SB 1145: California Environmental Quality Act: surplus land disposal requirements: exemption.

Existing law requires a local agency to declare land either surplus land or exempt surplus land, as supported by written findings, before the local agency may take any action to dispose of it consistent with an agencys policies or procedures and defines terms for these purposes. Existing law generally requires a local agency, before disposing or negotiating to dispose of surplus land, to provide a written notice of the availability of the surplus land to specified entities and housing sponsors. Under existing law, land declared by an agency of the state or any local agency as exempt surplus land is not subject to these requirements.

This bill would exempt land that was or will be conveyed by the federal government to a local reuse authority in accordance with a military base closure and realignment, as specified, from these requirements. The bill would also limit the time to bring an action to challenge the application of this exemption to within 90 days after the local reuse authoritys approval of a disposition and development agreement, purchase and sale agreement, or similar agreement regarding the disposition of all or any portion of the land by the local reuse authority and not at the time of each subsequent conveyance or phased conveyance of the land.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment.

This bill would provide that specified environmental review documents satisfy the requirements of CEQA for any project within the portion of the Concord Naval Weapons Station included within the boundaries of the area plan for the Concord Community Reuse Project, as provided, that meets satisfies specified conditions, including a requirement that the project applicant has negotiated a project labor agreement, as defined, for the project. The bill would further provide that a subsequent environmental impact review prepared for a project that otherwise meets certain specified conditions is not required to include any discussion of alternatives to the project or the growth-inducing impacts of the project. To the extent the bill imposes new duties on local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make its provisions severable.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of Concord.

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.