Existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976, requires any person wishing to perform or undertake any development in the coastal zone, as defined, in addition to obtaining any other permit required by law from any local government or from any state, regional, or local agency, to obtain a coastal development permit, as provided. The act further provides for the certification of local coastal programs by the California Coastal Commission. The act provides various procedures related to development control within areas of the coastal zone.

This bill would require a coastal development permit associated with the Zero Emissions Port Electrification and Operations project, as defined, to be considered to be within the boundaries of the Los Angeles Harbor District, and would provide the Los Angeles Harbor Department the sole authority to review the permit application and issue an associated coastal development permit on behalf of all jurisdictions ordinarily required to review the application. By placing additional duties on the Los Angeles Harbor District and the Los Angeles Harbor Department regarding the review and approval of coastal development permits for the project, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. The bill would require any additional development project to install infrastructure or purchase or deploy equipment at a terminal within the boundary of the Port of Los Angeles’s Port Master Plan that is not exempt from a coastal development permit to acquire a separate coastal development permit in conformity with the Port of Los Angeles’s Port Master Plan. The bill would require the appropriate state agency to render a decision on an application for a permit required for the project, or an additional project associated with the completion of the project, within 90 days of submission of the application and, if no action is taken by the appropriate state agency within that time period, would provide that the permit shall be deemed issued.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Port of Los Angeles.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

(a) State law, including but not limited to, Section 2192 of the Streets and Highways Code, prohibits public funding from being used to purchase fully automated cargo handling equipment or infrastructure supporting that automated equipment.

(b) The Zero Emissions Port Electrification and Operations project, described in Article 3 (commencing with Section 30650) of Chapter 7 of Division 20 of the Public Resources Code, is not eligible for funding under the Clean Ports Program (42 U.S.C. Sec. 7433) as part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (Public Law No. 117-169) as it is a stand-alone utility upgrade.

(c) Expanded grid and fueling infrastructure will be necessary to charge and fuel human-operated cargo handling equipment and to meet the 2030 goals contained in the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan.

Article 3. Zero Emissions Port Electrification and Operations Project

30650.

For purposes of this article, “project” means the Zero Emissions Port Electrification and Operations project or ZEPEO, an electric grid expansion project for the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) undertaken by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power that will add at least 200 megawatts of electrical power for POLA and the surrounding communities through the expansion of Receiving Station Q at the existing Harbor Generating Station, expansion of Receiving Station C in the City of Wilmington, construction of a switching station in the City of Wilmington, construction of new distribution lines, and construction of new network stations at each container terminal and at Outer Harbor. For purposes of this article, any associated project required for the completion of ZEPEO, including the Avalon Promenade and Gateway Project, shall be subject to Sections 30651 and 30652.

30651.

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, if a coastal development permit application that is associated with the project is required to be reviewed by more than one jurisdiction pursuant to this division, that permit shall be considered to be within the boundaries of the Los Angeles Harbor District, and the Los Angeles Harbor Department shall have sole authority to review the application and issue the applicable coastal development permit.

(b) The project as approved by the Los Angeles Harbor Department shall be deemed compliant with the land use plan of each local jurisdiction.

(c) The project shall not include the deployment, purchase, or installation of any fully automated cargo handling equipment or POLA-owned or POLA tenant-owned infrastructure supporting the charging or fueling of fully automated cargo handling equipment. For the purpose of this section, “fully automated” has the same meaning as in Section 2192 of the Streets and Highways Code.

(d) Any additional development project to install infrastructure or purchase or deploy equipment at a terminal within the boundary of the Port of Los Angeles’s Port Master Plan that is not exempt from a coastal development permit pursuant to Section 30610 shall require a separate coastal development permit in conformity with the Port of Los Angeles’s Port Master Plan.

30652.

Notwithstanding any other law, a state agency that receives a permit application for a permit required for the project, or an additional project associated with the completion of the project, shall review and render a decision on the issuance of that permit within 90 days of submission of the application, or the permit shall be deemed issued.

The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique need to finish the Zero Emissions Port Electrification and Operations project in the Port of Los Angeles before the target completion date of 2030 and to prepare for the 2028 Olympic Games in the City of Los Angeles.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.