From: Celena Chen
To: Lara Weisiger
Subject: Fwd: Agenda Item 5-E, Encinal Terminals, Feb. 1, 2022, City Council meeting Date: Tuesday, February 1, 2022 12:02:22 AM
Begin forwarded message:
From: Andrew Thomas <[email protected]>
Date: January 31, 2022 at 3:34:16 PM PST
To: Trish Spencer <[email protected]>, Heinrich Albert <[email protected]>, Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft
<[email protected]>, Malia Vella <[email protected]>, John Knox White <[email protected]>, Tony Daysog <[email protected]>
Cc: Eric Levitt <[email protected]>, Yibin Shen
<[email protected]>, Celena Chen
<[email protected]>, Bill White <[email protected]> Subject: RE: Agenda Item 5-E, Encinal Terminals,
Feb. 1, 2022, City
Council meeting
Dear Mr. Albert,
Thank you for your email to the City Council regarding the appraisal prepared for the State Lands Commission for the Encinal Terminals State Lands Exchange. As noted in the staff report for this matter, an appraisal for the property was prepared by a licensed appraiser.
The appraisal did not appear in the materials because,
under the California Public Records Act, appraisals for the acquisition of property are exempt from public disclosure until after the property has been acquired.
Government Code sec. 6254(h).
Accordingly, as has been the City’s and the State
Lands Commission’s practice for public trust exchanges, appraisals are not disclosed until after the exchange has closed.
The purpose of the appraisal is to determine whether the proposed trust exchange satisfies the requirement that lands being added to the trust have “equal or greater value” than the lands being removed from the trust.
As noted in the staff report,
based on the appraisal and its analysis of the evidentiary and legal issues affecting title, staff concluded that the requirement is met.
The appraisal is presently under review by State Lands Commission staff.
At the
Council meeting, staff stated that the approach to valuing the property taken by the appraiser is consistent with the approach taken in appraisals for other exchanges approved by the Commission that involved large master-planned developments.
Staff also explained that the City has been in discussion with Commission staff regarding the proposed exchange since 2017, and that Commission staff has indicated its support for the proposed exchange concept.
Formal approval by the Commission would be required before the exchange agreement can proceed.
At the Council meeting and in the staff report, City staff stated that it has reviewed the appraisal and determined that the exchange benefits the people of California and the residents of Alameda. As described in the staff report, with the exchange, the people of California and Alameda will own 7.5 acres of improved waterfront land and 13 acres of submerged lands. Currently, the people of California and Alameda own 6.4 acres of land that is inaccessible to the public, does not have access to the water, is not serviced by modern infrastructure, and is not protected from sea level rise. The property is generating less than $3,000 per year in lease revenue to the people of California and Alameda. With the exchange, the publicly owned 7.5 acres of land will be fully improved at no cost to the State or City for public waterfront access, public waterfront promenades, parks, and plazas, a public kayak launch, and a public water shuttle dock. These lands will be protected from sea level rise at no cost to the public and will be maintained at no cost to the City or State by the owners of the adjacent private land that will be developed with 589 units of housing. With the acquisition of the 13 acres of adjacent submerged lands the City is acquiring at no cost the opportunity to develop a future public marina, if the City Council should choose to do so with a future marina development partner.
Based upon these facts, the city staff determined that the proposed exchange is in the best interests of the citizens of Alameda and the people of the State.
Please do not hesitate dot contact me if you have any further questions about the proposed exchange.
Sincerely,
Andrew Thomas, Planning Director (510) 774-5361
From: Trish Spencer
Sent: Sunday, January 30, 2022 10:53 PM
To: Heinrich Albert <[email protected]>
Cc: Eric Levitt <[email protected]>; Andrew Thomas <[email protected]>; Yibin Shen <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Agenda Item 5-E, Encinal Terminals, Feb. 1, 2022, City Council meeting
Dear Mr. Albert,
Thank you for your email. By copy of this email, I'm sharing yours with the City Manager Eric Levitt, Planning Director Andrew Thomas and City Attorney Yibin Shen. Staff may have the information you're seeking.
Sincerely,
Trish Herrera Spencer
Councilmember
On Jan 30, 2022 10:25 PM, Heinrich Albert <[email protected] >
wrote:
Dear Mayor and City Councilmembers:
I am writing you regarding the lack of documentation in relation to Agenda Item 5-E. I have been unable to locate any documents regarding the land appraisal which should have been attached to the city’s staff report as an exhibit. At the last City Council meeting city staff said that a land appraisal was provided to the State Lands Commission, and they concluded it was a fair land exchange. But where is the evidence of that? I don’t know how you can base your approval on a statement unsupported with anything to show me or any other citizen how the commission reached its conclusion. Please continue this item until the next meeting after the appraisal is provided.
Thanks for your consideration,
Heinrich Albert
2525 Webb Ave
Alameda, CA 94501
From: Jim Dupont
To: Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft; John Knox White; Malia Vella; Tony Daysog; Trish Spencer Cc: Lara Weisiger
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Agenda Item 5-E Encinal Terminals City Council Meeting Feb. 1, 2022 Date: Monday, January 31, 2022 9:57:02 AM
Dear Mayor Ezzy Ashcraft and Members of the City Council:
Please ask to see the land appraisal before approving the second reading. It is your obligation to make sure that the state’s Tidelands gets something of equal value in return in a land exchange. There’s no way to verify this without seeing the documents. They should be viewed, shared, and discussed at a future City Council Meeting.
Sincerely,
James DuPont
Alameda Resident
Sent from my iPad
From: Patricia Lamborn
To: Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft; John Knox White; Malia Vella; Tony Daysog; Trish Spencer Cc: Lara Weisiger
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Agenda Item 5-E Encinal Terminals City Council Meeting Feb. 1, 2022 Date: Monday, January 31, 2022 9:16:16 AM
RE: Agenda Item 5-E, Final Passage of the Encinal Terminals Disposition and Development Agreement Feb. 1, 2022
Dear Mayor Ezzy Ashcraft and Members of the City Council:
I am requesting that you pull agenda item 5-E and continue it until you have had time to review the land appraisal. In the interest of full transparency, the public should also be able to see the appraisal in writing -- that has not been provided in previous City Council Public Documents. In the interest of due diligence, you as elected leaders should examine the appraisal, understand its conclusions and review it with the public at a future City Council Meeting before agreeing to an exchange of public land.
Sincerely
Patricia Lamborn
30 Year Alameda resident
[email protected]
From: Heinrich Albert
To: Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft; Malia Vella; John Knox White; Tony Daysog; Trish Spencer; City Clerk; Lara Weisiger Subject: [EXTERNAL] Agenda Item 5-E, Encinal Terminals, Feb. 1, 2022, City Council meeting Date: Sunday, January 30, 2022 10:25:12 PM
Dear Mayor and City Councilmembers:
I am writing you regarding the lack of documentation in relation to Agenda Item 5-E. I have been unable to locate any documents regarding the land appraisal which should have been attached to the city’s staff report as an exhibit. At the last City Council meeting city staff said that a land appraisal was provided to the State Lands Commission, and they concluded it was a fair land exchange. But where is the evidence of that? I don’t know how you can base your approval on a statement unsupported with anything to show me or any other citizen how the commission reached its conclusion. Please continue this item until the next meeting after the appraisal is provided.
Thanks for your consideration,
Heinrich Albert
2525 Webb Ave
Alameda, CA 94501