Section 66478.12 - Public access to lake or reservoir(a) No local agency shall approve either the tentative or the final map of any subdivision fronting upon any lake or reservoir which is owned in part or entirely by any public agency including the state, which subdivision does not provide or have available reasonable access by fee or easement from public highways to any water of the lake or reservoir upon which the subdivision borders either within the subdivision or a reasonable distance from the subdivision. Any public access route or routes provided by the subdivider shall be expressly designated on the tentative or final map, and the map shall expressly designate the governmental entity to which the route or routes are dedicated and its acceptance of the dedication.
(b) Reasonable access, as used in subdivision (a), shall be determined by the local agency in which the subdivision lies.(c) In making the determination of what shall be reasonable access, the local agency shall consider:(1) That access may be by highway, foot trail, bike trail, horse trail, or any other means of travel.(2) The size of the subdivision.(3) The type of shoreline and the various appropriate recreational, educational, and scientific uses, including, but not limited to, swimming, diving, boating, fishing, water skiing, scientific exploration, and teaching.(4) The likelihood of trespass on private property and reasonable means of avoiding the trespasses.(d) Nothing in this section shall require a local agency to disapprove either a tentative or final map solely on the basis that the reasonable access otherwise required by this section is not provided through or across the subdivision itself, if the local agency makes a finding that the reasonable access is otherwise available within a reasonable distance from the subdivision and identifies the location of the reasonable public access. The finding shall be set forth on the face of the tentative or final map.
(e) The provisions of this section shall not apply to the final map of any subdivision the tentative map of which has been approved by a local agency prior to the effective date of this section.(f) Any access route or routes provided by the subdivider pursuant to this section may be conveyed or transferred to any state or local agency by the governmental entity to which the route or routes have been dedicated, at any future time, by mutual consent of the governmental entity and the particular state or local agency. The conveyance or transfer shall be recorded by the recipient state or local agency in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the route or routes are located.Amended by Stats 2002 ch 1109 (SB 2055), s 7, eff. 1/1/2003.