Joint Special Council/BFPD
03/4/24 06:00 PM
City Manager Department
Kody Tompkins
Determinations of Use
Doc ID: 5582
COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
AGENDA MATTER:
SURPLUS LAND ACT DESIGNATION: APNS: 0427-062-44-0000, 0427-062-45-0000, 0427-062-43- 0000
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The Successor Agency to the former Redevelopment Agency of the City of Barstow (“Agency”) owns three properties that it has deemed are no longer necessary for the Agency’s use. The Surplus Land Act requires the Agency to declare at a regular public meeting that such land is not necessary for the Agency’s use. City staff put together this report to discuss these parcels DISCUSSION:
In order to discuss the sale of these properties with potential buyers, the Agency must designate the properties surplus to the Agency’s needs.
The Surplus Land Act requires the Agency to send a written Notice of Availability of surplus land to HCD, other public agencies in whose jurisdiction the surplus land is located, and prospective affordable housing developers that have notified HCD of their interest in surplus land that is in the county in which the surplus land is located, or all counties. Noticed agencies and registered housing developers have 60 days from the date of notice to express interest in the property and 90 days to complete good-faith negotiations.
The Agency is not required to sell the land to the interested party. If terms are not agreed upon between the interested party and the Agency within the 90-days of good-faith negotiations, the Agency may negotiate with any other developers or interested parties for the disposition of surplus land.
Likewise, the proposed declaration of surplus land does not authorize the sale or lease of the affected properties. Once the above process is complete, individual property transactions are required to come before the City Council for approval.
If an agency fails to provide the proper notices, there is a significant penalty that requires a local agency to forfeit 30 percent of the purchase/lease proceeds for the first violation and 50 percent for any subsequent violations.
The properties in question are below:
1. 0427-062-44-0000
The subject site is a 3.65 acre zoned Diverse Use located off West Main Street in the City of Barstow and may be accessed by the street. The site is currently owned by the Agency. The Agency intends to market the vacant land for its highest and best use.
2. 0427-062-45-0000
The subject site is a 5.26 acre zoned Diverse Use located off West Main Street in the City of Barstow and may be accessed by the street. The site is currently owned by the Agency. The Agency intends to market the vacant land for its highest and best use.
Joint Special Council/BFPD
03/4/24 06:00 PM
City Manager Department
Kody Tompkins
Determinations of Use
Doc ID: 5582
COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
3. 0427-062-43-0000
The subject site is a 7.55 acre zoned Diverse Use located off West Main Street in the City of Barstow and may be accessed by the street. The site is currently owned by the Agency. The Agency intends to market the vacant land for its highest and best use.
Surplus Land Act Analysis:
The Agency is subject to the California Surplus Land Act (Government Code §54220 et seq.) (the “Act”), which requires local agencies (including cities) to determine, by governing body findings, whether land it intends to dispose of is (a) “surplus” and, if so, should first be made available to affordable housing developers; or, if surplus, (b) “exempt surplus” and not subject to the procedural requirements under the Act.
Section 54221 (b)(1) of the Act defines “surplus land” as “land owned in fee simple by any local agency for which the local agency’s governing body takes formal action in a regular public meeting declaring that the land is surplus and is not necessary for the agency’s use.” Under the Act, the land must be declared “either ‘surplus land’ or ‘exempt surplus land,’ as supported by written findings, before a local agency may take any action to dispose of it consistent with an agency’s policies or procedures.” Section 54221 (c)(1) defines “agency’s use” to include, but not be limited to, “land that is being used, is planned to be used pursuant to a written plan adopted by the local agency’s governing board for, or is disposed to support ... agency work or operations, including, but not limited to, utility sites, watershed property, land being used for conservation purposes, land for demonstration, exhibition, or educational purposes related to greenhouse gas emissions, and buffer sites near sensitive governmental uses, including, but not limited to, wastewater treatment plants.” Notably, “agency’s use” does not include “commercial or industrial uses or activities, including nongovernmental retail, entertainment, or office development”; nor does it include “property disposed of for the sole purpose of investment or generation of revenue.” Govt. C. § 54221 (c)(2)(A).
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
The proposed action will not cause a direct physical change in the environment, and therefore, does not constitute the approval of a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and is exempt from CEQA. The Agency has determined that the designation of these properties as surplus does not have the potential for creating a significant effect on the environment and is therefore exempt from further review under CEQA pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c)(3) because it is not a project as defined by the CEQA Guidelines Section 15378. Adoption of the Resolution does not have the potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There are no anticipated fiscal impacts to declaring these properties surplus as they are not the source of substantial revenue for the City and all are vacant.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Joint Special Council/BFPD
03/4/24 06:00 PM
City Manager Department
Kody Tompkins
Determinations of Use
Doc ID: 5582
COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
Staff recommends that the City Council declare the listed properties surplus and direct the City Manager to send a written Notice of Availability of surplus land to HCD and conduct all other required activities to declare the land surplus.