Agenda #: 7.2
Meeting Date: January 21, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Daniel Fox, City Manager
TITLE: APPROVAL OF A REAL PROPERTY TRANSFER AGREEMENT AND
ESCROW INSTRUCTIONS WITH THE DIAMOND BAR LITTLE
LEAGUE FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 22601 SUNSET CROSSING
ROAD.
STRATEGIC
GOAL: Safe, Sustainable & Healthy Community
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve Resolution No. 2025-03, a Resolution of the City Council of the City of Diamond Bar approving a Real Property Transfer Agreement and Escrow Instructions with the Diamond Bar Little League for property located at 22601 Sunset Crossing Road.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Upon approval of the Resolution and associated Real Property Transfer Agreement and Escrow Instructions (“Transfer Agreement”) and Facilities Use Agreement, the City would be responsible for escrow services of approximately $5,000. Upon completion of the transfer, the City would be responsible for maintenance costs of $750,000 to $1,000,000 to bring the existing fields into playable condition. Annual maintenance costs thereafter are expected to range from $100,000-$150,000.
Future design and construction costs for a full renovation of the property are unknown at this time, but are expected to exceed $20,000,000 depending on design features.
Future annual maintenance costs are unknown at this time and are also dependent upon design features.
BACKGROUND:
For more than 50 years, Diamond Bar PONY/Little League (“PONY”) has operated a volunteer-driven non-profit youth baseball league for local participants. At its peak, PONY served an estimated 1,600 participants across all age levels. As local preferences and demographics have changed and competing youth sports options in the area have increased, PONY participation levels have decreased significantly. In 2023 data submitted to the City by PONY, total participation was between 186 (96 residents) in the spring season and 135 (56 residents) in the fall season. 2024 participation fell to approximately 110 participants.
Since 1969, PONY has hosted games and practices at the league-owned Stevens Field facility, located at 22601 Sunset Crossing Road in Diamond Bar (“PONY property”). The PONY property is approximately 10.23 acres and features four unlit baseball fields (one of which is abandoned/unmaintained), batting cages, seating areas, and a number of outbuildings. The site is located directly across the street from the YMCA Early Learning facility and immediately adjacent to a City-owned undeveloped park site. The property’s deed restricts the property to be used “for the benefit of the people of the community of Diamond Bar”.
Declining enrollment over a number of years has made it fiscally unsustainable for PONY to maintain the Stevens Field property. In early 2024, unpaid tax assessments led the Stevens Field property to be listed on the Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector’s list of properties that are tax defaulted and subject to the Tax Collector’s power to sell. This list is first provided to public agencies for review to determine if any are suitable for public purposes, including parks, open space, and recreational uses. If a public agency identifies a property that could suit such a purpose, it may acquire the property via a Chapter 8 Agreement Sale.
On February 20, 2024, the City Council took action to acquire the property via the Chapter 8 process. Following the Council’s action, the PONY Board of Directors (“Board”) chose to use reserves to extinguish the tax debt and retain ownership of the property to facilitate the 2024 season for existing participants. Simultaneously, City staff and the Board began discussions about the future of the program and facility and the potential for City ownership. On June 3, 2024, the PONY Board submitted a formal offer to transfer the property to the City at no cost, with the following terms:
1. During the period in which the City owns the facility and operates existing athletic facilities, PONY requests:
• Priority access to baseball fields during spring, fall, and all-stars seasons. • The ability to store league equipment on site.
2. In the event the City redevelops the facility into a new park with new athletic facilities available for public use, PONY requests the following:
• Priority access to baseball fields during the spring, fall, and all-star seasons. • Access to a snack bar facility
• Access to a community room, with the vision that this amenity be available as a central meeting location for local non-profit youth sports programs. • Inclusion of a plaque or history wall highlighting the history of Stevens Field, the Stevens family, and the leagues players and volunteers.
These terms were presented to the City Council, which directed staff and the City Attorney to proceed with the transfer process, which commences with the approval of the attached Transfer Agreement Facilities Use Agreement.
The Transfer Agreement is the vehicle in which the ownership of the property would be transferred in as-is condition to the City at the end of a 60-day escrow period. At the close of escrow, the City will receive title insurance in the sum of $920,000 to protect it against any deficiencies in title, with the exception of current year taxes/assessments.
The Transfer Agreement also establishes standard warranties, representations, and covenants of PONY regarding the property, attesting that it has no knowledge of hazardous substances, spills, and underground tanks, pending litigation or condemnation proceedings, or any other legal or environmental issue that would detrimentally impact the city upon transfer.
The Facilities Use Agreement memorializes PONY’s specific requests as listed above and establishes ongoing terms and conditions for use, remaining in effect so long as the PONY organization continues to exist in good standing.
At the January 14, 2025 meeting, the Planning Commission adopted a resolution finding the acquisition of the PONY property to be in conformance with the General Plan.
ANALYSIS:
If acquired, the PONY property provides this City with a large, flat parcel in an otherwise parkless neighborhood, leveraging the adjacent City-owned 2.78-acre undeveloped park site to create a 13-acre community park with amenities attractive to residents of all ages, interests, and activity levels. The development process would commence with the procurement of a qualified architect to develop design alternatives informed by a comprehensive public outreach and engagement process that would likely include surveys, mailings, and public meetings. Conceptual design and outreach costs are unknown at this time are expected to start at approximately $150,000.
Funding to construct a new park on the PONY property has not been secured. The City Council-adopted 2024-25 five-year Capital Improvement Program (“CIP”) includes over $141,000,000 in various public infrastructure improvements, with approximately $88,000,000 of this total unfunded. To fund the development of a new park and other CIP projects, it is likely that the Council will need to reprioritize, delay, or eliminate some CIP projects and/or consider voter-approved funding mechanisms such as a local Transactions and Use Tax, the issuance of general obligation bonds, or the establishment of a facilities or infrastructure district.
In the interim, the property’s current condition is not conducive to City athletic facility use allocations. If acquired, it will be recommended that the City appropriate funding to improve playability on three of the four existing fields, remove existing hazards, and complete basic maintenance of existing trees and landscaping. It is anticipated that the work to achieve playability will take approximately six months to complete and cost between $750,000 to $1,000,000. When completed, the newly maintained fields will provide additional capacity for a variety of youth and adult sports, including baseball, softball, soccer, and football, among others, ultimately reducing existing allocation impacts on City facilities like Pantera and Peterson Parks. During the approximately sixmonth maintenance period, the City will work with PONY to temporarily allocate City facilities necessary to facilitate the 2025 season.
The acquisition of the Property is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to California Public Resources Code Section 21080.28 (the acquisition of the Property for preservation of open space or park purposes). Furthermore, the transfer of ownership of land to create parks is also exempted from the Act per the Act’s Guidelines, 14 CCR Section 15316.
LEGAL REVIEW:
City Attorney has reviewed and approved the Resolution, Transfer Agreement, Facility Use Agreement, and this report.
PREPARED BY:
REVIEWED BY:
Attachments:
1. 7.2.a Resolution No. 2025-03
2. 7.2.b Transfer Agreement and Escrow Instructions
3. 7.2.c Facilities Use Agreement