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CITY OF POMONA
COUNCIL REPORT
March 21, 2022
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: James Makshanoff, City Manager
Submitted By: Kirk Pelser, Deputy City Manager
SUBJECT: DECLARATION OF CITY OWNED PROPERTY (THE “DOWNTOWN OPPORTUNITY SITE”) AS EXEMPT “SURPLUS LAND” PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54221 (“SLA”) AND APPROVING THE
FORM OF REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS/PROPOSALS
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommend ed that the City Council adopt the following Resolution No. 202 2-53 (Attachment No. 1):
RESOLUTION NO. 2022-53 - A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF POMONA, CALIFORNIA, (I) DECLARING
PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54221 THAT REAL
PROPERTY OWNED BY THE CITY , COMMONLY KNOWN AS THE
DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY SITE , IS EXEMPT
SURPLUS LAND, (II) APPROVING THE FORM OF REQUEST FOR
QUALIFICATIONS/PROPOSALS (RFQ/P) AND PROCESS GENERALLY; (III) AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER OR HIS DESIGNEE TO
TAKE ALL ACTIONS NECESSARY TO MARKET THE SUBJECT SITE;
AND (IV) FINDING THAT THE FOREGOING ACTIONS ARE EXEMPT
FROM ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW UNDER THE CALIFORNIA
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT
Attachment No. 3
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Resolution Declaring City Owned/VPD Property as Exempt Surplus Land and Approval of an RFQ/P Process
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The City of Pomona/Vehicle Parking District (VPD) owns Parking Lots 6 & 7 and adjacent vacant property and one commercial building, collectively the Downtown Development Opportunity Site (the “Development Site”). This Development Site had previously been committed to a proposed Maya Cinema project, which ultimately proved infeasible and the related sales agreement with Maya was terminated in 2021. The Council has directed staff to prepare an RFQ/P (See Attachments No. 2 & 3) process with the intent of selecting an experienced development partner to acquire the Development Site and to develop it in a manner that is consistent with Pomona’s vision for the downtown as expressed in the adopted General Plan and The Downtown Pomona Specific Plan. Sale of the Development Site must also comply with the requirements of the State’s Surplus Land Act, which provides for an exemption if a site can accommodate development that will yield at least 300 residential units, with not less than 25% of the units restricted to low or very- low income households.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact in formally declaring the Downtown Development Opportunity Site as surplus land or to release a Notice of Availability (NOA) and RFQ/P. All of the subject property is owned by the City and are part of the Vehicle Parking District land inventory. Should the subject property ultimately be sold as a result of this process, the sales proceeds will be deposited into the Vehicle Parking District fund account.
DISCUSSION:
The City currently owns and operates 25 Vehicle Parking District parking lots throughout the Downtown. The District was created between 1951 and 1958, as separate district s and later amended and combined. The District was created to provide equitable and adequate parking to all Downtown businesses, property owners and stakeholders. Since its inception, the character, land uses, boundaries and businesses in the area have changed and/or evolved. Businesses and land uses in certain areas of the Downtown that once required public parking no longer exist , uses have changed, or businesses provide their own private parking.
The City Council has expressed a desire to see new and innovative mixed-use development in the Downtown. The subject Development Site is comprised of Parking Lots 6 & 7, adjacent vacant property and one commercial building and was previously intended for development of a multi - screen cinema project with ancillary commercial retails uses. The previously plann ed cinema project proved infeasible and in 2021 the Council terminated the related prior agreement to sell the property. In an effort to accommodate new development, the Council directed staff to prepare a competitive RFQ/P process with the intent of sel ecting a highly qualified and experienced development partner to acquire the Development Site and to articulate a vision and scope for its development in a manner consistent with Pomona’s General Plan and the Downtown Specific Plan.
The sale of surplus l and by a City is largely governed by the State’s Surplus Land Act (SLA) as found in Government Code Section 54220 et seq. In 2019, Assembly Bill No. 1486 was adopted, which amended certain sections of the Surplus Land Act relating to the sale of surplus property.
65318.50901\34784169.1
Resolution Declaring City Owned/VPD Property as Exempt Surplus Land and Approval of an RFQ/P Process
These amendments went into effect on January 1, 2020. The SLA 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 l and is “surplus” and not necessary for the agency’s use”. Th e declaration process is required to be supported by written findings.
Additionally, AB 1486 amends the SLA by prohibiting local agencies from negotiating land sales and leases of surplus land pri or to sending out “Notices of Availability” to designated entities which must including the following:
• California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) • Local public entities within the jurisdiction where the surplus land is located. • Developers who have notified HCD of their interest in developing affordable housing on surplus land.
However, the SLA does provide exemptions in certain circumstances for sale of surplus land, including surplus land that is put out to open, competitive bid by a local agency, provided all entities identified in subdivision (a) of Section 54222 will be invited to participate in the competitive bid process, for … [a] mixed-use development that is more than one acre in area, that includes not less than 300 h ousing units, and that restricts at least 25 % of the residential units to lower income households, as defined in Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code, with an affordable sales price or an affordable rent, as defined in Sections 50052.5 and 50053 of the Health and Safety Code, for a minimum of 55 years for rental housing and 45 years for ownership housing” (Government Code section 54221(f)(1)(F)(ii)) (the “SLA Exemption”).
The subject Development Site can accommodate the above described requirements for exemption to the SLA process and the attached RFQ/P expressly incorporates the applicable requirements.
The Table below lists all of the parcels that comprise the Development Site.
Site Address APN Site Name Zoning
Square
Feet
400 W. 2nd St 8341-003-902 “Gist” Building Specific Plan 4,471 8341-003-903 Vacant land Specific Plan 2,957
8341-003-904 Vacant Land Specific Plan 2,515
8341-003-905 Vacant Land Specific Plan 5,367
8341-003-906 Vacant Land Specific Plan 2,657
8341-003-907 Vacant Land Specific Plan 5,261
8341-003-908 Vacant Land Specific Plan 2,300
8341-003-909 Vacant Land Specific Plan 5,246
8341-003-901 Public Parking Lot # 6 Specific Plan 30,855 8341-004-902 Public Parking Lot # 7 Specific Plan 31,324
The RFQ/P was created with input from the City Attorney and from our real estate consultant, Keyser Marston Associates and represents an industry “best practice” approach for selecting a highly qualified development partner with demonstrated experience in articulating, and 65318.50901\34784169.1
Resolution Declaring City Owned/VPD Property as Exempt Surplus Land and Approval of an RFQ/P Process
successfully implementing, a downtown mixed -use development. In summary the RFQ/P will provide for:
Developers will have 60 days to submit their qualification packages The City staff and consultants will evaluate the submittals for a period of 30-45 days Based upon the evaluation, the City staff and consultants will place each development team in up to three bands of priority ranking. Development teams in the highest ranking band will be presented for the consideration by the City Council The City Council will evaluate the staff/consultant recommendations and will designate 2- 3 development teams to proceed to the RFP process, or will terminate the process.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
The proposed action is not subject to CEQA. Declaring the Development Site exempt surplus is in compliance with statutory requirement and is not part of a project that has been identified, negotiated, designed or funded. The recommend City Council action should not be interpreted as an approval or a pre -commitment to approve, now or in the future the disposition of the City’s interest in the Development Site to any party on any particular term, or for any particular purpose.
Any proposed disposition of the subject property whether made pursuant to the NOA or otherwise will require future discretionary action of the City Co uncil. As such, the recommended action to the City Council will not result in a direct or indirect physical change in the environment and does not i n and of itself constitute a project pursuant to CEQA guidelines Section 15378.
Prepared by:
_____________________________
Kirk Pelser
Deputy City Manager
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment No. 1 – Resolution No 2022-53 with Exhibit A – Notice of Availability Attachment No. 2 – Request for Qualifications
Attachment No. 3 - Request for Proposals