Chapter 12 - Suisun Resource Conservation District

California Public Resources Code — §§ 9960-9965

Sections (6)

§ 9960

Amended by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1571, Sec. 1.

The following definitions shall govern the interpretation of this chapter:

(a)“Suisun Marsh” means the Suisun Marsh as defined in Section 29101.

(b)“Primary management area” means the primary management area as defined in Section 29102.

(c)“Suisun Marsh Protection Plan” means the plan identified and defined in Section 29113.

(d)“District” means the Suisun Resource Conservation District.

(e)“Board” means the board of directors of the district.

(f)“Individual ownership” means a separate privately owned parcel of land within the primary management area. Contiguous parcels of land owned by the same legal entity comprise a single individual ownership.

(g)“Department” means the Department of Fish and Game.

§ 9961

Added by Stats. 1977, Ch. 1155.

Except as otherwise expressly provided in this chapter, the organization, powers, and functions of the district shall be governed by the provisions of this division.

§ 9962

Amended by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1571, Sec. 2.

(a)The district shall have primary local responsibility for regulating and improving water management practices on privately owned lands within the primary management area of the Suisun Marsh in conformity with Division 19 (commencing with Section 29000) and the Suisun Marsh Protection Plan.

(b)The district shall issue regulations requiring compliance with any water management plan or program for privately owned lands within the primary management area if the plan or program has been prepared by the district and approved and certified by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission as a component of the local protection program required by Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 29500) of Division 19.

(c)Following certification of the district’s component of the local protection program by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, the board or its employees may, after approval by a vote of four-fifths of the membership of the board, obtain an inspection warrant pursuant to Title 13 (commencing with Section 1822.50) of Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure and enter onto privately owned lands within the primary management area for the purpose of determining whether or not the landowner is complying with the regulations of the district. Following a determination that a landowner is violating the regulations, and after written notice to the landowner, the board may request the District Attorney of the County of Solano to take appropriate action.

(d)The first violation by any person of any district regulation adopted pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500). A subsequent violation of the same district regulation by the same person shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000).

(e)The civil penalties prescribed in this section shall be assessed and recovered in a civil action brought in the name of the people of the State of California by the District Attorney of the County of Solano. Such an action shall take precedence over all other civil matters on the calendar, except those matters to which equal precedence on the calendar is granted by law. Any penalty collected under this section shall be paid to the Treasurer of the County of Solano and shall be credited one-half to the county general fund and one-half to the district.

§ 9963

Added by Stats. 1977, Ch. 1155.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 9803, the formation of an improvement district within the primary management area may be proposed and the petition therefor may be signed by a majority of the members of the board. Thereafter, proceedings with regard to the formation of the proposed improvement district shall be in accordance with Sections 9804 through 9821, inclusive. However, wherever “petition” is used in those provisions, it shall be deemed to refer to the petition of the majority of the members of the board; and, notwithstanding Section 9817, the petition shall not be required to be dismissed unless more than one-half of the holders of title to the real property within the proposed improvement district object to its formation or the levy of the proposed assessment.

§ 9964

Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1571, Sec. 3.

The district may, with the consent of the owner, levy special assessments on the lands of the consenting owner within the district pursuant to the Municipal Improvement Act of 1913 (Division 12 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Streets and Highways Code) or the Improvement Act of 1911 (Division 7 (commencing with Section 5000) of the Streets and Highways Code) and issue bonds to represent unpaid assessments pursuant to the Improvement Act of 1911 or the Improvement Bond Act of 1915 (Division 10 (commencing with Section 8500) of the Streets and Highways Code) to finance the construction of improvements on those lands as provided by Section 9409.

Notwithstanding any provisions of Division 7 (commencing with Section 5000) or Division 12 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Streets and Highways Code, the district may contract for the construction of these improvements without inviting public bids therefor.

§ 9965

Amended by Stats. 1983, Ch. 142, Sec. 126.

(a)The Legislature finds that compliance with the mandated regulations of the district will produce public benefits by improving wildlife habitat in the primary management area and that providing public funds to partially offset the costs of complying with those regulations would serve a valid public purpose. Assistance under this section shall not be treated as taxable income to a private landowner.

(b)Each year the district shall submit to the department an estimate of an amount sufficient to reimburse the private landowners in the primary management area for 50 percent of the operation and maintenance costs which it anticipates they will incur the following fiscal year in carrying out this chapter and Division 19 (commencing with Section 29000). Funds for this purpose shall not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) per individual ownership. The funds shall be included in the budget of the department payable from the Wildlife Restoration Fund and shall be available to the department for disbursement to the private landowners in accordance with subdivision (c).

(c)Each fiscal year, any private landowner in the primary management area who desires to qualify for the assistance provided by this section shall, by December 31, submit to the district a claim for those costs incurred that calendar year in carrying out the operation and maintenance activities specified in that landowner’s individual ownership management program. Each claim shall be accompanied by substantiating documents, as determined by the district. The district shall review each claim to determine its appropriateness by, including, but not limited to, an onsite inspection to establish that the physical improvements or management procedures for which a claim is submitted have been satisfactorily completed. The district shall submit the individual ownership claims to the department for review and approval for payment equal to 50 percent of each claim. However, no payment shall exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000). In any fiscal year in which the funds appropriated for purposes of this section are insufficient to pay 50 percent of each claim, the department shall pay all approved claims on a pro rata basis. In any fiscal year in which no funds are appropriated for purposes of this section, the department shall pay no claims.