SECTIONS 33000-33010 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 33000-33010

33000. This division shall be known as and may be cited as the
Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Act.

33001. The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the Santa
Monica Mountains Zone, as defined in Section 33105, is a unique and
valuable economic, environmental, agricultural, scientific,
educational, and recreational resource that should be held in trust
for present and future generations; that, as the last large
undeveloped area contiguous to the shoreline within the greater Los
Angeles metropolitan region, comprised of Los Angeles and Ventura
Counties, it provides essential relief from the urban environment;
that it exists as a single ecosystem in which changes that affect one
part may also affect all other parts; and that the preservation and
protection of this resource is in the public interest.

33002. The Legislature further finds and declares that prior to the
preparation of the plan by the Santa Monica Mountains Comprehensive
Planning Commission, planning for the zone was fragmented and there
were ineffective means of determining and resolving conflicting
interjurisdictional values, or of evaluating individual projects
within the zone as to their effect on the entire region; that in the
absence of a governmental mechanism to perform such evaluations,
piecemeal development projects were occurring within the zone which
resulted in the irreplaceable loss of open space and recreational
resources, in the physical and biological deterioration of air, land,
and water systems within the zone, and adversely affected regional
life-support systems, including fish and wildlife, therefore being
harmful to the needs of the present and future population of the
region.

33003. The Legislature further finds and declares that the coastal
zone portion of the Santa Monica Mountains Zone has been evaluated as
part of the California Coastal Zone Conservation Plan, and because
of the unique, important, and threatened nature of the
coastal-related resources within the coastal zone, the Legislature
determined that the special coastal resources planning and management
program established pursuant to the California Coastal Act of 1976
(Division 20 (commencing with Section 30000)) should apply within the
coastal zone and that the local coastal program required by such act
should be completed in a timely and effective manner by local
governments and certified by the California Coastal Commission. It is
the intent of the Legislature to facilitate early completion of
local coastal programs for the coastal zone portion of the Santa
Monica Mountains Zone and that accordingly the jurisdiction of the
Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy should be extended to include, at
the time of certification, those portions of the coastal zone for
which a local coastal program has been certified.

33004. The Legislature further finds and declares that the Santa
Monica Mountains Comprehensive Planning Commission, composed of
representatives of the state government, cities, and counties in the
region, and the general public, has adopted a comprehensive plan for
the conservation and development of the zone, consistent with the
preservation of the resource as set forth in Section 33001.

33005. Federal grant funds shall be used to accomplish the purposes
of this division to the maximum extent possible.

33006. It is further declared to be the intent of the Legislature
that, in making grants for park, recreation, or conservation purposes
from funds received pursuant to Section 507(n) of the National Parks
and Recreation Act of 1978 (16 U. S.C. Sec. 460kk(n)), the
conservancy shall primarily operate outside the public ownership area
of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area as identified
by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to Section 507(d)(2) of
the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 460kk
(d)(2)).

33007. In accomplishing the objectives of this division, private
landowners, local governments, and all other public agencies shall be
encouraged to participate in the programs authorized by this
division by voluntary incentives.

33008. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that there are
existing problems of substandard lots, incompatible land uses,
conflicts with recreational use, and inadequate resource protection
which, in some cases, cannot be addressed in a feasible manner by
local government exercise of the police power or federal land
acquisition as part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation
Area, and that it is necessary to enact the provisions of this
division as a complement to the full exercise of the police power by
local governments and the acquisition of lands by the federal
government for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
(b) The Legislature further finds and declares that the people of
the State of California have an interest in the protection of
resources and the use of lands acquired or managed by the conservancy
pursuant to this division, and that the conservancy in carrying out
its duties pursuant to this division acts on behalf of the State of
California.
(c) This division does not authorize the conservancy to regulate
private property, nor does it supersede or limit a local government's
exercise of the police power, over private property, derived from
any other provision of existing law or any law hereafter enacted.

33009. In order to avoid the continuing problems identified in
Section 33008, each local government's implementation of the plan
shall be a necessary condition of that local government receiving any
money pursuant to this division.

33010. For purposes of compliance with federal law, the references
to the Santa Monica Mountains Comprehensive Planning Commission shall
be deemed to mean the conservancy.