Section 20365.

(a) The commission and the department may enter into agreements with each other that define the responsibilities of each party in implementing the program pursuant to this article. The department may exercise any power it possesses to facilitate the implementation of, and use of rights-of-way for, rail transit systems and related facilities pursuant to this article.

(b) At the request of the commission, the department shall lease to the commission for up to 99 years, pursuant to subdivision (c), and the commission may sublease to third parties in accordance with this article, the use of areas above or below that portion of existing state highways and any portion other than the traveled portion of the right-of-way of state highways, to be directly used for rail transit systems, intermodal facilities, and related commercial development, so long as the improvements are feasible from an engineering standpoint, in conformity with established safety design standards, not in conflict with improvements to the affected state highway the department reasonably contemplated at the time of the lease, consistent with good ecological and environmental planning, and not in conflict with the zoning regulations of the local government concerned.

(c) The commission shall pay to the department one dollar ($1) per year for 35 years in consideration for the lease. Thereafter, the commission shall pay to the department an amount equal to 50 percent of the fair market value of the remainder of the lease.

(d) The revenues the commission receives from any sublease shall reflect a fair market return over the term of the sublease, giving consideration to the improvements, dedications, fees, and other contributions the sublessee agrees to make for the rail transit system, intermodal facilities and other public facilities, and shall be deposited in a special fund, kept separate and apart from other funds, and used solely to pay or reimburse the commission for all costs it has incurred or will incur in connection with the development, operation, and maintenance of the rail transit system to which the sublease is related. However, if revenues exceed those costs and an adequate reserve for anticipated future costs, the department shall be entitled to the excess revenues.

(Added by Stats. 1991, Ch. 860, Sec. 2.)