33000-33010
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.