Agenda Item: 7
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
DATE: June 11, 2024
SUBJECT: RESOLUTION DECLARING PROPERTIES OWNED BY THE CITY
OF SANTA CLARITA IN THE OLD TOWN NEWHALL SPECIFIC
PLAN AREA AS SURPLUS LAND
DEPARTMENT: Community Development
PRESENTER: Jason Crawford
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council:
1. Adopt a resolution declaring properties owned by the City of Santa Clarita, Assessor Parcel Number’s (APN) 2831-018-901 thru 906 ; 2831-018-900; and 28 31-019-901 surplus land under the Surplus Land Act.
2. Authorize City Manager or designee to issue a Notice of Availability in accordance with the Surplus Land Act.
3. Authorize City Manager or designee to review each Notice of Interest received, if any during the 60-day Notice of Availability period and then enter into negotiations with responsive bidder(s) for a period of 90 days, all in accordance with the Surplus Land Act.
4. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute all documents, subject to City Attorney approval.
BACKGROUND
The City of Santa Clarita (City) acquired three adjacent individual properties along Main Street commonly known as the Coffey parking lot property (APN: 2831-018-901 thru 906), the Roger Dunn property (APN: 2831-018-900) and the Moore’s Subs property (APN: 2831-019-901).
These three individual properties consist of eight parcels of land totaling approximately 0.86 acres that together, comprise the property (Property). Existing improvements on the Property include approximately 85 surface parking spaces available to the public, and one, approximately 4,743 square foot two-story building. The Property is within the Arts & Entertainment Zone of
the Old Town Newhall Specific Plan.
The Old Town Newhall Specific Plan calls for the development of two public parking structures, one on the north and one on the south of Main Street. With the property that the City assembled through the former Redevelopment Agency on the north end of Main Street, the City was able to develop public parking, negotiate, and then enter into Purchase and Sales Agreements with the Newhall Crossings and Laemmle projects, which provided an art house movie theatre and a mixed-use project consisting of ground floor commercial with apartments above.
There is an opportunity to achieve a similar outcome with the Property on the south of Main Street, increasing the amount of public parking while also facilitating a mixed-use project with ground floor commercial and apartments above.
The state dissolved Redevelopment in 2012 and then, via AB 1486, the state enhanced the Surplus Land Act (SLA) in 2020. The SLA, in an effort to incentivize affordable housing, governs how the City’s may dispose of land, limiting the City’s ability to use city-owned land for redevelopment and economic development purposes.
Previously, as was done for the Laemmle and Newhall Crossings project, the City could have gone through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process to find a development partner, entered into an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement, and then negotiated with that partner to create a project that met the City’s vision for the property.
Now, however, there are a set of requirements under the SLA, administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), that the City must follow before it can negotiate any disposition of City-owned land, either for sale or for lease. The City Council must first declare the property to be ‘surplus’ and issue a Notice of Availability (NOA), by electronic mail or by certified mail to all of the entities identified in Government Code section 54222, which include local public entities and housing sponsors that have notified HCD of their interest in surplus land for the purpose of developing low- and moderate-income housing, so that affordable housing developers have a chance to determine their interest. The SLA mandates that the City accept notices of interest for a period of 60 SLA days. Assuming the City is notified in writing of interest by a developer within the 60-day period, the City must then enter into good faith negotiations with interested parties for a period of no less than 90 days to determine if an agreement on price and terms can be made.
Terms the City would intend to meet for this Property include 1) retaining at least the 85 parking spaces that are currently available to the public on the Property, 2) ensuring that any project meets the Old Town Newhall Specific Plan regulations including mixed-use with retail on the ground floor and apartments above, and 3) receiving a fair market value sale of the Property.
The SLA requires that any project agreed to during the 90-day good faith negotiation period, that includes a minimum of 10 residential units, provides a minimum of 25 percent affordable housing units. If an agreement on price and terms can be made between the City and a developer within the 90-day good faith negotiations period, then that agreement would be brought back to City Council for review.
If an agreement on price and terms is not met within 90 days, then the City may elect to issue an RFP to find a development partner that would meet the City’s price and terms. Any project that is agreed to after the 90-day good faith negotiation period, that has a minimum of 10 residential units, would be required by the SLA to provide a minimum of 15 percent affordable housing units.
Staff has been working closely with Kosmont Companies to consult on the SLA process, as they have experience guiding many cities through this process. In advance of this agenda item, HCD reviewed the draft NOA and staff has incorporated their feedback.
Staff recommends the City Council adopt a resolution to declare the Property as “surplus land” and complete the surplus property disposition process in accordance with the SLA.
If, at any time, the City Council decides to, it can rescind the declaration of surplus land and the City would continue to own the Property.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
Other action as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact.
ATTACHMENTS
Resolution
Draft Santa Clarita Notice of Availability