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REPORT <br />To the Honorable Mayor and City Council <br />From the City Manager <br /> <br />March 14, 2016 <br /> <br />SUBJECT <br />Letter to State Lands Commission regarding Docktown <br /> <br />RECOMMENDATION <br />By motion, authorize the Mayor to send a letter to the State Lands Commission <br />requesting that the State Lands Commission support legislation that would allow <br />residential uses to remain at Docktown for a limited period of 15 years to provide an <br />easier transition to compliance with State law <br /> <br />BACKGROUND <br /> <br />The following report provides an overview of a proposed letter (attached) from the Mayor to the <br />State Lands Commission. This letter requests that the State Lands Commission support <br />legislation that would allow live-aboard watercraft to remain on granted public trust lands at the <br />Docktown Marina for a period of 15 years. The details of this request are outlined in the <br />analysis section below. The following background section provides greater context for this <br />request, including the history of granted public trust lands in California, the State granting <br />statutes (the rules) that apply specifically to Docktown and a brief description of Docktown <br />today. <br />Granted Public Trust Lands in California <br />The following excerpt is taken from the State Lands Commission website, and provides an <br />overview of the history and intent of granted public trust lands in California: <br />“Upon its admission to the United States of America on September 9, 1850, the State <br />acquired by virtue of its sovereignty and in trust for the purposes of commerce, navigation, <br />and fisheries, all right, title, and interest in tide and submerged lands and beds of navigable <br />waterways within its borders. These lands are sovereign, not proprietary, and have unique <br />restrictions in their management and use. Unlike proprietary lands, the California <br />Constitution, California statutes and the Common Law Public Trust Doctrine prohibit the <br />sale or alienation of sovereign lands except in very limited circumstances. All sovereign <br />lands are held in trust for the benefit of the people of California. <br />Since statehood, the Legislature has enacted more than 300 statutes granting sovereign <br />public trust lands to over 80 local municipalities (generally referred to as either grantees or <br />trustees) to manage in trust for the people of California. The terms and conditions of <br />statutory trust grants vary and are governed by the specific granting statute(s), the common <br />6.1.F. - Page 1