(January 7, 2004) -- LB City Hall has to date not provided information and documents requested by the California State Lands Commission (SLC) in mid-2003 relating to the Convention and Entertainment Center and the Queen Mary lease. The State Lands Commission also sought in Sept. 2001, and reiterated its request in mid-2003 for, documentation on how LB City Hall proposed to address what SLC staff called diversion of tidelands trust revenue from the Convention and Entertainment Center parking lot funds to other City Hall funds and purposes.

The LB City Attorney's office told LBReport.com it is in the process of preparing a response now.

Staff of the State Lands Commission -- the agency charged with monitoring use of state tidelands trust property -- requested the information and materials in letters dated July 9, 2003 and September 6, 2001. LBReport.com requested and obtained the letters from the State Lands Commission and posts them verbatim in pdf form on a link below.

State Lands Commission Executive Director Paul Thayer told LBReport.com on January 7 that his agency has not received the documents requested. He noted that SLC staff spoke with a representative of the City of Long Beach in October 2003 and was told that the City was working on a response which would be forthcoming.

LB Deputy City Attorney James McCabe told LBReport.com on January 7, 2004 that the City Attorney's office is in the process of preparing an answer now.

As indicated on the CA State Lands Commission web site, the CA legislature has by statute transferred tide and submerged lands ("tidelands") in trust to various cities for uses that include harbors, marinas, aquatic parks and the like.

The State Lands Commission monitors such granted tidelands to ensure compliance with the terms of the statutory grant...and grantees (such as the City of Long Beach) must reinvest revenues produced from the granted tidelands back into the tidelands where they are generated.

The State Lands Commission office is run by professional staff, and the Commission itself consists of three voting members: Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, State Controller Steve Westly...and CA's (new) Director of Finance (under Governor Schwarzenegger) Ms. Donna Arduin.

To view the State Lands Commission letters to the City of Long Beach in pdf form, click State Lands Comm'n document requests.