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Inventory of the California State Lands Commission Records
R210  
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Table of contents What's This?

Series Descriptions

F37-45; F841; F1665

Series 1 Correspondence 1923-1951

Physical Description: 11 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by year within each file group.

Scope and Content Note

The Commission's Correspondence series spans the existence of the Division of State Lands and the State Lands Commission. The records have been maintained together but the researcher should be aware that the series has multiple creators due to the time frame of the records creation. Series includes memoranda and correspondence relating to projects, accidents or problems on state lands and related land issues.
General Correspondence, 1923-1951 (9ff) F37-F45
Correspondence, 1947-1949 (1ff) F841
Los Angeles Correspondence, 1932-1940 (1ff) F1665
F2244

Series 2 Geographical File Index 1949-1950

Physical Description: 1 file folder

Arrangement

Series contains a single file. Arranged according to the original order within the file.

Scope and Content Note

This series contains both a report, "Tide and Submerged Land Controversy: Index to W.O. 721 formerly N-50925" compiled by E.M. King on June 23, 1950, and the Geographical File Index which is undated. The Geographical File Index is compiled alphabetically by county listing out various State Lands-related projects and issues ongoing in each respective county. The document states that it is a compilation of data "from various documents contained within the Special Data and misc'l files." Headings covered in the index include: bids, grants, islands, leases, legal, litigation, minerals, oil and gas, Planning Commission, Proprietary Lands, Sovereign Lands, Tidelands, U.S. Governments, and work orders.
F3628

Series 3 Environmental Impact Reports 1970-1979

Physical Description: 14 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by year.

Scope and Content Note

The environmental impact reports include reports, tract maps, notices of preparation, initial studies, environmental analyses, negative declarations, and similar materials collected in the evaluation of a project's environmental impacts and effects on state lands and their natural resources. These records evidence the influence of the California Environmental Quality Act (1970) on State Lands responsibilities and involvement in reviewing and commenting on these environmental documents.
 

Records of the Executive Office 1941-1989

Scope and Content Note

Records from the Executive Office consist of seven cubic feet of material reflecting the administrative activity of the Commission. The records date from 1941-1989 and include correspondence, resolutions, reports, presentations, transcripts, budget schedules, meeting minutes and attendance records maintained by the Executive Officer, Commission members and staff of the Executive Office in the performance of their work on the Commission. They are comprised of Subject Files, Executive Officer Correspondence, Chairman Correspondence, General Correspondence, Chronological Correspondence, Staff Meeting Files, and multiple series consisting of Public Land Law Review Commission (PLLRC) files maintained by the Executive Office. The four PLLRC series are Study Plans, Subject Files, Meeting Files, and Hearing Files.
The Executive Officer, appointed by the Commission, supervises the divisions and was the head of the State Lands Division when that term applied to the Division as the staff of the Commission. This office provides overall policy and program guidance to the staff based on requirements established by the Legislature and Commission. The Executive Office is additionally responsible for the Commission's legislative program. The majority of the correspondence relates to exchanges between the Executive Officer with other staff members of the Commission and those contacting and/or petitioning the Commission.
The United States 87th Congress House Interior and Insular Affairs Committee Chairman, Wayne N. Aspinall introduced a bill to establish the Public Land Law Review Commission on August 14, 1963, and on September 19, 1964, President Johnson signed Public Law 88-606 establishing the PLLRC as a nineteen member commission charged to make a comprehensive review of the public land laws, rules, regulations, policies and practices of federal, state and local governments and agencies. The commission would then recommend any necessary modifications and prepare a final report based on their research and investigations. A thirty-four member advisory council and 54 staff members assisted the commission.
F.J. Hortig, Executive Officer for the State Lands Commission at the time of the PLLRC's initial organization, served as a representative of California's interests and concerns as an alternate Governor's Representative. Records kept pertaining to the PLLRC are maintained under the State Lands Executive Office both as a result of Mr. Hortig's position on both Commissions and because copies of PLLRC reports and study plans were sent to the related departments (including the State Lands Commission) within California in order to formulate the state's position and response. [The State Lands Commission, originally under the Department of Finance at the time of the Public Land Law Review Commission's organization, was transferred to the Department of Conservation, and then to the Resources Agency in 1975.] These records reflect the CSLC's involvement in national public lands issues and the confluence of state and national land use problems and policies.
R210.1, Box 1, folder 1 - Box 4, folder 25

Series 1 Subject Files 1941-1970

Physical Description: 118 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

Scope and Content Note

Executive Office Subject Files contain reports, correspondence, memoranda, contracts, and calendar items. The subject titles relate to specific projects or project locations, as well as Division reports, organization, and relevant legislation and policy changes overseen by the Executive Office. Major topics include geothermal energy and related legislation, tidelands management, Division organization and its responsibilities, and documentation relating to the Law of the Sea Institute and its discussion of ocean law.
Please see Appendix A in master finding aid at the California State Archives for a complete list of subjects.
R210.2, Box 4, folder 26 - Box 5, folder 13

Series 2 F. J. Hortig Correspondence 1966-1969

Physical Description: 16 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by correspondent and chronologically by year thereunder.

Scope and Content Note

F.J. Hortig was the executive officer for the Lands Commission. This series contains his correspondence with various agencies in the context of his position as executive officer. Correspondence with the three member of the Commission, the Governor's Office, and Attorney General's Office are among the files.
Please see Appendix B in master finding aid at the California State Archives for a complete list of correspondence files.
R210.3, Box 5, folder 14 - Box 5, folder 15

Series 3 Houston I. Flourney (Chairman) General Correspondence 1969

Physical Description: 2 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by year.

Scope and Content Note

This series includes correspondence of Houston I. Flourney, the State Controller, in his capacity as Chairman of the State Lands Commission in the year 1969. Major topics include offshore oil and gas operations in San Pablo Bay and along the California coast, the sale of swamp and overflow lands, and boundary line agreements.
R210.4, Box 5, folder 16 - Box 6, folder 4

Series 4 General Correspondence 1968-1969

Physical Description: 8 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by correspondent and chronologically thereunder.

Scope and Content Note

General Correspondence includes document and project status reports, agency re-organization plans, reference to and segments of court cases, as well as both public and interagency reports relating to State Lands resolutions, policy changes, and general business. Specifically, the records cover topics including San Pablo Bay Oil Leasing and the San Francisco Bay Delta. Correspondents includes the Department of Parks and Recreation, Public Land Law Review Commission, and Resources Agency.
R210.5, Box 6, folders 5-7

Series 5 Chronological Correspondence 1992-1996

Physical Description: 2 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by year.

Scope and Content Note

The chronological correspondence of the Commission relates to major topics including the Rorripa Enhancement Plan (Tahoe), shore erosion protection, greenway plans and related legislation, Oakland harbor, and Santa Barbara oil.
R210.6, Box 6, folder 8

Series 6 Staff Meeting File 1989

Physical Description: 1 file folder

Arrangement

Series contains a single file; materials within the file were maintained in their original order.

Scope and Content Note

The single folder contains minutes, agendas, excerpts from reports, and budget schedules from meetings of the Director, the Geothermal Resource Team, and other staff. Major topics include offshore development and federal outer continental shelf (OCS) mineral resources development.
R210.7, Box 6, folder 9 - Box 7, folder 3

Series 7 Public Land Law Review Commission Study Plans 1966-1969

Physical Description: 40 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by Study Plan title.

Scope and Content Note

Study Plans are reports prepared by and for the Public Land Law Review Commission (PLLRC) based on research regarding specific public land issues. The research reports are supposed to guide the PLLRC in determining policy and project recommendations.
The Study Plans series includes draft and final versions of the study plans, correspondence, and requests for proposals regarding the issues. Series also includes introductory materials related to the discussion of public access and an overview of the study plans prepared by the Commission which is compiled under the study plan title "General."
Please see Appendix C in master finding aid at the California State Archives for a complete listing of Study Plans.
R210.8, Box 7, folders 4-19

Series 8 Public Land Law Review Commission Subject Files 1968-1969

Physical Description: 16 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

Scope and Content Note

The PLLRC Subject Files contain lists of meeting times, dates, and locations, meeting reports, correspondence, and memoranda concerning a variety of topics related to land issues and management in California and neighboring states.
Please see Appendix D in master finding aid at the California State Archives for a complete listing of Subject Files.
R210.9, Box 7, folders 20-22

Series 9 Public Land Law Review Commission Meeting Files 1966-1968

Physical Description: 3 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by date of meeting.

Scope and Content Note

Meeting files contain records from three meetings of the PLLRC: Washington, D.C., March 24-25, 1966; Las Vegas, NV, April 24-28, 1966; and Tucson, AZ, November 7-11, 1968. Included in the files are correspondence, resolutions, reports, presentations, and transcripts reviewed by the Commission members and/or presented and discussed at meetings of the PLLRC.
R210.10, Box 7, folders 23-27

Series 10 Public Land Law Review Commission Hearing Files 1966-1968

Physical Description: 5 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by date of hearing.

Scope and Content Note

Hearing files from the Public Land Law Review Commission (PLLRC) include memoranda, reports, journal articles, notes, records of attendance and minutes, partial study plans on administrative procedure and demands for commodities producible on public lands, as well as statements related to various PLLRC topics from four different California hearings held by the PLLRC. The series is closely related to Meeting Files and are maintained separately according to the original order and naming established by the commission and include records of the public hearings. The PLLRC conducted these information gathering hearings throughout the United States. The files included in this series relate specifically to California matters.
September 16-17, 1966: Press conference with the advisory council and governors' representatives, commission, federal liaisons. The conference was open to the public but not for comment.
February 13-19, 1967: The PLLR Commission held public hearings on the 14th, 15th, 17th, and 18th in Fresno, Clinton, and Palm Springs, California to hear public views and representatives concerns and statements related to local issues including the mineral industry. In addition, the PLLR Commission, Advisory Council, and Governor's Representatives conducted meetings closed to the public on the morning of the 17th, and took tours of Yosemite National Park, Mt. Bullion State Youth Conservation, and the Coachella Valley throughout the week.
January 11-13, 1968: Public meeting on the 11-12th to receive views on land matters. Also the 10th and final Regional meeting of the current series held primarily to hear representative of national organization. The Governors' Representatives meeting on January 12 related to specific States' issues and was attended by PLLRC [commission] members, public witnesses, advisory council members, the governors' representatives, and federal liaison officers. All meetings were open to any individual, except for the staff meetings on January 13.
April 5-6, 1968: Statutory meeting of the advisory council as called for in the advisory council legislative charter. Meeting heard and received views of the federal department and agencies on public land administrative problems, including cross jurisdiction issues. Also received and reviewed was the status report dated 04/05/1968 and a Study Plan to establish criteria for determining maximum benefit for the general public. Morning staff meetings were closed to the public on both days, but the statutory meetings were entirely open to the public and the press. File includes agency reports and press releases.
09/16/1966-09/17/1966, Tax Policy for California Timberlands, Denver, Colorado, (1ff) Box 7, folder 23
02/13/1967-02/19/1967, Public Land Problems in CA, NV, AZ, Fresno, Clinton, Palm Springs, CA, (1ff) Box 7, folders 24-25
01/11/1968-01/13/1968, Land Use Rights and National Perspectives, Washington, D.C., (1ff) Box 7, folder 26
04/05/1968-04/06/1968, Public Administration, Cross Jurisdiction, and Status Report Review, Washington, D.C., (1ff) Box 7, folder 27
 

Records of the Environmental Planning and Management Division 1989-2000

Scope and Content Note

Records from the Environmental Planning and Management Division consist of 15 cubic feet of material and date from 1989-2000. The records are organized into three series: Project Files, Correspondence, and Environmental Impact Reports. This Division was organized in 1975 to ensure the Commission's compliance with the provisions of the Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and to provide analytical staff services (policy, land use planning, and technical) to the members of the Commission, its Executive Officer and the line programs. The records therefore reflecting the Commission's involvement and responsibilities regarding environmental concerns and preservation surrounding state lands. The records include information about specific environmental programs of the Commission and the division's involvement in reviewing and commenting on environmental documents. These records evidence the influence of the California Environmental Quality Act (1970) on State Lands procedures and concerns.
R210.11, Box 7, folder 28 - Box 13, folder 19

Series 1 Project Files 1967-2000

Physical Description: 157 file folders, 16 VHS tapes, and 2 floppy disks

Access

Access to audiovisual material requires the production of use copies.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by project heading and maintained in their original order thereunder.

Scope and Content Note

Project Files include reports, meeting records, settlement agreements, budgeting information, correspondence, and other records related to various topics. The files are arranged under four subject headings: American Trader; Crude Oil and Petroleum Product Marine Terminal; Greenway; and the Mojave-Kern Pipeline Project.
Please see Appendix E in master finding aid at the California State Archives for a complete list of Project Files.
R210.12, Box 13, folder 20 - Box 16, folder 7

Series 2 Division Correspondence 1992-1997

Physical Description: 48 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged by year, 1992-1997, in reverse chronological order.

Scope and Content Note

This series includes outgoing, interagency, and inter-divisional correspondence regarding the State Lands Commission's jurisdiction in various projects, comments on how the projects' affect state lands, the review of environmental documents and reports, and the commission's responses. The frequent correspondence of Mary Griggs, Project Manager; Dwight Sanders, Division Chief; and Steve Sekelsky, Public Land Manager, are dispersed throughout the files. Major topics include the Carquinez Strait Public Trust, California offshore oil and gas development, as well as applications and background materials regarding surface leasing.
R210.13, Box 16, folder 8 - Box 22, folder 15

Series 3 Environmental Impact Reports 1988-1997

Physical Description: 126 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by county and chronologically by year within each county.

Scope and Content Note

Series includes correspondence, reports, tract maps, notices of preparation, initial studies, environmental analyses, and negative declarations, relating to projects' environmental impacts and included as part of the Commission's review process for Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs). Also filed are draft and final EIRs submitted to the Commission as a "Trustee Agency" according to the California Environmental Quality Act statute and guidelines. In most cases reports are grouped by project and not rigidly by date in accordance with the original order; generally reports are filed under the date of the earliest report.
See Appendix F in master finding aid at the California State Archives for a complete listing of Environmental Impact Project Report Files.
 

Records of the Land Use Planning Division 1960-1975

Scope and Content Note

Records from the Land Use Planning Division consist of 6.5 cubic feet of material reflecting the Commission's involvement and responsibilities regarding the compatible multiuse development of state lands while conserving, preserving and protecting irreplaceable resources. The records include background information about for eventual use in policy recommendations for Commission guidelines. The records date from 1960-1975. The single series of Subject Files is arranged alphabetically by subject and relate to various projects, locations, organizations, and resources.
R210.14, Box 22, folder 16 - Box 28, folder 44

Series 1 Subject Files 1954-1975

Physical Description: 195 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by subject with a collection of county questionnaires and an agency-created, partial index placed at the front in Box 22, folders 16-17.

Scope and Content Note

Series includes correspondence, memoranda, photographs, notes, maps, data charts, published booklets, and meeting files including agendas, minutes, resolutions, and calendar items. The records document the projects and priorities of the Commission as executed by the Land Use Planning Division.
Certain subject files include an item level folder list created by the division at the time of the folders' compilation. Those folders are marked with an asterisk in the appendix.
Please see Appendix G in master finding aid at the California State Archives for a complete list of subjects.
 

Records of the Research and Planning Division 1965-1989

Scope and Content Note

Records from the Research and Planning Division consist of 15.5 cubic feet of material reflecting the Commission's involvement and responsibilities in managing the sale of state lands, the energy and natural resources acquired from those lands, as well the study and review of projects operating on or near state lands evaluating their environmental impact. The records include information about state regulations as well as specific projects in Long Beach, Santa Barbara, Sacramento, and San Francisco. The two series, Coded Subject Files and Division Correspondence, cover dates between 1975-1982 and 1987-1989 with selected files from 1965.
R210.15, Box 28, folder 16 - Box 42, folder 18

Series 1 Coded Subject Files 1965-1982

Physical Description: 472 file folders

Arrangement

Coded Subject Files are arranged chronologically by year and numerically by code number, as assigned by the Commission, within each year.

Scope and Content Note

This series includes correspondence, reports, copies of court records, environmental impact reports and environmental impact statements with the commission's comments and reviews, minutes and agendas from meetings, calendar items, resolutions, and news clippings. The division's records include records from the Planning and Environmental Coordination Unit and records relating to cooperative efforts between other agencies, committees, and task forces. The subject files cover a variety of broad topics including oil and gas rights, the leasing and sale of state lands, energy sources and development of alternative energy methods, and rules and regulations placed on transportation vessels and terminals located on or near state lands and the legislation passed to put them into effect.
See Appendix H in the master finding aid at the California State Archives for a complete listing of coded subject files.
R210.16, Box 42, folders 19-25

Series 2 Coded Correspondence 1981-1989

Physical Description: 7 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged numerically by agency assigned code, and chronologically thereunder.

Scope and Content Note

The Coded Correspondence of the Research and Planning Division contains the incoming and outgoing correspondence of the Division for 1989. It is collected in three groupings. While the content of the three groups is similar, the order and code assigned by the records creator was maintained during processing. For that reason, Division Correspondence, General Correspondence and the Chronological Correspondence are maintained separately in this series. The chronological correspondence contains correspondence from various others years because of its connection to correspondence authored and maintained in the 1989 file included in this series. Topics include procedures surrounding the sale and leasing of school lands, pier reconstruction and repair, and dredging alternatives relating to various projects.