SECTIONS 30710-30721 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 30710-30721

30710. Within 90 days after January 1, 1977, the commission shall,
after public hearing, adopt, certify, and file with each port
governing body a map delineating the present legal geographical
boundaries of each port's jurisdiction within the coastal zone. The
commission shall, within such 90-day period, adopt and certify after
public hearing, a map delineating boundaries of any wetland, estuary,
or existing recreation area indicated in Part IV of the coastal plan
within the geographical boundaries of each port.

30711. (a) A port master plan that carries out the provisions of
this chapter shall be prepared and adopted by each port governing
body, and for informational purposes, each city, county, or city and
county which has a port within its jurisdiction shall incorporate the
certified port master plan in its local coastal program. A port
master plan shall include all of the following:
(1) The proposed uses of land and water areas, where known.
(2) The projected design and location of port land areas, water
areas, berthing, and navigation ways and systems intended to serve
commercial traffic within the area of jurisdiction of the port
governing body.
(3) An estimate of the effect of development on habitat areas and
the marine environment, a review of existing water quality, habitat
areas, and quantitative and qualitative biological inventories, and
proposals to minimize and mitigate any substantial adverse impact.
(4) Proposed projects listed as appealable in Section 30715 in
sufficient detail to be able to determine their consistency with the
policies of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 30200) of this
division.
(5) Provisions for adequate public hearings and public
participation in port planning and development decisions.
(b) A port master plan shall contain information in sufficient
detail to allow the commission to determine its adequacy and
conformity with the applicable policies of this division.

30712. In the consideration and approval of a proposed port master
plan, the public, interested organizations, and governmental agencies
shall be encouraged to submit relevant testimony, statements, and
evidence which shall be considered by the port governing body. The
port governing body shall publish notice of the completion of the
draft master plan and submit a copy thereof to the commission and
shall, upon request, provide copies to other interested persons,
organizations, and governmental agencies. Thereafter, the port
governing body shall hold a public hearing on the draft master plan
not earlier than 30 days and not later than 90 days following the
date the notice of completion was published.

30714. After public notice, hearing, and consideration of comments
and testimony received pursuant to Sections 30712 and 30713, the port
governing body shall adopt its master plan and submit it to the
commission for certification in accordance with this chapter. Within
90 days after the submittal, the commission, after public hearing,
shall certify the plan or portion of a plan and reject any portion of
a plan which is not certified. The commission may not modify the
plan as submitted as a condition of certification. If the commission
rejects any portion of a plan, it shall base that rejection upon
written findings of fact and conclusion of law. If the commission
fails to take action within the 90-day period, the port master plan
shall be deemed certified. The commission shall certify the plan, or
portion of a plan, if the commission finds both of the following:
(a) The master plan, or certified portions thereof, conforms with
and carries out the policies of this chapter.
(b) Where a master plan, or certified portions thereof, provide
for any of the developments listed as appealable in Section 30715,
the development or developments are in conformity with all of the
policies of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 30200).

30715. (a) Until such time as a port master plan or any portion
thereof has been certified, the commission shall permit developments
within ports as provided for in Chapter 7 (commencing with Section
30600). After a port master plan or any portion thereof has been
certified, the permit authority of the commission provided in Chapter
7 (commencing with Section 30600) shall no longer be exercised by
the commission over any new development contained in the certified
plan or any portion thereof and shall at that time be delegated to
the appropriate port governing body, except that approvals of any of
the following categories of development by the port governing body
may be appealed to the commission:
(1) Developments for the storage, transmission, and processing of
liquefied natural gas and crude oil in such quantities as would have
a significant impact upon the oil and gas supply of the state or
nation or both the state and nation. A development which has a
significant impact shall be defined in the master plans.
(2) Waste water treatment facilities, except for those facilities
which process waste water discharged incidental to normal port
activities or by vessels.
(3) Roads or highways which are not principally for internal
circulation within the port boundaries.
(4) Office and residential buildings not principally devoted to
the administration of activities within the port; hotels, motels, and
shopping facilities not principally devoted to the sale of
commercial goods utilized for water-oriented purposes; commercial
fishing facilities; and recreational small craft marina related
facilities.
(5) Oil refineries.
(6) Petrochemical production plants.
(b) If maintenance dredging is part of, or is associated with, any
category of development specified in paragraphs (1) to (6),
inclusive, of subdivision (a), the commission shall not consider that
maintenance dredging in its review and approval of those categories.

30715.5. No development within the area covered by the certified
port master plan shall be approved by the port governing body unless
it finds that the proposed development conforms with such certified
plan.

30716. (a) A certified port master plan may be amended by the port
governing body, but an amendment shall not take effect until it has
been certified by the commission. Any proposed amendment shall be
submitted to, and processed by, the commission in the same manner as
provided for submission and certification of a port master plan.
(b) The commission shall, by regulation, establish a procedure
whereby proposed amendments to a certified port master plan may be
reviewed and designated by the executive director of the commission
as being minor in nature and need not comply with Section 30714.
These amendments shall take effect on the 10th working day after the
executive director designates the amendments as minor.
(c) (1) The executive director may determine that a proposed
certified port master plan amendment is de minimis if the executive
director determines that the proposed amendment would have no impact,
either individually or cumulatively, on coastal resources, is
consistent with the policies of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section
30200), and meets the following criteria:
(A) The port governing body, at least 21 days prior to the date of
submitting the proposed amendment to the executive director, has
provided public notice, and provided a copy to the commission, which
specifies the dates and places where comments will be accepted on the
proposed amendment, contains a brief description of the proposed
amendment, and states the address where copies of the proposed
amendment are available for public review, by one of the following
procedures:
(i) Publication, not fewer times than required by Section 6061 of
the Government Code, in a newspaper of general circulation in the
area affected by the proposed amendment. If more than one area will
be affected, the notice shall be published in the newspaper of
largest circulation from among the newspapers of general circulation
in those areas.
(ii) Posting of the notice by the port governing body both onsite
and offsite in the area affected by the proposed amendment.
(iii) Direct mailing to the owners and occupants of contiguous
property shown on the latest equalized assessment roll.
(B) The proposed amendment does not propose any change in land use
or water uses or any change in the allowable use of property.
(2) At the time that the port governing body submits the proposed
amendment to the executive director, the port governing body shall
also submit to the executive director any public comments that were
received during the comment period provided pursuant to subparagraph
(A) of paragraph (1).
(3) (A) The executive director shall make a determination as to
whether the proposed amendment is de minimis within 10 working days
from the date of submittal by the local government. If the proposed
amendment is determined to be de minimis, the proposed amendment
shall be noticed in the agenda of the next regularly scheduled
meeting of the commission, in accordance with Section 11125 of the
Government Code, and any public comments forwarded by the port
governing body shall be made available to the members of the
commission.
(B) If three members of the commission object to the executive
director's determination that the proposed amendment is de minimis,
the proposed amendment shall be set for public hearing in accordance
with the procedures specified in subdivision (a) or, at the request
of the port governing body, returned to the port governing body. If
set for public hearing under subdivision (a), the time requirements
set by this section and Section 30714 shall commence from the date on
which the objection to the de minimis designation was made.
(C) If three or more members of the commission do not object to
the de minimis determination, the de minimis amendment shall become a
part of the certified port master plan 10 days from the date of the
commission meeting.
(4) The commission may, after a noticed public hearing, adopt
guidelines to implement this subdivision, which shall be exempt from
review by the Office of Administrative Law and from Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of
the Government Code. The commission shall file any guidelines
adopted pursuant to this paragraph with the Office of Administrative
Law.

30717. The governing bodies of ports shall inform and advise the
commission in the planning and design of appealable developments
authorized under this chapter, and prior to commencement of any
appealable development, the governing body of a port shall notify the
commission and other interested persons, organizations, and
governmental agencies of the approval of a proposed appealable
development and indicate how it is consistent with the appropriate
port master plan and this division. An approval of the appealable
development by the port governing body pursuant to a certified port
master plan shall become effective after the 10th working day after
notification of its approval, unless an appeal is filed with the
commission within that time. Appeals shall be filed and processed by
the commission in the same manner as appeals from local government
actions as set forth in Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 30600) of
this division. No appealable development shall take place until the
approval becomes effective.

30718. For developments approved by the commission in a certified
master plan, but not appealable under the provisions of this chapter,
the port governing body shall forward all environmental impact
reports and negative declarations prepared pursuant to the
Environmental Quality Act of 1970 (commencing with Section 21000) or
any environmental impact statements prepared pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.) to the
commission in a timely manner for comment.

30719. Any development project or activity authorized or approved
pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed certified
by the commission as being in conformity with the coastal zone
management program insofar as any such certification is requested by
any federal agency pursuant to the Federal Coastal Zone Management
Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451, et seq.), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, and memoranda of understanding between
the state and federal governments relative thereto.

30720. If the application of any port master plan or part thereof
is prohibited or stayed by any court, the permit authority provided
for in Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 30600) shall be reinstated
in the commission. The reinstated permit authority shall apply as to
any development which would be affected by the prohibition or stay.

30721. (a) The Legislature recognizes that Port Hueneme is unique
in its relationship to the coast in that it is the only deep water
port operated by a harbor district, and is without access to city or
county funds. Therefore, the governing body of Port Hueneme may claim
reimbursement of costs it incurs in the preparation and
certification of a port master plan as required by this chapter.
(b) Prior to submitting any claim for reimbursement, the governing
body of the port shall submit its proposed claims to the executive
director of the commission for review and approval and shall provide
adequate documentation to enable the executive director to make the
following determinations:
(1) That the work done was directly attributable to the operation
of this chapter.
(2) That the work done is reasonably related to, and appears to be
necessary for, the preparation of a certifiable port master plan for
the geographic area within the port's jurisdiction as identified by
the commission pursuant to Section 30710.
(3) That the governing body of a port is not reimbursed for the
costs of the work from any other source.
The executive director of the commission shall, within 60 days
after receipt of the necessary information, approve the proposed
claim, if the director can make the determinations set forth in this
subdivision.
(c) After a proposed claim has been reviewed and approved by the
executive director of the commission pursuant to subdivision (b), the
governing body of the port may submit its claim for reimbursement to
the Controller who shall then process and pay any such claim as
provided for in Section 2231 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.