CA State Lands Comm'n Agendizes LB Proposition D For Discussion At Its Oct. 29 Meeting

(Oct. 15, 2010, 10:40 a.m., updated 11:15 a.m.) -- The CA State Lands Commission, the state government body that oversees use of CA state-owned lands including those in the Tidelands (and those under trust granted to the City of Long Beach to operate the Port of Long Beach), has agendized the following item for its Oct. 29, 2010 meeting:

CITY OF LONG BEACH TIDELANDS TRUST REVENUES: Staff Report on City of Long Beach public trust revenues including, Proposition D - a proposed City of Long Beach Charter Amendment relating to the allocation of public trust revenues derived from the Port of Long Beach operations, City of Long Beach, Los Angeles County (G05-03) (A 54; S 27) (Staff: J. Lucchesi) Item and Exhibit(s) Currently Unavailable

The Commission meeting will be held on Oct. 29 at the Culver City City Hall, 9770 Culver Blvd. in Culver City (scheduled start, 10 a.m.)

The CA State Lands Commission is comprised of State Controller John Chiang; Lt. Governor Abel Maldonado, and Director of Finance Ana Matosantos (although the three members are sometimes represented by alternates).

Prop D, a measure backed by Mayor Foster and placed on the ballot by the LB City Council, would amend the City Charter to change the current formula for allocating the annual allowed transfer of some Port money for use in or to benefit LB's Tidelands from 10% of the Port's net income (profit) to 5% of the Port's gross operating revenue. (The formula was placed on the ballot for public consideration after the Council tried for several months, but was unsuccessful, in gaining Harbor Comm'n acceptance of somewhat different new formula.)

Prop D also also proposes to change (say some critics), clarify says the City Attorney, City Charter language relating to whether the Port or City Hall decides/directs where revenue from oil properties in the Harbor district can be sent. While such revenue is all Tidelands revenue, it can currently be sent either to a Harbor Revenue Fund (for Port projects) or to City Hall's Tidelands Operating Fund (for uses in or benefiting LB's coastal Tidelands); until now, it's been sent to the Harbor Revenue Fund.

City Management has acknowledged that City Hall's Tidelands Operating Fund is expected to show negative balances in upcoming fiscal years. As previously reported by LBReport.com, over the past several months the City Council has approved a $9 million expenditure from the Tidelands to repair about 1/5 of Seawalls protecting private properties in Naples (although management acknowledged a $2 million fix would suffice for up to 15 years) and also allocated $250,000 in the recently enacted FY11 budget from the Tidelands to fund an Aquarium "saltwater intake system."

The Port of LB currently shoulders Aquarium bond debt (that was supposed to be paid by Aquarium operations) in an arrangement in which the Port expects to be repaid by tapping Redevelopment ("blight fighting") dollars from an RDA area within the Harbor District that was nominally included in LB's North Redevelopment Project area.

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