SECTIONS 5096.300-5096.309 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 5096.300-5096.309

5096.300. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water, Clean Air, and Coastal
Protection Bond Act of 2000 (the Villaraigosa-Keeley Act).

5096.301. Responding to the recreational and open-space needs of a
growing population and expanding urban communities, this act will
revive state stewardship of natural resources by investing in
neighborhood parks and state parks, clean water protection, and
coastal beaches and scenic areas.

5096.302. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Historically, California's local and neighborhood parks often
serve as the recreational, social, and cultural centers for cities
and communities, providing venues for youth enrichment, senior
activities, and family recreation.
(b) Neighborhood and state parks provide safe places to play in
the urban neighborhoods, splendid scenic landscapes, exceptional
experiences, and world-recognized recreational opportunities, and in
so doing, are vital to California's quality of life and economy.
(c) For over a decade, the state's commitment to parks and natural
resources has dwindled. California has not kept pace with the needed
funding to adequately manage and maintain its multibillion dollar
investment in neighborhood, urban, and state parks and natural areas
resulting in disrepair and overcrowding of many park facilities and
the degradation of wild lands.
(d) The magnificent Pacific Coast, outstanding mountain ranges,
and unique scenic regions are the source of tremendous economic
opportunity and contribute enormously to the quality of life of
Californians.
(e) Continued economic success and enjoyment derived from
California's natural resources depends on maintaining clean water,
healthy ecosystems, and expanding public access for a growing state.
(f) The backlog of needs for repair and maintenance of local and
urban parks exceeds two billion five hundred million dollars and the
need for maintenance of state parks exceeds one billion dollars. The
state's conservancies and wildlife agencies report a need for habitat
acquisition and restoration exceeding $1.8 billion.
(g) This act will begin to address these critical neighborhood
park and natural resources needs.

5096.303. The Legislature further finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Air pollution continues to be a major problem in California
which harms the health of our residents, costs our economy billions
of dollars related to health care costs, reduced agricultural
productivity, and damage to our infrastructure, and otherwise
decreases the quality of life in our state.
(b) Forests and trees improve air quality by removing carbon
dioxide, particulates, and other pollutants from the air, and by
producing oxygen.
(c) Park, open-space, and tree planting projects also improve air
quality and decrease congestion by reducing sprawl, improving the
quality of life in areas that are already developed by helping local
agencies implement sound land use plans that promote energy
efficiency, and by providing incentives to reduce development in
inappropriate areas.

5096.306. It is the intent of the Legislature to strongly encourage
every state or local government agency receiving the bond funds
allocated pursuant to this chapter for an activity to give full and
proper consideration to the use of recycled and reusable products
whenever possible with regard to carrying out that activity.

5096.307. (a) Every proposed activity to be funded pursuant to this
chapter shall be in compliance with the California Environmental
Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000)).
(b) Lands acquired with funds allocated pursuant to this chapter
shall be acquired from a willing seller of the land.

5096.3075. Upon a finding by the administering entity that a
particular project for which funds have been allocated cannot be
completed, or that the funds are in excess of the total needed, the
Legislature may reallocate those funds for other high priority needs
consistent with this act.

5096.308. As used in this chapter, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Acquisition" means the acquisition from a willing seller of a
fee interest or any other interest, including easements and
development rights, in real property from a willing seller.
(b) "Board" means the Secretary of the Resources Agency designated
in accordance with subdivision (b) of Section 5096.362.
(c) "Certified local community conservation corps programs" means
programs operated by public or private nonprofit agencies pursuant to
Section 14406.
(d) "Committee" means the Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water,
Clean Air, and Coastal Protection (Villaraigosa-Keeley Act) Finance
Committee created pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 5096.362.
(e) "District" means any regional park district, regional park and
open-space district, or regional open-space district formed pursuant
to Article 3 (commencing with Section 5500) of Chapter 3, any
recreation and park district formed pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing
with Section 5780), or an authority formed pursuant to Division 26
(commencing with Section 35100). With respect to any community or
unincorporated region that is not included within a district, and in
which no city or county provides parks or recreational areas or
facilities, "district" also means any other district that is
authorized by statute to operate and manage parks or recreational
areas or facilities, employs a full-time park and recreation
director, offers year-round park and recreation services on lands and
facilities owned by the district, and allocates a substantial
portion of its annual operating budget to parks or recreation areas
or facilities
(f) "Fund" means the Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water, Clean
Air, and Coastal Protection (Villaraigosa-Keeley Act) Bond Fund
created pursuant to Section 5096.310.
(g) "Historical resource" includes, but is not limited to, any
building, structure, site area, place, artifact, or collection of
artifacts that is historically or archaeologically significant in the
cultural annals of California.
(h) "Program" means the Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water,
Clean Air, and Coastal Protection (Villaraigosa-Keeley Act) Program
established pursuant to this chapter.
(i) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Resources Agency.
(j) (1) "Stewardship" means the development and implementation of
projects for the protection, preservation, rehabilitation,
restoration, and improvement of natural systems and outstanding
features of the state park system and historical and cultural
resources. Those efforts may not include activities that merely
supplement normal park operations or that are usually funded from
other sources.
(2) (A) "Cultural resources stewardship" may include, but is not
limited to, stabilization and protection of historical resources,
including archaeological resources, in the state park system. Those
resources may include sites, features, ruins, archaeological
deposits, historical landscape resources, rock art features, and
artifacts making up the physical legacy of California's past.
(B) "Cultural resources stewardship" does not include the
rehabilitation, restoration, reconstruction, interpretation, or
mitigation of historical resources typically required as part of a
development program.
(3) "Natural resources stewardship" may include, but is not
limited to, such objectives as the control of major erosion and
geologic hazards, the restoration and improvement of critical plant
and animal habitat, the control and elimination of exotic species
encroachment, the stabilization of coastal dunes and bluffs, and the
planning necessary to implement those objectives.
(k) "Wildlife conservation partnership" means a cooperative
acquisition, restoration, or management of wildlife habitat for which
the Wildlife Conservation Board provides matching funds to leverage
other public, private, or nonprofit resources to maximize the
conservation benefits to wildlife and wildlife habitat.

5096.309. Pursuant to guidelines issued by the secretary, all
recipients of funding pursuant to this chapter shall post signs
acknowledging the source of the funds.