State Assembly Bill Would Close Public Lands Loopholes

By Ed Joyce / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published May 19, 2008 at 4:00 AM PDT

This story was published more than 16 years ago.

The California State Assembly has approved legislation that would reinforce restrictions on use of public waterfront land by private parties. The bill was drafted in response to development along San

The California State Assembly has approved legislation that would reinforce restrictions on use of public waterfront land by private parties. The bill was drafted in response to development along San Diego's waterfront. KPBS Reporter Ed Joyce has more.

Public Trust Lands are areas set aside for public uses.

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In the case of the San Diego waterfront the uses would include fishing, boating and tourism.

But San Diego Assemblywoman Lori Saldana says loopholes have allowed private use of these lands which are prohibited by the state constitution.

Saldana: We revisited the state constitution and looked under the sections that controlled the public tidelands and determined that there were some codes that needed to be repealed.

The bill would remove a statue that allowed cities to make special arrangements for public land use with the U.S. Government.

She learned of the loopholes when the Navy entered into a controversial 99-year lease in 2007 with a private developer on San Diego's waterfront.

Saldana says the bill would not affect current military operations in San Diego.

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The legislation now moves to the state Senate.

Ed Joyce, KPBS News.

Ed Joyce

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Ed Joyce was the environment reporter and afternoon news anchor for KPBS-FM. Before joining KPBS, he worked as an editor/columnist with Copley News Service in San Diego. Ed has an extensive background in newspaper, radio, web and TV journalism. After graduating with a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle, Ed began a career in broadcast journalism. His work has included stints in public broadcasting, commercial broadcasting and education -- working as an affiliate professor of communication and reporter at the University of Idaho and Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. During the past 20 years he has worked in radio, TV and print as a news reporter, anchor, writer, editor and producer. Along the way he has won numerous awards for general news reporting, newswriting, feature and issue reporting and breaking news reporting from The Associated Press, The Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Press Club and other organizations. During the mid-1990s, while working for Oregon Public Broadcasting, he was a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, including a feature report on the memorial service for 14 U.S. Forest Service "hotshots" who died fighting a wildfire in Colorado (the crew was based in a central Oregon town). He’s also filed reports with Marketplace, KQED’s California Report and Climate Watch and with national and regional networks throughout the United States. At KPBS, Ed continues his contributions to National Public Radio and other national and regional news organizations. He has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and San Diego Press Club for his environmental reporting at KPBS-FM-TV and for producing and anchoring radio newscasts. In 2007 he was selected a National Press Foundation fellow for Understanding Violent Weather II program. The seminars were held at the National Weather Center in Norman, Okla. In 2008 he spoke at a UC San Diego conference on U.S. National Security as part of the school’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Ed led a discussion with the 18 foreign government officials and academics about the political debate over climate change. In 2010, Ed was elected to a three-year term on the board of the San Diego Press Club.

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