Land use: mitigation lands: nonprofit organizations.

(1) The Planning and Zoning Law provides that if a state or local agency requires a person to transfer to that agency an interest in real property to mitigate the environmental impact of a project or facility, that agency may authorize specified entities to hold title to, and manage that interest in, real property, as well as any accompanying funds, provided those entities meet specified requirements. Existing law requires that if accompanying funds, as defined, are conveyed at the time the property is protected, then the holder of those accompanying funds must meet specified requirements. Existing law requires a state or local agency to exercise due diligence in reviewing the qualifications of a special district or nonprofit organization to effectively manage and steward land, water, or natural resources, as well as the accompanying funds. This bill would use the term "endowment" instead of "accompanying funds." This bill would authorize an agency, in connection with the provisions described above, to also permit a governmental entity, as defined, to hold title to, and manage that interest in, real property, as well as any endowment. This bill would remove the requirement that a state or local agency exercise due diligence in reviewing the qualifications of a special district or nonprofit organization to effectively manage the endowment. This bill would also modify the requirements that the holder of an endowment must meet, and would provide that those requirements also apply to endowments that are secured at the time the property is protected. This bill would state that specified provisions of this bill relating to the requirements on a holder of an endowment do not apply to funds held for the long-term management and stewardship of property pursuant to specified acts if certain requirements are met. (2) Existing law, for purposes of these provisions, defines the term "mitigation agreement" to mean a written agreement between a public agency, the project proponent, and the special district, nonprofit organization, for-profit entity, or other entity that holds the property. This bill would instead define the term "mitigation agreement" to mean either a written agreement between the project proponent and the entity qualified to hold the property and the endowment, which is submitted to the state or local agency for the purpose of obtaining any permit, clearance, or mitigation approval from that state or local agency, or a written agreement between the project proponent and the entity qualified to hold the property, including any agreement with an entity qualified to hold the endowment, which is submitted to the state or local agency for the purpose of obtaining any permit, clearance, or mitigation approval from that state or local agency. (3) Existing law authorizes a state or local agency, if that agency authorizes specified entities to hold property pursuant to these provisions, to require an administrative endowment from the project proponent to cover reasonable costs to the agency. This bill would revise that provision to authorize a state agency to require the project proponent to pay a one-time fee that does not exceed the reasonable costs of the agency in reviewing qualifications of potential holders of the property and approving those holders. The bill would also authorize a local agency to require a project proponent to pay a one-time fee that does not exceed the reasonable costs of the agency in reviewing qualifications of the parties to the mitigation agreement, approving those holders, and any regular oversight over those holders to ensure that the holders are complying with all applicable laws. (4) Existing law provides that if a state or local agency, in the development of its own project, is required to mitigate an adverse impact upon natural resources, that agency may take any action it deems necessary to meet its mitigation obligations, including, among others, transferring an interest in the property to specified entities and providing funds to specified entities to acquire land or easements to satisfy the agency's mitigation obligations. This bill would expand those provisions to authorize a state or local agency to transfer an obligation to restore and enhance property to specified entities and to provide funds to specified entities to implement a restoration or enhancement project. This bill would additionally authorize a state or local agency to hold an endowment in an account administered by an elected official. (5) Existing law generally requires that the accompanying funds described above be held by the agency that requires the mitigation or by the special district or nonprofit organization that holds the property. Existing law excepts certain situations from this requirement, including, among others, if the accompanying funds are held by another entity pursuant to a natural community conservation plan or a safe harbor agreement that is executed on or before January 1, 2012. This bill would require that, in order to qualify for that exception, the implementation agreement would be required to meet certain requirements. This bill also would modify the exceptions to that requirement by adding some and removing others, including, among other changes, adding exceptions that would authorize a community foundation, as defined, or a congressionally chartered foundation to hold an endowment if specified conditions are met. This bill would authorize a state or local agency to allow the endowments to be temporarily held in an escrow account until a specified date, after which time the bill would require the state or local agency to transfer the endowments to the entity that will permanently hold them. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions. (6) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.