Kapiloff Land Bank Fund

The Kapiloff Land Bank Act was authored by former Assemblymember Lawrence Kapiloff and enacted in 1982 (Public Resources Code § 8600 et seq.). The Act was created to facilitate settlements of title to real property with cash payments where substitute parcels are not readily available for acquisition or are not of equal value, and to facilitate mitigation through the pooling of such payments. The Act is an extension of the Commission’s authority in Public Resources Code § 6307. The Commission holds and administers any acquired lands as sovereign public trust lands with the same legal character of tide and submerged lands.

Acquisitions

Money held in the Kapiloff Land Bank Fund and acquired through title settlements is subject to use restrictions as set forth in Public Resources Code § 8613, subdivision (a). The Commission is the trustee for the fund and authorized to expend revenue in the fund to purchase interests in tide and submerged lands, lands that were or may be converted to wetlands, or adjoining or nearby lands where the public use and ownership is necessary or beneficial to facilitate public trust purposes. The purchase price may not exceed the fair market value of the interest to be acquired.

Recent acquisitions include interests in properties in the city of Sacramento along the American River and in South Lake Tahoe adjacent to Lake Tahoe.

Special Mitigation and Restoration

Money may be deposited into the Land Bank Fund to provide open space, plant and animal habitat, and public access on lands the Commission manages in its capacity as a trustee of the fund. (Public Resources Code § 8613, subdivision (b). If money is deposited into the fund for mitigation, it is subject to a statutory trust that limits its use to the identified mitigation. The Commission reports annually to the Governor and the Legislature describing its management of the Land Bank Fund, including the status of property acquisitions and an accounting of the moneys in the fund.

One of the exemplary restoration projects funded through the Kapiloff Land Bank Fund is the Bolsa Chica Lowlands Restoration in Southern California.

Granted Lands Program

The Commission’s Granted Lands Program is partially funded through the Kapiloff Fund pursuant to Chapter 728, Statutes of 1994, Chapter 317, Statutes of 1997, Chapter 422, Statutes of 2011, Chapters 628 and 891, Statutes of 2014.