For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:

(a) (1) “Adjacent” means within 400 yards from the property boundary of an existing urban waterway.

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(2) This subdivision does not create a new authority to place or extend an easement on private property that is not part of a voluntary agreement.

(b) “Greenway” means a pedestrian and bicycle, nonmotorized vehicle transportation, and recreational travel corridor that meets the following requirements:

(1) Includes landscaping that improves rivers and streams, provides flood protection benefits, and incorporates the significance and value of natural, historical, and cultural resources, as documented in the local agency’s applicable planning document, including, but not limited to, a master plan, a general plan, or a specific plan.

(2) Is separated and protected from shared roadways, is adjacent to an urban waterway, and incorporates both ease of access to nearby communities and an array of amenities within an urbanized area and services for the users of the corridor and nearby communities.

(3) Is located on public lands or private lands, or a combination of public and private lands, where public access to those lands for greenway purposes has been legally authorized by, or legally obtained from, the fee owner of the land and, if applicable, the operator of any facility or improvement located on the land, through leases, easements, or other agreements entered into by the fee owner and the operator of any affected facility or improvement on the land.

(4) Reflects design standards regarding appropriate widths, clearances, setbacks from obstructions, and centerlines protecting directional travel, and other considerations, as appropriate, that are applicable for each affected local agency, as documented in the local agency’s applicable planning document, including, but not limited to, a master plan, general plan, or specific plan, and that are consistent with plans and facilities for controlling the floodwater of rivers and their tributaries, as applicable.

(5) May incorporate appropriate lighting, public amenities within an urbanized area, art, and other features that are consistent with a local agency’s planning document, including, but not limited to, a general plan, master plan, or specific plan.

(c) “Greenway easement” means any limitation in a deed, will, or other instrument in the form of an easement, restriction, covenant, or condition that is or has been executed by or on behalf of the owner of the land subject to the easement and is binding upon successive owners of that land, for either of the following purposes:

(1) Developing greenways adjacent to urban waterways consistent with restoration efforts undertaken at those waterways at the time of the creation of the easement, if any.

(2) Preserving greenways adjacent to urban waterways.

(d) “Local agency” means a city, county, or city and county.

(e) “Urbanized area” has the same meaning as set forth in § 21071 of the Public Resources Code.

(f) “Urban waterway” means a creek, stream, or river that crosses (1) developed residential, commercial, or industrial property or (2) open space where the land use is designated as residential, commercial, or industrial, as referenced in a local agency’s planning document, including, but not limited to, a general plan, master plan, or specific general plan.

(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 471, Sec. 1. (AB 2651) Effective September 22, 2016.)