SECTIONS 31400-31410 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 31400-31410

31400. The Legislature finds and declares that it is the policy of
the state that the right of the public to access and enjoyment of the
coastal resources should be effectively guaranteed. To achieve such
objective, it is the intent of the Legislature that the State Coastal
Conservancy have a principal role in the implementation of a system
of public accessways to and along the state's coastline, including
San Francisco Bay and Suisun Marsh.

31400.1. The conservancy may award grants to any public agency or
nonprofit organization to acquire land, or any interest therein, or
to develop, operate, or manage lands for public access purposes to
and along the coast. No grants may be awarded to any local agency
unless the conservancy has first determined that the subject
accessway will serve more than local public needs.

31400.2. The conservancy may provide up to the total cost of the
acquisition of interests in lands and the initial development of
public accessways by any public agency or nonprofit organization, as
provided in Section 31400.1. The amount of funding provided by the
conservancy shall be determined by the total amount of funding
available for coastal public accessway projects, the fiscal resources
of the applicant, the urgency of the project relative to other
eligible projects, and the application of factors prescribed by the
conservancy for the purpose of determining project eligibility and
priority in order to more effectively carry out the provisions of the
division.

31400.3. The conservancy may provide such assistance as is required
to aid public agencies and nonprofit organizations in establishing a
system of public coastal accessways, and related functions necessary
to meet the objectives of this division.

31401. The conservancy shall develop and adopt standards to guide
state and local public agencies and federal agencies to the extent
permitted by federal law or regulations or the United States
Constitution in acquiring and developing public access to coastal
resources. Such standards shall be incorporated within an integrated
system of public accessways to and along the state's coastline which
shall become an element of the California Outdoor Recreation
Resources Plan required by Section 5099.2.

31402. In order to assure that an adequate system of public
accessways is provided along the entire coastline, the department or
the conservancy may acquire fee title or lesser interests in areas
required for public access to significant coastal resources. The
department may develop and maintain such areas.

31402.1. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide for
timely acceptance of offers to dedicate interests in property,
recorded pursuant to Division 20 (commencing with Section 30000) and
needed to provide public access to and along the ocean shoreline.
(b) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) In order to prevent the potential loss of public accessways to
and along the state's coastline, it is in the best interest of the
state to accept all offers to dedicate real property that protect
open space or have the potential to provide access to public
tidelands, including any beach, shoreline, or view area, or that
provide a connection to other easements or public properties
providing this access.
(2) Offers to dedicate interests in property that are required and
recorded pursuant to Division 20 (commencing with Section 30000)
provide mitigation necessary for approved development to occur
consistent with the policies and objectives of that division and are
not gifts to the state or acquisitions of property interests within
the meaning of Section 31105.

31402.2. The conservancy shall accept any outstanding offer to
dedicate a public accessway, described in Section 31402.1, that has
not been accepted by another public agency or nonprofit organization
within 90 days of its expiration date.

31402.3. (a) To the extent that funds are available in the Coastal
Access Account in the State Coastal Conservancy Fund, the conservancy
shall open at least three public accessways each year either
directly or by awarding grants to public agencies or nonprofit
organizations.
(b) The conservancy may transfer public access easements or other
less-than-fee interests in property to an appropriate public agency
or nonprofit organization for development, management, or public use,
or may enter into agreements with public agencies and nonprofit
organizations for the development, management, or public use of the
accessway. Transfer under this section is not subject to approval by
the Department of General Services pursuant to Section 11005.2 of the
Government Code. The conservancy shall retain the right to reclaim
the easements or other interests in the event that the public agency
or nonprofit organization ceases to exist, is no longer able to
manage the accessway, or violates the terms of the agreement.
(c) Before a nonprofit organization may accept an offer to
dedicate an interest in real property under Division 20 (commencing
with Section 30000), the nonprofit organization shall do all of the
following:
(1) Submit satisfactory proof to the executive director of the
commission that the nonprofit organization has been approved as a tax
exempt public benefit corporation under Section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code, and has filed a Form 990 with the Internal
Revenue Service.
(2) Submit a management plan to the executive director of the
commission and the executive officer of the conservancy that
describes the nonprofit organization's planned management and
operation of the interest.
(3) Grant a right of entry that permits the conservancy to reclaim
or assign the interest to another public agency or nonprofit
organization, if the conservancy and the commission determine that
the nonprofit organization is not managing or operating the interest
consistent with the management plan developed pursuant to paragraph
(2).
(d) A public accessway accepted pursuant to Section 31402.2 may
not be developed, improved, or formally opened for public use until
its transfer, development, or public use has been authorized by the
conservancy.
(e) The conservancy may not use moneys appropriated from the
General Fund for the purposes of this section.

31403. The department or the conservancy may not acquire any public
access site under the power of eminent domain unless such
acquisition is approved by the Legislature as part of its annual
approval of the Budget Act.

31404. When another local public agency is unable or unwilling to
take title to an area required for public access to and along the
coastline, the department or the conservancy may accept title to such
an area. The department or the conservancy, however, shall not be
required to open any area for public use when, in its estimation, the
benefits of public use would be outweighed by the costs of
development and maintenance. The department or the conservancy shall
make a determined effort to identify local public agencies and
nonprofit organizations which will accept responsibility for
maintenance and liability for public accessways which are located
outside of the state park system. The department or the conservancy
may lease any public access site to a public agency or nonprofit
organization; provided, however, that the conditions of such transfer
guarantee public use of the site for access to coastal resources.

31405. The department or the conservancy may accept, from any
public agency or nonprofit organization, fees collected for purposes
of providing public access to coastal resources. Any funds collected
from such source shall be expended by the department or the
conservancy for the sole purpose of acquisition, development, and
maintenance of public accessways to the coastline. To the maximum
extent possible, such fees shall be expended in the general area
where they are collected or in areas where public access to and along
the coastline is clearly deficient. The department or the
conservancy may transfer funds, including such fees, to a local
public agency or nonprofit organization for the purposes of
acquisition of sites for public access to and along the coastline.

31406. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the conservancy
may enter into an option to acquire an interest in real property in
connection with a public access project, when the Legislature
appropriates funds for purposes of carrying out the objectives of
this division. The cost of the option may not exceed six hundred
thousand dollars ($600,000).

31408. (a) The conservancy shall, in consultation with the
Department of Parks and Recreation, the California Coastal
Commission, and the Department of Transportation, coordinate the
development of the California Coastal Trail.
(b) To the extent feasible, and consistent with their individual
mandates, each agency, board, department, or commission of the state
with property interests or regulatory authority in coastal areas
shall cooperate with the conservancy with respect to planning and
making lands available for completion of the trail, including
constructing trail links, placing signs, and managing the trail.

31409. Consistent with the conservancy's authority under this
chapter to develop a system of public accessways to, and along, the
state's coastline, the conservancy may award grants and provide
assistance to public agencies and nonprofit organizations to
establish and expand those inland trail systems that may be linked to
the California Coastal Trail.

31410. (a) That portion of the Ma-le'l Dunes in Humboldt County
that is part of the California Coastal Trail and is under the
jurisdiction of the conservancy is hereby designated and shall be
known as the Senator Wesley Chesbro Coastal Trail.
(b) After the date on which Wesley Chesbro ceases his service in
the Legislature or on January 1, 2009, whichever occurs later, the
conservancy shall erect appropriate signage, upon receipt of funding
as described in subdivision (c), to reflect the designation made by
this section and shall cause all directories and other publications
concerning the California Coastal Trail to reflect the designation as
the publications are periodically revised.
(c) The costs of the signage shall be funded by parties who
request the conservancy to erect that signage pursuant to this
section.