SB 1172: Tidelands and submerged lands: City of Albany.

Existing law grants in trust to the City of Albany certain designated tidelands and submerged lands, both filled and unfilled, for specified uses. The grant, among other things, requires that those lands be used in conformity with the Albany Waterfront Plan and be improved in accordance with the plan on or before January 1, 1988, or title therein shall revert to the state. Existing law imposes various requirements regarding public rights in the granted lands, leasing of lands by the city, management and disposition of revenues from the lands, and the determination of boundaries of the lands granted that are subject to the jurisdiction of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. Existing law requires 85% of excess trust revenues, as specified, to be transmitted to the Treasurer and deposited in the General Fund.

This bill would delete those provisions and instead require that, on and after January 1, 2022, the use of those trust lands, as described, conform to an approved trust lands use plan, prescribed by the bill, and all leases or agreements proposed or entered into by the City of Albany, as trustee of those lands, also be consistent with the public trust doctrine, as defined, and conform to the plan. The bill would require the trustee, on or before September 30, 2022, and on or before September 30 of every succeeding 5th year thereafter, to submit a report to the State Lands Commission. By imposing new duties on a local government with regard to providing for the use and management of those trust lands, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law, the Kapiloff Land Bank Act, creates the Land Bank Fund and continuously appropriates money in the fund, subject to a statutory trust, to the State Lands Commission, acting as the Land Bank Trustee, to acquire real property or any interest in real property for the purposes of public trust settlements.

The bill would require on June 30, 2021, and at the end of every fiscal year thereafter, that 20% of all gross revenue generated from the City of Albany trust lands be transmitted to the commission and, of this amount transmitted, would require the commission to allocate 80% to the Treasurer for deposit in the General Fund and 20% for deposit in the Land Bank Fund for expenditure by the commission pursuant to the act, thereby making an appropriation.

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.