State Coastal Conservancy: Lower Cost Coastal Accommodations Program.

(1) Existing law establishes the State Coastal Conservancy in state government, and prescribes the membership and functions and duties of the conservancy with regard to the protection, preservation, and enhancement of specified coastal lands in the coastal zone, as defined. Existing law establishes the California Coastal Commission, and prescribes the commission's duties with regard to, among other things, the review and issuance of coastal development permits for development within the coastal zone, as defined. Existing law authorizes the commission to charge various in-lieu fees to an applicant for a coastal development permit and use those fees for certain purposes related to coastal protection and preservation. This bill would require the conservancy to develop and implement a specified Lower Cost Coastal Accommodations Program intended to facilitate improvement of existing, and development of new, lower cost accommodations within 112 miles of the coast. The bill would require the conservancy to take specified actions to develop and implement the program, as prescribed. The bill would require the conservancy to prepare a lower cost coastal accommodations assessment containing specified information relating to specific opportunities to improve existing, and generate new, lower cost coastal accommodations, and to update the assessment not less than every 5 years. The bill would also authorize the conservancy to develop and implement a pilot program for the purposes of identifying and testing measures that support development, improvement, maintenance, and the operation of lower cost coastal accommodations by nonprofit or for-profit private entities, and would require the conservancy to establish criteria for the selection of projects to be included in the pilot program. The bill would authorize the commission to reclaim any in-lieu fee, as defined, that has not been expended within 7 years of its deposit with the appropriate entity, and reassign any such fee for use for one or more lower cost coastal accommodation and visitor-serving facilities projects, as described, if the executive director of the commission makes a specified written determination that the in-lieu fee will be better utilized by the reassignment to those projects, as specified. (2) Existing law authorizes the State Public Works Board to select and acquire, in the name of and on behalf of the state, with the consent of the state agency concerned, the fee or any lesser right or interest in any real property necessary for any state purpose or function. Existing law requires that all land and other real property to be acquired by or for any state agency, except for specified state agencies including the State Coastal Conservancy with respect to acceptance of offers to dedicate public accessways made pursuant to the California Coastal Act of 1976, be acquired by the state board. This bill would exempt land acquired by the conservancy for the purposes of the program from that requirement.