ARTICLE 4. Local Assistance Programs [5096.620. - 5096.634.]

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC 4.

in effect

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 5096.620. Section 5096.620.

The eight hundred thirty-two million five hundred thousand dollars ($832,500,000) allocated pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 5096.610 shall be available for appropriation by the Legislature for local assistance programs, in accordance with the following schedule: (a) The sum of three hundred fifty million dollars ($350,000,000) to the department for grants, in accordance with Section 5096.621, and on the basis of population, for the acquisition and development of neighborhood, community, and regional parks and recreation lands and facilities in urban and rural areas. (b) The sum of two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) to the department for grants, in accordance with the Roberti-Z’berg-Harris Urban Open-Space and Recreation Program Act (Chapter 3.2 (commencing with Section 5620)). (c) The sum of twenty-two million five hundred thousand dollars ($22,500,000) on a per capita basis in accordance with subdivision (g) of Section 5096.621. (d) The sum of two hundred sixty million dollars ($260,000,000) to the department for grants for urban and special need park programs in accordance with Section 5096.625.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 5096.621. Section 5096.621.

(a) Sixty percent of the total funds available for grants pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 5096.620 shall be allocated to cities and to districts other than a regional park district, regional park and open-space district, or regional open-space district. Each city’s and district’s allocation shall be in the same ratio as the city’s or district’s population is to the combined total of the state’s population that is included in incorporated areas and unincorporated areas within the district, except that each city or district shall be entitled to a minimum allocation of two hundred twenty thousand dollars ($220,000). In any instance in which the boundary of a city overlaps the boundary of such a district, the population in the area of overlapping jurisdiction shall be attributed to each jurisdiction in proportion to the extent to which each operate and manage parks and recreational areas and facilities for that population. In any instance in which the boundary of a city overlaps the boundary of such a district, and in the area of overlap the city does not operate and manage parks and recreational areas and facilities, all grant funds shall be allocated to the district. (b) Each city and each district subject to subdivision (a) whose boundaries overlap shall develop a specific plan for allocating the grant funds in accordance with the formula specified in subdivision (a). If, by April 1, 2003, the plan has not been agreed to by the city and district and submitted to the department, the director shall determine the allocation of the grant funds among the affected jurisdictions. (c) Forty percent of the total funds available for grants pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 5096.620 shall be allocated to counties and regional park districts, regional park and open-space districts, or regional open-space districts formed pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 5500) of Chapter 3. (d) Each county’s allocation under subdivision (a) shall be in the same ratio as the county’s population, except that each county shall be entitled to a minimum allocation of one million two hundred thousand dollars ($1,200,000). (e) In any county that embraces all or part of the territory of a regional park district, regional park and open-space district, or regional open-space district, whose board of directors is not the county board of supervisors, the amount allocated to the county shall be apportioned between that district and the county in proportion to the population of the county that is included within the territory of the district and the population of the county that is outside the territory of the district. (f) For the purpose of making the calculations required by this section, population shall be determined by the department, in cooperation with the Department of Finance, on the basis of the most recent verifiable census data and other verifiable population data that the department may require to be furnished by the applicant city, county, or district. (g) Of the funds appropriated in subdivision (c) of Section 5096.620, twelve million five hundred thousand dollars ($12,500,000) shall be allocated to a city with an urban population greater than three million five hundred thousand in a county of the first class, and ten million dollars ($10,000,000) shall be allocated to a county of the first class. (h) The Legislature finds and declares that it intends all recipients of funds pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 5096.620 to use those funds to supplement local revenues, in existence on the effective date of the act adding this chapter during the 2001–02 Regular Session, that are being used for parks or other projects eligible for funds under this chapter. To receive any allocation pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 5096.620, the recipient may not reduce the amount of funding otherwise available to be spent on parks or other projects eligible for funds under this chapter in their jurisdiction. One-time allocations that have been expended for parks or other projects, but which are not available on an ongoing basis, may not be considered when calculating a recipient’s annual expenditures. For purposes of this subdivision, the Controller may request fiscal data from recipients for the preceding three fiscal years. Each recipient shall furnish the data to the Controller not later than 120 days after receiving the request from the Controller.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 5096.624. Section 5096.624.

(a) The director shall prepare and adopt criteria and procedures for evaluating applications for grants allocated pursuant to subdivisions (a) to (c), inclusive, of Section 5096.620. Individual applications for funds shall be submitted to the department for approval as to their conformity with the requirements of this chapter. The application shall be accompanied by certification that the project for which the grant is requested is consistent with the park and recreation element of the applicable city or county general plan or the district park and recreation plan, as the case may be, and will satisfy a high priority need. (b) To utilize available grant funds as effectively as possible, overlapping or adjoining jurisdictions and applicants with similar objectives are encouraged to combine projects and submit a joint application. An applicant may allocate all or a portion of its per capita share for a regional or state project. (c) The director shall annually forward a statement of the total amount to be appropriated in each fiscal year for projects approved for grants pursuant to this article to the Director of Finance for inclusion in the Budget Bill. A list of eligible jurisdictions and the amount of grant funds to be allocated to each shall also be made available by the department. (d) Funds appropriated pursuant to this article shall be encumbered by the recipient within three years from the date the appropriation is effective. Regardless of the date of encumbrance of the granted funds, the recipient is expected to complete all funded projects within eight years of the effective date of the appropriation.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 5096.625. Section 5096.625.

The funds provided in subdivision (d) of Section 5096.620 shall be available as grants for public agencies and nonprofit organizations for the acquisition and development of new parks, botanical gardens, nature centers, and other community facilities in park poor communities. The funds may be expended pursuant to Section 5004.5, and Chapter 1.55 (commencing with Section 5095), if Senate Bill 359 of the 2001–02 Regular Session of the Legislature is enacted on or before January 1, 2003, and Chapter 3.3 (commencing with Section 5640), if Assembly Bill 1481 of the 2001–02 Regular Session of the Legislature is enacted on or before January 1, 2003, or pursuant to any other applicable statutory authorization. Not less than fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) of the funds provided in subdivision (d) of Section 5096.620 shall be expended for competitive grants consistent with the requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 5096.348. Ten million dollars ($10,000,000) of the funds provided in subdivision (d) of Section 5096.620 shall be available for development of Central Park in the City of Rancho Cucamonga. Five million dollars ($5,000,000) of the funds provided in subdivision (d) of Section 5096.620 shall be available for allocation to the City of Los Angeles for park and recreation or community facilities at or adjacent to the Hansen Dam recreation area. Five million dollars ($5,000,000) of the funds provided in subdivision (d) of Section 5096.620 shall be available for allocation to the City of Los Angeles for the Sepulveda Basin recreational parkland.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 5096.629. Section 5096.629.

In making grants of funds allocated pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 5096.620, priority shall be assigned to projects that include a commitment for a matching contribution. Contributions may be in the form of money from a nonstate source; gifts of real property, equipment, and consumable supplies; volunteer services; free or reduced-cost use.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 5096.633. Section 5096.633.

Any grant funds appropriated pursuant to this article that have not been expended by the grant recipient prior to July 1, 2011, shall revert to the fund and be available for appropriation by the Legislature for one or more of the local assistance programs specified in Section 5096.620 that the Legislature determines to be the highest priority statewide.

Cal. Public Resources Code - PRC § 5096.634. Section 5096.634.

(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: (1) “City” means the City of Laguna Woods. (2) “City Centre Park property” means the approximately 0.32 acre portion of City Centre Park to be removed from public recreation use by the City of Laguna Woods and used as a fire station and for public safety purposes pursuant to subdivision (c). (3) “Department” means the Department of Parks and Recreation. (b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the removal of park property and the reinvestment of funding for capital improvements in the City Centre Park authorized under this section is for the sole purposes of enhancing recreational opportunities and improving public safety in the city, and not to facilitate industrial development. (c) Notwithstanding any other law, no later than January 1, 2026, the city may remove from public recreation use City Centre Park property improved with grant moneys from this chapter, subject to the reinvestment of two hundred twelve thousand dollars ($212,000) in capital improvements as described in subdivision (d) in the remaining City Centre Park, which shall be used for park purposes, subject to all applicable requirements of the grant funding received under this chapter, and at no cost to the state. The two-hundred-twelve-thousand-dollar ($212,000) reinvestment was calculated by an independent appraisal of the fair market value of the City Centre Park property conducted in 2022 and submitted by the city to the department in 2023. (d) The city shall develop a plan for capital improvements to be made to the remaining City Centre Park that meets the following requirements: (1) The plan shall include capital improvements in the amount of two hundred twelve thousand dollars ($212,000) in the remaining City Centre Park. (2) The city shall conduct two community meetings to solicit the input of residents of the city for the capital improvements to be made. (3) The plan shall be approved by the city council of the city and submitted to the department on or before January 1, 2025. (4) The plan shall enhance the active or passive recreational utility to the public of the remaining City Centre Park. (e) The plan developed pursuant to subdivision (d) shall be approved by the department before any of the capital improvements identified in the plan are made to the remaining City Centre Park. (f) The city shall complete the capital improvements identified in the plan developed pursuant to subdivision (d) within three years of the department’s approval of the plan.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026