Land conservation: California Wildlife, Coastal, and Park Land Conservation Act: County of San Bernardino.

Senator Rubio's land conservation measure expands the permitted uses of protected lands within San Bernardino County's Chino Agricultural Preserve while modifying how the County can utilize revenues from property transactions. The bill amends the California Wildlife, Coastal, and Park Land Conservation Act to allow preservation of grant-funded lands for recreational purposes, including playgrounds, sporting venues, and amphitheaters, alongside existing conservation and agricultural uses.

The legislation authorizes San Bernardino County to direct revenues from land sales and exchanges toward acquiring additional preserve property and maintaining existing conservation lands. This represents a change from current law, which restricts the use of sale proceeds. The bill maintains requirements for Department of Parks and Recreation approval of land plans and conservation easements while eliminating specific procedures for managing unexpended funds from property transactions.

Under the measure's provisions, the County must report to the Department on all expenditures and revenues from land transactions, including details on acreage sold, exchanged, and retained. The bill preserves existing environmental review requirements and mandates that any proposed use of funds aligns with the original Conservation Act's objectives. These modifications apply specifically to properties within the 14,000-acre Chino Agricultural Preserve that were purchased using state grant funding.