California acquired all right, title, and interest in tide and submerged lands and beds of navigable waterways within its borders when it became a state in 1850. These lands are sovereign, not proprietary, and have specific requirements on their management and use. Unlike proprietary lands, the California Constitution, California law and the common law Public Trust Doctrine prohibit the sale or alienation of sovereign lands except in limited circumstances. All sovereign lands are held in trust for the benefit of the people of California.

The Legislature has enacted more than 300 statutes granting sovereign public trust lands to over 80 local municipalities (referred to as grantees or trustees) to manage in trust for the people of California. The terms and conditions of trust grants vary and are governed by the specific granting statute(s), the Public Trust Doctrine, the California Constitution, and case law. The specific uses permitted in each granting statute vary. Some trust grants authorize the construction of ports, harbors, airports, wharves, docks, piers, slips, quays and other structures necessary to facilitate commerce and navigation, while others allow only visitor serving recreational uses or open space. All grants reserve to the people the right to fish in the waters over the lands and the right to convenient access to those waters for that purpose.

Revenues generated by a trustee arising out of the use or operation of their granted lands are State trust assets and must be reinvested back into the trust. These revenues must be kept separate from the local entity’s general fund and may not be used for any municipal purpose, or any purpose unconnected with the trust. Expenditures of trust funds by a trustee must be consistent with the Public Trust Doctrine and the statutory trust grant.

While granted public trust lands and assets are managed locally, the Legislature delegated the State's residual and review authority for granted lands to the Commission. The Commission represents the statewide public interest to ensure that trustees operate their grants in conformance with the California Constitution, applicable granting statutes, and the Public Trust Doctrine. Public Resources Code section 6301 provides, among other things, "all jurisdiction and authority remaining in the State as to tidelands and submerged lands as to which grants have been or may be made is vested in the commission." This oversight has ranged from working cooperatively to assist trustees on issues involving boundary determinations, trust consistency determinations and land exchanges, to judicial confrontations involving billions of dollars of trust assets.

Source data for each grant varies substantially, below table illustrates how data quality ratings were assigned.

Data Quality Rating Description

1. No map or survey dimensions, only have landmarks from Grant

2. Map for dates prior to last grant created, only has polygon map

3. Have survey dimensions, but poor locations.

4. Have survey dimensions on Grant from landmark or PLSS Section number

5. Have archived map with x,y data from most current grant

Symbology Definitions

1. Active: Currently active grants

2. Active, Uncertain Boundary: Currently active grant parcel whose boundary is approximated using all available data.

3. Repealed: Former grant, since repealed and no longer active, with land reverting back to the control of the CA State Lands Commission.