CITY OF COMMERCEAGENDA REPORT CITY OF COMMERCEAGENDA REPORT
CITY OF COMMERCE
AGENDA REPORT
CITY OF COMMERCE
AGENDA REPORT
Item No. Item No.
Item No.
Item No.
TO: Honorable City Council
FROM: City Manager
SUBJECT: Resolution Declaring Property Owned by the City of Commerce and Located at 6364 Zindell Avenue (APNs: 6357-019-904, 6357-019-905, 6357-018-900) as Exempt Surplus Land, in the City of Commerce, California Meeting Date: April 12, 2022
RECOMMENDATION:
Resolution declaring the property located at 6364 Zindell Avenue, in the City of Commerce, California, as Exempt Surplus Land in accordance Government Code, § 54221(f)(1)(C), which states that a local agency may exchange public property for other property which is necessary for the agency’s use, and deem the public property “exempt” from the Surplus Land Act since the City is engaging in the exchange of land in order to acquire a property necessary for its use.
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS:
The California Surplus Land Act (Government Code Section 54220, et seq.) (“SLA”) requires local agencies, prior to disposing of surplus public property, classify the property as either “surplus land” or “exempt surplus land,” and, in some cases, to offer to sell or lease that property to certain entities for specified uses, including affordable housing, parks and recreation, and schools uses, prior to disposing of the property. Property which has been classified as “exempt surplus land” may be disposed through less restrictive procedures, allowing the City more discretion in the choice of prospective developers. In conjunction with the recent approval of the Modelo Project by the City Council, staff will be exchanging the existing Veterans Memorial Park site located at 6364 Zindell Street, with a portion of the adjacent vacant parcel at 7316 E. Gage Avenue.
Per the SLA Government Code, § 54221(f)(1)(C), a local agency (City of Commerce) may exchange property which is necessary for the agency’s use, and deem it “exempt” if for example, the City is engaging in the exchange of land in order to acquire a property necessary for its use.
In this case, the Veterans Memorial Park site is part of a large development, currently known as the Modelo Project. This parcel will be exchanged and remediated with an adjacent parcel that comprises the project site. As part of the improvement, the applicant will invest $12,000,000 towards the development costs of, the City’s newly-acquired property with a new public community center, sports fields, open space and other publicly accessible amenities, including walking and bicycle paths. Through the careful placement of buildings, and creation of large open space area, the applicant will seamlessly mesh both public and private spaces within the Modelo Project.
To continue, the existing property owned by the City (Veterans Memorial Park) is unsuitable for such scale of development of these community amenities due to the prohibitive cost involved with remediating the former landfills and constructing new community amenities of thereon. The City is therefore exchanging parcels with the applicant as part of the Modelo Project in order to realize the community benefits described which will be developed (with significant financial contributions from the applicant) with a brand new community center and sports complex, thus replacing and upgrading the existing Veterans Memorial Park. The City is doing the swap in order to realize all of these significant community benefits.
In order to use the Section 54221(f)(1)(C) exemption from the SLA to avoid having to first notify and offer the property to specific housing developers, the City Council must find, at a regularly scheduled meeting, that the property is “exempt surplus land.” After the Council adopts the findings, the City must then send a copy of the findings to California Department of Housing and Community Development (“HCD”) at least 30 days prior to the disposition itself (i.e., in this case, executing the land exchange agreement). To satisfy the SLA, the City Council will consider the exchange of land associated with the Modelo project to be exempt from the California Surplus Land Act, for reasons discussed herein.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
On the evening of February 15, 2022 a public hearing was conducted before the City Council where a Resolution was adopted certifying the Final Environmental Impact Report (SCH# 2019080312) for the Modelo Project as adequate and complete, adopted Findings of Facts per Public Resources Code Section 20181(a); adopted a Statement of Overriding Considerations; and adopted the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program in conjunction with the Modelo Project.
ALTERNATIVES:
Approve staff recommendation
Decline staff recommendation and provide further direction FISCAL IMPACT:
No fiscal impact at this stage of proceedings
RELATIONSHIP TO STRATEGIC GOALS:
The City of Commerce Strategic Action Plan was designed to link the administrative and financial operations of the City in order to help guide the Council with the decision-making process. It establishes a road map for activities and initiatives that will help achieve the vision for the City and ensure that Commerce is poised to capitalize on opportunities to advance key initiatives, while being flexible in order to achieve results that will be enjoyed by current residents and future generations. Last, the Strategic Action Plan functions as a compass for the City to continuously make strategic decisions on maintaining and improving its operations.
When reviewing the Strategic Plan, staff determined the Economic Growth Section as most applicable when considering the Modelo Project. This section of the Plan encourages the creation and retention of sustainable, diverse and high quality businesses within the City that will foster economic vitality (net economic contributors), local and regional employment, and enhances the quality of life while protecting the environment.
This is achieved through the following Guiding Principles:
Guiding Principle 1: Create and strengthen our identity, as a community that promotes opportunity and success for business that meets the strategic focus for economic growth, will have a positive impact on the quality of life and the City’s financial sustainability; Guiding Principle 3: Support a long-range planning vision through the City’s General Plan, zoning ordinance, and related land use planning documents that incorporate community and stakeholder input and provide a compass for strategic economic growth, infrastructure investments and city fiscal planning; and Guiding Principle 4: Focus on strategic economic development pursuits that will increase local jobs, generate additional revenue and create demand for supporting businesses.
Respectfully submitted by: Edgar Cisneros, City Manager Prepared and Recommended by: Jose D. Jimenez, Director Economic Development and Planning Reviewed by: Vilko Domic, Assistant City Manager
Approved as to form, Noel Tapia, City Attorney
ATTACHMENTS:
Resolution