Amended in Senate April 30, 2014

Amended in Senate April 21, 2014

Senate Bill No. 1155

Introduced by Senator Lieu

February 20, 2014

An act to begin insert amend Section 2621.5 of, and to end insert add Section 2623.5 to begin insert , end insert the Public Resources Code, relating to geological hazards.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1155, as amended, Lieu. Geological hazards: approval of projects.

Under the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act, prior to approving a project within an earthquake fault zone, a city or county is directed to require the preparation of a geologic report, subject to certain exceptions. The act authorizes cities and counties to, among other things, establish stricter policies and criteria, and impose and collect specified additional fees. begin delete Existing law prohibits a structure for human occupancy from being placed across the trace of an active fault. end delete begin insert Existing law requires the approval of a project by a city or county to be in accordance with policies and criteria established by the State Mining and Geology Board and the findings of the State Geologist. end insert

This bill would require a city or county, prior to approval of a project begin insert in certain locations end insert , as described, to determine that either the project is in compliance with existing law relating to begin delete the location of structures for human occupancy near active faults end delete begin insert the policies and criteria established by the State Mining and Geology Board and the findings of the State Geologist end insert , as provided, or the project is not located on an active begin delete trace fault end delete begin insert fault trace, end insert as determined by a geological site investigation. By expanding the duties of local officials in the process of approving a project, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 2621.5 of the end insert begin insert Public Resources Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

2621.5.  

(a) It is the purpose of this chapter to provide for the
adoption and administration of zoning laws, ordinances, rules, and
regulations by cities and counties in implementation of the general
plan that is in effect in any city or county. The Legislature declares
that this chapter is intended to provide policies and criteria to assist
cities, counties, and state agencies in the exercise of their
responsibility to prohibit the location of developments and
structures for human occupancy across the trace of active faults.
Further, it is the intent of this chapter to provide the citizens of the
state with increased safety and to minimize the loss of life during
and immediately following earthquakes by facilitating seismic
retrofitting to strengthen buildings, including historical buildings,
against ground shaking.

(b) This chapter is applicable to any project, as defined in
Section 2621.6, begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert is located within a delineated
earthquake fault zone, upon issuance of the official earthquake
fault zones maps to affected local jurisdictions, except as provided
in Section 2621.7 begin insert , and to any project described in Section 2623.5 end insert .

(c) The implementation of this chapter shall be pursuant to
policies and criteria established and adopted by the board.

begin delete SECTION 1. end delete
begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

Section 2623.5 is added to the Public Resources Code,
to read:

2623.5.  

(a) This section shall apply to a project located begin delete where
(1) faults that have broken, or are likely to break, the ground
surface have been mapped, (2) sufficient geologic or seismic data
exists indicating that the faults are generally accepted to be active
faults, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 3601 of Title 14 of
the California Code of Regulations, and (3) earthquake fault zone
maps, pursuant to this chapter, have not been completed. end delete begin insert in both
of the following: end insert

begin insert

(1) An affected local jurisdiction described in subdivision (b)
of Section 2621.5.

end insert begin insert

(2) Within 500 feet of a major active fault, or 300 feet of a
well-defined minor fault, as identified in published reports or maps
by the California Geological Survey, the United State Geological
Survey, in peer-reviewed journals published by academic or
professional institutions and organizations, or based on geological
reports submitted to the local agency, where (A) sufficient
geological or seismic data exists indicating that the faults are
generally accepted to be active faults, as defined in subdivision
(a) of Section 3601 of Title 14 of the California Code of
Regulations, and (B) earthquake fault zone maps, pursuant to this
chapter, have not been completed or updated in the last five years
with respect to those faults.

end insert

(b) A city or county shall determine, prior to approval of a
project in a location described in subdivision (a), either of the
following:

(1)  begin delete If the project is located within 500 feet of a major active
fault, or 300 feet of a well-defined minor fault, as identified in
published reports or maps by the California Geological Survey,
the United States Geological Survey, or in peer-reviewed journals
published by academic or professional institutions and
organizations, that the project is in compliance with subdivision
(a) of Section 3603 of the California Code of Regulations. end delete begin insert The
project is in compliance with Section 2623. end insert

(2) The applicant has performed, or caused to be performed, a
geological site investigation that determined that there is no active
begin delete trace fault end delete begin insert fault trace end insert beneath the project.

begin insert

(c) This section does not prevent or limit the authority of a city,
county, or city and county to establish policies and criteria that
are stricter than those established by this chapter where those
policies further the goal of subdivision (a) of Section 2621.5.

end insert

begin delete SEC. 2. end delete
begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
17556 of the Government Code.