This division shall be known and may be cited as the California Wildlife, Coastal, and Park Land Conservation Act.
Chapter 1 - General Provisions
California Public Resources Code — §§ 5900-5903
Sections (4)
The people of California find and declare all of the following:
(a)Parks, wildlife habitat, beaches, and open-space lands are vital to maintaining the quality of life in California. As the state’s population increases, it is of growing importance to provide parks and recreational opportunities to the residents of California.
(b)Preservation of California’s
unique natural heritage is in the interest of all Californians.
As used in this division, the following terms have the following meanings:
(a)“Conservation easement” means an interest in real property as defined in Section 815.1 of the Civil Code.
(b)“District” means any regional park or open-space district formed pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 5500) of Chapter 3 of Division 5 and any recreation and park
district formed pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 5780) of Division 5. With respect to any community or unincorporated region which is not included within a regional park or open-space district or a recreation and park district and in which no city or county provides parks or recreational areas or facilities, “district” also means any other district which is authorized by statute to operate and manage parks or recreational areas or facilities, employs a full-time park and recreation director and offers year-round park and recreation services on lands and facilities owned by the district, and allocates a substantial portion of its annual operating budget to parks or recreation areas or facilities.
(c)“Fund” means the California Wildlife, Coastal, and Park Land Conservation Fund of 1988 created pursuant to Section 5906.
(d)“Historical resource” includes, but is not
limited to, any building, structure, site areas, or place which is historically or archeologically significant, or is significant in the architectural, engineering, scientific, economic, agricultural, educational, social, political, military, or cultural annals of California.
(e)“Historical preservation project” means a project designed to preserve an historical resource which is either listed in the National Register of Historic Places or is registered as either a state historical landmark or point of historical interest pursuant to Section 5021.
(f)“Local coastal program” means any program created under Section 30108.6.
(g)“Natural lands” means an area of relatively undeveloped land which (1) has substantially retained its characteristics as provided by nature or has been substantially restored, or which can be
feasibly restored, to a near-natural condition, and which has outstanding wildlife, scenic, open-space, or park resources, or a combination thereof, or (2) meets the definition of open-space land in Section 65560 of the Government Code.
(h)“Nonprofit organization” means any charitable organization described in Section 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code, which has among its primary purposes the conservation and preservation of wetlands or of lands predominantly in their natural, scenic, historical, agricultural, forested, or open-space condition.
(i)“Park” means a tract of land with outstanding scenic, natural, open-space, or recreational values, set apart to conserve natural, scenic, cultural, or ecological resources for present and future generations, and to be used by the public as a place for rest, recreation, education, exercise, inspiration, or enjoyment.
(j)“Riparian habitat” means lands that contain habitat which grows close to and which depends upon soil moisture from a nearby freshwater source.
(k)“Stewardship” means the development and implementation of major programs for the protection, rehabilitation, restoration, and enhancement of the basic natural systems and outstanding scenic features of the state park system. It does not mean the maintenance or alteration of facilities, developments, or any physical installations whose original purpose was not the protection of natural scenic resources.
(l)“Wetlands” means lands which may be covered periodically or permanently with shallow water and which include saltwater marshes, freshwater marshes, open or closed brackish water marshes, swamps, mudflats, fens, and vernal pools.
For the purposes of the State General Obligation Bond Law, “state grant” or “state grant moneys” means moneys received by the state from the sale of bonds authorized by law for the purposes of this division which are available for grants to counties, cities, cities and counties, districts, and nonprofit organizations.