BILL NUMBER: AB 3 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 27, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Williams
DECEMBER 1, 2014
An act to amend Section 61105 of the Government Code, relating to
local government.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 3, as amended, Williams. Isla Vista Community Services
District.
The Community Services District Law authorizes the establishment
of community services districts and specifies the powers of those
districts including, among others, the power to acquire, construct,
improve, maintain, and operate community facilities, as specified.
Existing law authorizes the formation of the Isla Vista College
Community Services District within the unincorporated area of Santa
Barbara County known as Isla Vista for the performance of various
services, including, but not limited, to public parks, police
protection, and transportation facilities.
This bill would establish the Isla Vista Community Services
District and would specify the services that district would be
authorized to provide, including, among others, the power to create a
tenant mediation program and to exercise the powers of a parking
district.
This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to
the necessity of a special statute for the Isla Vista Community
Services District.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The Isla Vista community encompasses a population of over
20,000 residents situated within an area comprising of less than one
square mile of land in Santa Barbara County. It is adjacent to the
University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) campus and its student
population. Including university property, the area totals about
1,500 acres. Isla Vista represents one of the largest urban
communities in California not governed as a city.
(b) Isla Vista faces various challenges in local governance. As a
university town, Isla Vista must accommodate the service needs
associated with its transient student population and a predominantly
renter-oriented community. Isla Vista's situation is complicated by
its unincorporated status, which limits its local participation in
managing public services and providing needed public improvements.
(c) As an unincorporated area, various county agencies provide
services to the residents and businesses of Isla Vista. Since these
agencies must provide services throughout the whole county, Isla
Vista must compete for attention and funding for the services they
need. Isla Vista is represented at the county level by one of five
supervisors and is situated in the largest and most diverse
geographic district in the county. The Isla Vista Recreation and Park
District is the only local district providing limited services
exclusively to Isla Vista.
(d) There have been multiple attempts at achieving cityhood for
Isla Vista, however, insufficient tax revenue prevents cityhood from
being a viable solution. In 2003, the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury
found that establishing a community services district would be the
best governance option to expand and improve services to Isla Vista.
(e) Over the last year, the Isla Vista community has been faced
with many challenges due to tragic events, including multiple deaths
from students falling off cliffs, two violent sexual assaults, a
riot, a mass murder, and homicides that have brought focus to the
unique needs of Isla Vista that can only be addressed by direct,
local governance. Following these events, a local coalition was
formed to determine the best direction for Isla Vista self-governance
and the community services district has garnered much local support.
(f) Additionally, following these events, many trustees on the UC
Santa Barbara Foundation Board expressed a strong desire to support
the chancellor and the university in efforts to create change in Isla
Vista, to ensure a safer and more enhanced community for students.
The UC Santa Barbara Foundation Trustees' Advisory Committee on Isla
Vista Strategies was formed to analyze the conditions and dynamics of
Isla Vista and develop mid- and long-term recommendations to
establish a viable, safe, and supportive environment. Among their
recommendations is that the State of California create a Community
Services District/Municipal Improvement District in Isla Vista with
potential powers of infrastructure, utilities, garbage, police
services, parks, recreation, cultural facilities, fire, security, and
roads.
SEC. 2. Section 61105 of the Government Code is amended to read:
61105. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the unique
circumstances that exist in certain communities justify the enactment
of special statutes for specific districts. In enacting this
section, the Legislature intends to provide specific districts with
special statutory powers to provide special services and facilities
that are not available to other districts.
(b) (1) The Los Osos Community Services District may borrow money
from public or private lenders and lend those funds to property
owners within the district to pay for the costs of decommissioning
septic systems and constructing lateral connections on private
property to facilitate the connection of those properties to the
district's wastewater treatment system. The district shall lend money
for this purpose at rates not to exceed its cost of borrowing and
the district's cost of making the loans. The district may require
that the borrower pay the district's reasonable attorney's fees and
administrative costs in the event that the district is required to
take legal action to enforce the provisions of the contract or note
securing the loan. The district may elect to have the debt payments
or any delinquency collected on the tax roll pursuant to Section
61116. To secure the loan as a lien on real property, the district
shall follow the procedures for the creation of special tax liens in
Section 53328.3 of this code and Section 3114.5 of the Streets and
Highways Code.
(2) (A) (i) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, on and
after January 1, 2007, the Los Osos Community Services District
shall not undertake any efforts to design, construct, and operate a
community wastewater collection and treatment system within, or for
the benefit of, the district. The district shall resume those powers
on the date specified in any resolution adopted pursuant to
subdivision (l) of Section 25825.5.
(ii) Upon resuming the powers pursuant to subdivision (i), the Los
Osos Community Services District may continue the program to offset
assessments or charges for very low or low-income households with
funding sources, including, but not limited to, grants, adopted
pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 25825.5. If the county has not
implemented that program, the Los Osos Community Services District
may adopt a program that complies with subdivision (g) of Section
25825.5 to offset assessments or charges for very low or low-income
households. The Los Osos Community Services District shall not
include in an assessment or charge an amount to cover the costs to
the county in carrying out the offset program.
(B) Nothing in this paragraph shall affect the district's power to
do any of the following:
(i) Operate wastewater collection and treatment facilities within
the district that the district was operating on January 1, 2006.
(ii) Provide facilities and services in the territory that is
within the district, but outside the prohibition zone.
(iii) Provide facilities and services, other than wastewater
collection and treatment, within the prohibition zone.
(C) Promptly upon the adoption of a resolution by the Board of
Supervisors of the County of San Luis Obispo requesting this action
pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 25825.5, the district shall
convey to the County of San Luis Obispo all retained rights-of-way,
licenses, other interests in real property, funds, and other personal
property previously acquired by the district in connection with
construction projects for which the district awarded contracts in
2005.
(c) The Heritage Ranch Community Services District may acquire,
construct, improve, maintain, and operate petroleum storage tanks and
related facilities for its own use, and sell those petroleum
products to the district's property owners, residents, and visitors.
The authority granted by this subdivision shall expire when a private
person or entity is ready, willing, and able to acquire, construct,
improve, maintain, and operate petroleum storage tanks and related
facilities, and sell those petroleum products to the district and its
property owners, residents, and visitors. At that time, the district
shall either (1) diligently transfer its title, ownership,
maintenance, control, and operation of those petroleum tanks and
related facilities at a fair market value to that private person or
entity, or (2) lease the operation of those petroleum tanks and
related facilities at a fair market value to that private person or
entity.
(d) The Wallace Community Services District may acquire, own,
maintain, control, or operate the underground gas distribution
pipeline system located and to be located within Wallace Lake Estates
for the purpose of allowing a privately owned provider of liquefied
petroleum gas to use the underground gas distribution system pursuant
to a mutual agreement between the private provider and the district
or the district's predecessor in interest. The district shall require
and receive payment from the private provider for the use of that
system. The authority granted by this subdivision shall expire when
the Pacific Gas and Electric Company is ready, willing, and able to
provide natural gas service to the residents of Wallace Lake Estates.
At that time, the district shall diligently transfer its title,
ownership, maintenance, control, and operation of the system to the
Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
(e) The Cameron Park Community Services District, the El Dorado
Hills Community Services District, the Golden Hills Community
Services District, the Mountain House Community Services District,
the Rancho Murieta Community Services District, the Salton Community
Services District, the Stallion Springs Community Services District,
and the Tenaja Meadows Community Services District, which enforced
covenants, conditions, and restrictions prior to January 1, 2006,
pursuant to former Section 61601.7 and former Section 61601.10, may
continue to exercise the powers set forth in former Section 61601.7
and former Section 61601.10.
(f) (1) The Bel Marin Keys Community Services District may enforce
all or part of the covenants, conditions, and restrictions for a
tract, and assume the duties of the architectural control committee,
to the extent that a tract's covenants, conditions, and restrictions
authorize an architectural control committee. Before the district can
enforce covenants, conditions, and restrictions, and assume the
duties of an architectural control committee, for a tract, the board
of directors shall:
(A) Receive a written request from the board of directors of the
tract's property owners' association or homeowners' association, with
a petition signed by not less than a majority of the property owners
of the parcels within the tracts covered by those associations,
requesting the district to enforce the covenants, conditions, and
restrictions for that tract and assume the duties of the
architectural control committee for that tract, if an architectural
control committee is called for in the covenants, conditions, and
restrictions.
(B) Conduct a public hearing on the question, after giving mailed
notice to each affected property owner of the date, time, and
location of the meeting.
(C) Submit an application to the local agency formation commission
pursuant to Section 56824.10, specifying the exact nature and scope
of the intended services to be provided by the district.
(D) Receive the approval of the local agency formation commission,
pursuant to Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 56824.10) of
Chapter 5 of Part 3 of Division 3 of Title 5, which may include
completion terms deemed appropriate by the commission, to enforce
covenants, conditions, and restrictions for a tract, and to assume
the duties of the architectural control committee for that tract.
(E) Adopt an ordinance assuming the power to enforce covenants,
conditions, and restrictions for a tract, and to assume the duties of
the architectural control committee for that tract, provided that
the ordinance requires:
(i) The property owners within the tract to finance the
enforcement of the covenants, conditions, and restrictions, and the
duties of the architectural control committee.
(ii) The tract's property owners' association or homeowners'
association to indemnify the district for the costs of any
litigation, settlements, injuries, damages, or judgments arising from
enforcement of the covenants, conditions, and restrictions, and the
district's duties as the architectural control committee.
(2) The Bel Marin Keys Community Services District may, by
ordinance, divest itself of the power undertaken under this
subdivision.
(g) The Bear Valley Community Services District, the Bell Canyon
Community Services District, the Cameron Estates Community Services
District, the Lake Sherwood Community Services District, the Saddle
Creek Community Services District, the Wallace Community Services
District, and the Santa Rita Hills Community Services District may,
for roads owned by the district and that are not formally dedicated
to or kept open for use by the public for the purpose of vehicular
travel, by ordinance, limit access to and the use of those roads to
the landowners and residents of that district.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the transfer of
the assets of the Stonehouse Mutual Water Company, including its
lands, easements, rights, and obligations to act as sole agent of the
stockholders in exercising the riparian rights of the stockholders,
and rights relating to the ownership, operation, and maintenance of
those facilities serving the customers of the company, to the Hidden
Valley Lake Community Services District is not a transfer subject to
taxes imposed by Part 11 (commencing with Section 23001) of Division
2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(i) The El Dorado Hills Community Services District and the Rancho
Murieta Community Services District may each acquire, construct,
improve, maintain, and operate television receiving, translating, or
distribution facilities, provide television and television-related
services to the district and its residents, or authorize the
construction and operation of a cable television system to serve the
district and its residents by franchise or license. In authorizing
the construction and operation of a cable television system by
franchise or license, the district shall have the same powers as a
city or county under Section 53066.
(j) The Mountain House Community Services District may provide
facilities for television and telecommunications systems, including
the installation of wires, cables, conduits, fiber optic lines,
terminal panels, service space, and appurtenances required to provide
television, telecommunication, and data transfer services to the
district and its residents, and provide facilities for a cable
television system, including the installation of wires, cables,
conduits, and appurtenances to service the district and its residents
by franchise or license, except that the district may not provide or
install any facilities pursuant to this subdivision unless one or
more cable franchises or licenses have been awarded under Section
53066 and the franchised or licensed cable television and
telecommunications services providers are permitted equal access to
the utility trenches, conduits, service spaces, easements, utility
poles, and rights-of-way in the district necessary to construct their
facilities concurrently with the construction of the district's
facilities. The district shall not have the authority to operate
television, cable, or telecommunications systems, except as provided
in Section 61100. The district shall have the same powers as a city
or county under Section 53066 in granting a franchise or license for
the operation of a cable television system.
(k) (1) Notwithstanding Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 61010)
of Part 1, the Isla Vista Community Services District shall be
established in accordance with all other provisions of this division,
except as provided in this subdivision.
(2) Notwithstanding Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 61020),
Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 61025), and Chapter 3 (commencing
with Section 61040) of Part 2, the board of the directors of the Isla
Vista Community Services District shall be composed as follows:
(A) Five members elected at large from within the district for a
term of four years.
(B) One member appointed by the Board of Supervisors of the County
of Santa Barbara for a term of four years.
(C) One member appointed by the Chancellor of the University of
California, Santa Barbara for a term of four years.
(3) The boundaries of the district shall be contiguous with the
area known as County Service Area No. 31 within the County of Santa
Barbara and shall additionally include the University of California,
Santa Barbara.
(2)
(4) Section 61100 shall not apply to the Isla Vista
Community Services District. The district may, within its boundaries,
do any of the following:
(A) Finance the operations of municipal advisory councils formed
pursuant to Section 31010.
(B) Create a tenant mediation program.
(C) Finance the operations of area planning commissions formed
pursuant to Section 65101.
(D) Exercise the powers of a parking district, in the same manner
as a parking district formed pursuant to the Parking District Law of
1951 (Part 4 (commencing with Section 35100) of Division 18 of the
Streets and Highways Code).
(E) Contract with the County of Santa Barbara or the Regents of
the University of California, or both, for additional police
protection services above the level of police protection services
already provided by either the County of Santa Barbara or the Regents
of the University of California within the area of the district.
(F) Acquire, construct, improve, maintain, and operate community
facilities, including, but not limited to, community centers,
libraries, theaters, museums, cultural facilities, and child care
facilities.
(G) Acquire, construct, improve, and maintain sidewalks, lighting,
gutters, and trees. The district shall not acquire, construct,
improve, or maintain any work owned by another public agency unless
that other public agency gives its written consent.
(G)
(H) Abate graffiti.
(I) Levy a utility user tax at a rate specified by the governing
board of the district.
(3)
(5) The Isla Vista Community Services District shall
not have the power to organize, promote, conduct, or advertise
programs of community recreation in the same manner as the Isla Vista
Parks and Recreation District.
SEC. 3. The Legislature finds and declares that a special law is
necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable within the
meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution
because of the unique community needs in the Isla Vista area that
would be served by the Isla Vista Community Services District.