use of the
beach. If it can be shown that the public has been utilizing
private property as if it were public land for a period of at
least five years, a right to continued public access may be
established.
While the lawsuits and the Prescriptive Rights Survey are
pending, this bill seeks an alternative solution. Specifically,
this bill will require SLC to enter into negotiations with
Martins Beach, LLC to reopen the road for public access. If a
settlement cannot be reached by January 1, 2016, this bill
authorizes SLC to acquire access to the road and beach using its
existing eminent domain authority.
It should be noted that Martins Beach, LLC claims that its fee
ownership at Martins Beach extends to the off-shore submerged
tidelands and there is no right of public access or easement for
the public to use or access the property for any purpose
whatsoever. However, according to SLC staff, which reviewed a
number of property records (including the Rancho grant, the
federal patent confirming the land grant, and the legal
description attached to the Friends of Martins Beach court
decision), the Martins Beach, LLC's property rights do not
appear to go water ward of the mean high tide line. All the
relevant documents call to the ambulatory mean high tide line as
the boundary line, which essentially means that the common law
public trust doctrine applies to the land water ward of the mean
high tide line.
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Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
FN: 0005019