RESOLUTION NO. (N.C.S.)
A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE PURCHASE AND SALES AGREEMENTS FOR THE ACQUISITION OF 34 AND 37 SOLEDAD STREET
WHEREAS, the City of Salinas was approached by the representative of multiple trusts (Sellers) that own 34 Soledad Street and 37 Soledad Street (Properties) with an offer to sell the Properties to the City as a packaged deal for four hundred thirty thousand six hundred and twenty five dollars ($430,625); and WHEREAS, 34 Soledad Street is a two-story building with approximately 5,500 square feet of usable space and an attached 3,850 square foot building in poor condition due to fire damage and deferred maintenance over several decades (Assessor’s Parcel Number [APN] 002-194-029-000) (Property 1); and WHEREAS, 37 Soledad Street is approximately a 6,490 square foot building formerly known as the Republic Café built in 1942 and renovated in 2010 through the Redevelopment Agency and California State University Monterey Bay Corporation utilizing funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (Assessor’s Parcel Number [APN] 002-191-012-000) (“Property 2”); and WHEREAS, the Asian Cultural Experience (ACE) currently leases Property 2 for operating the Asian Cultural Center with the objective of preserving, promoting, and enriching the history and multicultural identity of Salinas Chinatown. Under the Purchase and Sales Agreement, the City is to assume the lease with ACE under the same terms and conditions should it be made code compliant within ten (10) years; and WHEREAS, In December 2019 the City Council approved the Chinatown Revitalization Plan (CRP) as a key strategic planning document which envisions Chinatown as a thriving, affordable, safe, walkable, healthy, and well-connected community that serves a cultural center for the arts and vibrant tourist destination for the City and the region.
WHEREAS, reuse and redevelopment of buildings and property in Chinatown is financially infeasible due to site constraints including, but not limited to, the size of parcels, unknown environmental concerns regarding building and soil contamination, and the cost of structural repair, remediation and deferred maintenance; and WHEREAS, it is therefore unlikely that transformative redevelopment in the Chinatown core will occur without the City’s assistance with land assembly and site preparation; and WHEREAS, this proposed action is not a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (CEQA Guidelines Section 15378). The proposed action consists only of the acquisition of the Chinatown Properties, and no action regarding the use of the land is contemplated at this time. Because the matter does not cause a direct or foreseeable indirect physical change on or in the environment, this matter is not a project. Any subsequent discretionary projects resulting from this action will be assessed for CEQA applicability; and WHEREAS, on November 16, 2021, Council approved Resolution 22250 appropriating seven million dollars ($7,000,000.00) from the American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”) to the Affordable Housing Production Fund for the purpose of land acquisition to further the production of housing.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Salinas City Council hereby authorizes the Mayor to execute a Purchase and Sale Agreements to acquire 34 Soledad Street for two hundred and thirty thousand six hundred and twenty-five dollars ($230,625) and 37 Soledad Street for two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000); and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Salinas City Council authorizes the use of Affordable Housing Production Funds for the acquisition of the Properties including the City’s portion of closing costs.
PASSED AND APPROVED this 13th day of December 2022, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
APPROVED:
_______________________
Kimbley Craig, Mayor
ATTEST:
_________________________
Patricia M. Barajas, City Clerk
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