RESOLUTION NO. 26-35
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING THE IMPLEMENTATION AGREEMENT FOR THE TRANSFER OF TRANSPORTATION CORRIDOR AGENCY PROPERTY IN SAN CLEMENTE, AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE AGREEMENT AND NEGOTIATE, FINALIZE AND EXECUTE ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTS CONTEMPLATE THEREIN, FINDING THE ACTION CATEGORICALLY EXEMPT FROM THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA) PURSUANT TO STATE CEQA GUIDELINES §§15307 (CLASS 7: ACTIONS BY REGULATORY AGENCIES FOR PROTECTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES), 15308 (CLASS 8: ACTIONS BY REGULATORY AGENCIES FOR PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT), 15317 (CLASS 17: OPEN SPACE CONTRACTS OR EASEMENTS), AND 15325 (CLASS 25: TRANSFERS OF OWNERSHIP OF INTERESTS IN LAND), AND FINDING THE ACTION IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE CALIFORNIA SURPLUS LAND ACT (GOVERNMENT CODE §§ 54220-54234) WHEREAS, Talega Associates, LLC (“Talega Associates”) is the master developer of the Talega Master Planned Community/Specific Plan area within the City of San Clemente (the “Talega Development”); and WHEREAS, Talega Maintenance Corporation (“TMC”) is the master homeowners’ association for the Talega Development and owns and maintains common area property and facilities serving the Talega community; and WHEREAS, as a condition of approval of the Talega Development, an Irrevocable Offer of Dedication dated May 9, 2006 (“IOD”) was executed by Talega Associates and TMC in favor of the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency (“TCA”), dedicating certain real property for anticipated transportation corridor purposes; and WHEREAS, FETCA accepted the IOD on September 14, 2006, thereby acquiring fee ownership of approximately 30.59 acres of property commonly referred to as the “Corridor Lands,” located within the City of San Clemente; and WHEREAS, the IOD described the character of dedication of the Corridor Lands as being for public purposes related to the planning, design, construction, maintenance, and use of a toll road or other public thoroughfare and related infrastructure, including roadways, bridges, drainage facilities, and associated improvements; and WHEREAS, the IOD contains limitations on the sale, lease, assignment, or transfer of the Corridor Lands and provides Talega Associates and TMC with certain consent rights with respect to future transfers of the Corridor Lands; and WHEREAS, TCA has since discontinued pursuit of the Foothill South Transportation Corridor alignment through the Corridor Lands and no longer requires the Corridor Lands for transportation corridor purposes; and WHEREAS, TCA is considering transfer of the Corridor Lands to the City of San Clemente, subject to the consent rights retained by Talega Associates and TMC under the IOD; and WHEREAS, the City, Talega Associates, and TMC have negotiated an Implementation Agreement for the Transfer of Transportation Corridor Agency Property in San Clemente (the “Implementation Agreement”) establishing the terms and conditions under which (i) Talega Associates and TMC will consent to transfer of the Corridor Lands to the City, (ii) the Corridor Lands will be conveyed by TCA to the City (APNs 701-041-52, 701-041-55, 701-041-59, 701-041-62, and 701-043-08), (iii) specified property exchanges will occur among the parties to align ownership with functional use, (iv) maintenance responsibilities for the Cristianitos Basin will be clarified and formalized, (v) permanent conservation deed restrictions will be recorded on environmentally sensitive parcels, and (vi) the IOD will be extinguished and removed from the chain of title upon satisfaction of the Agreement’s terms; and WHEREAS, the Implementation Agreement provides for the transfer to the City of APNs 701-043-07 and a portion of APN 701-043-09 from Talega Associates, and the transfer from the City to Talega Associates of a portion of APN 701-041-62, subject to a recorded deed restriction prohibiting certain non-open space uses, including battery energy storage systems; and WHEREAS, the Implementation Agreement further provides for the exchange of parcels between the City and TMC, including transfer of parcels underlying the Talega Trail to TMC (APNs 701-041-06, 701-041-52, and 701-041-58) and transfer to the City of APN 701-341-02, together with the reservation of specified trail, access, and right-of-way easements to ensure continued public access, roadway connectivity, and infrastructure maintenance; and WHEREAS, the Implementation Agreement establishes a short-term corrective work program for the Cristianitos Basin and requires execution of a Cristianitos Basin Maintenance Responsibilities Agreement allocating long-term routine maintenance to TMC and structural repair and capital replacement responsibilities to the City; and WHEREAS, the Implementation Agreement requires recordation of conservation covenants and deed restrictions to permanently preserve habitat, biological resources, and open space values on designated parcels conveyed to the City; and WHEREAS, upon satisfaction of its terms, the Implementation Agreement provides for extinguishment of the recorded IOD, thereby replacing the prior corridor dedication framework with a locally governed structure that permanently preserves open space and clarifies ownership and maintenance obligations; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Government Code Sections 54220 through 54234 and Section 102(a), 102(i)(2)(A), and related provisions of the Final Updated Surplus Land Act Guidelines dated August 1, 2024, the actions contemplated by the Implementation Agreement do not constitute a disposition of surplus land by the City subject to the notice and negotiation requirements of the Surplus Land Act, because the initial conveyance of the Corridor Lands is a transfer from TCA to the City for continued public ownership, and the subsequent property exchanges are integral components of a coordinated public transaction necessary to effectuate open space preservation, infrastructure alignment, stormwater facility maintenance, and recordation of permanent conservation restrictions and public easements, rather than a standalone sale or disposal of surplus City-owned property; therefore, the requirements of the Surplus Land Act are not applicable; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds that approval of the Implementation Agreement is consistent with the City’s General Plan and the Talega Specific Plan and advances long-term public open space preservation, infrastructure management, and responsible land stewardship within the City.
NOW THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of San Clemente does hereby find, determine, and resolve as follows:
SECTION 1. The above recitals are true and correct and incorporated herein fully by reference as findings.
SECTION 2. CEQA Findings. The City Council hereby finds and determines that approval and implementation of the Implementation Agreement are categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code §21000 et seq.) pursuant to the CEQA Guidelines (14 CCR §15000 et seq.), including but not limited to Sections 15325 (Class 25 – Transfers of Ownership of Interests in Land), 15317 (Class 17 – Open Space Contracts or Easements), 15307 (Class 7 – Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of Natural Resources), and 15308 (Class 8 – Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of the Environment).
The City Council finds that the Implementation Agreement primarily involves the transfer and exchange of ownership interests in real property and the imposition of conservation restrictions, without authorizing any change in existing land use, increase in intensity of use, physical expansion of facilities, or approval of any development project. The subject properties will remain in open space, stormwater detention, trail, and roadway use consistent with their existing conditions. Accordingly, the action falls within CEQA Guidelines Section 15325 because it involves transfers of interests in land where the land use will remain substantially the same and the transfer serves to preserve open space and public uses.
The City Council further finds that the Agreement requires the recordation of deed restrictions and conservation covenants that permanently preserve habitat, biological resources, and open space values, and therefore qualifies under CEQA Guidelines Section 15317 (Class 17). The City Council additionally finds that approval of the Agreement constitutes regulatory action by the City to assure the maintenance, restoration, and protection of natural resources and the environment, including consolidation of open space ownership, establishment of enforceable conservation protections, prohibition of incompatible uses, and formalization of stewardship responsibilities for the Cristianitos Basin. Such actions qualify under CEQA Guidelines Sections 15307 (Class 7) and 15308 (Class 8).
The short-term corrective work identified in the Implementation Agreement for the Cristianitos Basin consists of routine maintenance and rehabilitation of an existing stormwater detention facility within its established footprint and does not expand or alter the facility’s capacity or function. The City Council further finds that none of the exceptions set forth in CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2 apply. The action does not involve unusual circumstances resulting in a reasonable possibility of a significant environmental effect, does not contribute to cumulative impacts, does not affect scenic resources within a designated scenic highway, does not involve a hazardous waste site, and does not result in a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource. Based on the whole of the administrative record, the City Council finds that the approval of the Implementation Agreement is categorically exempt from CEQA.
SECTION 3. The City Council hereby approves the Implementation Agreement for the Transfer of Transportation Corridor Agency Property in San Clemente (“Implementation Agreement”) among the City, Talega Associates, LLC, and Talega Maintenance Corporation, including all exhibits thereto, in substantially the form presented to the City Council as Attachment 2 to the Agenda Report related thereto dated March 3, 2026.
SECTION 4. The City Manager is hereby authorized and directed to execute the Implementation Agreement and to negotiate, finalize and execute all related documents necessary to effectuate the transfer of the Corridor Lands, the coordinated property exchanges, easements, maintenance agreement, deed restrictions, and extinguishment of the Irrevocable Offer of Dedication as contemplated by the Implementation Agreement in forms approved by the City Attorney.
SECTION 5. The City Council authorizes and directs the City Manager to execute such additional documents and take such other and further actions as may be necessary and proper to implement the Implementation Agreement and accomplish the purposes of this Resolution.
SECTION 6. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this resolution and enter it into the book of original resolutions.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this ___ day of _____________________, ____.
ATTEST:
City Clerk of the City of Rick Loeffler, Mayor of the San Clemente, California City of Clemente, California STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) §
CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE )
I, LAURA CAMPAGNOLO, City Clerk of the City of San Clemente, California, do hereby certify that Resolution No. 26-35 was adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of San Clemente held on the _______ day of _______________________, _________, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of San Clemente, California, this _____ day of _________________, ________. __________________________
CITY CLERK of the City of
San Clemente, California
Approved as to form:
______________________________
Elizabeth A. Mitchell, City Attorney
Resolution No. 26-35 Page 2
Attachment 1