Section 5002.45.

Checkout our iOS App for a better way to browser and research.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, upon completion of the land transfer authorized in Section 6 of Chapter 1234 of the Statutes of 1980, the department shall prepare a general plan or revise any existing general plan, as the case may be, for the Sinkyone Wilderness State Park. The plan shall also include the leased property described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 6 of that chapter.

(b) The general plan shall be as provided in Section 5002.2 and shall also include all of the following:

(1) Provision for a system of recreational trails connected one to another and to other recreational trails in the region.

(2) Provision for a system of nonmotorized transportation, at least for those unable to hike long distances because of age or disability. The department may contract for a privately owned and operated system of horse-drawn carriages to be operated at no cost to the state in order to provide this nonmotorized transportation.

(3) Provision for parking of motor vehicles at Usal and Low Gap or elsewhere at the perimeter of or near the Sinkyone Wilderness State Park. This may include patrolled parking areas on the perimeter of or near the park or parking lots in nearby communities with shuttle buses to the wilderness area, or both; in any case, the department may charge fees not to exceed its actual costs.

(4) Provision for sportfishing. In addition, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the commission may consider and authorize as a part of the plan continuation of and regulation of hunting on the limited basis traditional to the area, to the extent it does not endanger human health or safety.

(5) Provision for the continuation and renewal of road easements which existed on January 1, 1980, across the park, to the extent that the roads are necessary to provide access to neighboring property.

(6) Provision for the maintenance and use of the existing structure known as Needle Rock House as a visitor-serving or interpretive facility or another use compatible with the preservation of the wilderness environment.

(7) Provision for any restrictions on the use of existing county roads within the park, which restrictions may be necessary to protect human health or safety, natural resources, or wilderness values of the park; and provision for posting of signs on those roads to notify persons of road conditions.

(c) The department, in preparing or revising the general plan, shall hold at least one public hearing in each of Mendocino and Humboldt Counties.

(d) The State Park and Recreation Commission shall conduct at least one public hearing at a location within a 100-mile radius of the park to consider approval of the department’s general plan. Notice of the hearing, the availability of copies of the department’s general plan, and the conduct of the hearing shall be in accordance with Section 5002.3.

(e) The State Park and Recreation Commission shall evaluate the compatibility of continued use of existing roads with the proposed uses of the park in the general plan adopted by the commission pursuant to this section. However, no county road shall be closed except with the concurrence of the board of supervisors of the county in which it is located.

(Amended by Stats. 1984, Ch. 37, Sec. 1. Effective March 14, 1984.)


Download our app to see the most-to-date content.