FOR THE COUNCIL MEETING OF JANUARY 16, 2024
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
TO: City Council
FROM: Interim City Manager Alex Posada
BY: Interim Assistant City Manager / Director of Community Development Chuen Wu
SUBJECT: Adoption of a Resolution Approving a Sales and Disposition Agreement between the City of Santa Maria and Burt Fugate/Burt E.
Fugate Trust for the Cook Street Mixed-Use Apartment Project
Description:
The City Council will consider adopting a Resolution approving a Sales and Disposition Agreement between the City of Santa Maria and Brett Fugate / Burt E. Fugate Trust , which includes the sale of surplus land located at the northeast corner of Cook and McClelland Streets.
Environmental Notice: The adoption of the Sales and Disposition Agreement is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act State Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to State Guidelines Section 15060(c)(3) no environmental review is required.
RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt a Resolution approving a Sales and Disposition Agreement (SDA) between the City of Santa Maria and Burt Fugate / Burt E. Fugate Trust , which includes the sale of surplus land located at the northeast corner of Cook and McClelland Streets, an approximately 11,000 square-foot portion of Assessor’s Parcel Number 125-320-009.
BACKGROUND:
The City Council has continually identified the revitalization and redevelopment of Santa Maria’s downtown area (Downtown) as a goal and priority. The City has adopted plans to establish a visio n for the downtown area and developed regulations and guidelines to facilitate its redevelopment, including an update to the Downtown Specific Plan in 2015 and the adoption of the Downtown Streetscape Plan in 2019.
In accordance with the Surplus Land s Act of California (Government Code Section 54220), on October 18, 2022, the City Council declared an 11,000 -square-foot strip of city-owned land located on the north side of Cook Street, adjacent to the parking structure, as surplus land (City Council Resolution 2022-116). During the City Council deliberations, it was noted that declaring this portion of City property surplus land would facilitate the future development of the Cook Street Mixed-Use Apartment project, which in turn would 2 further the Downtown Specific Plan revitalization goals by adding to the downtown pedestrian activity and vibrancy.
DISCUSSION:
The Cook Street Apartments Mixed-Use Downtown Permit (DT2022-0017) was approved by the Planning Commission on November 15, 2023. The Downtown Permit entitles the applicant to construct a 52,500-square-foot, six-story mixed-use building consisting of 104 residential units, and approximately 2,100-square-feet of ground floor commercial space.
The approved Downtown Permit project plans for the Cook Street project are provided as Attachment A to this report. The Downtown Permit was approved contingent upon entering into a n SDA with the City for the completed transfer of the 11,000 squ are-foot surplus City property, and for the use of the City’s parking structure to meet the project’s required parking.
City executive staff has been in regular discussions with Burt Fugate to discuss the terms and conditions of the SDA. Through these negotiations, and with the encouragement of the City, the applicant incorporated the ground floor commercial floor space . The Downtown permit as approved by the Planning Commission also incorporates interior and exterior amenities for the future tenants and the public transit improvements adjacent to the project on Cook Street into the.
The SDA (Attachment B) will serve as the agreement for the transfer and development of the City-owned parcel, and for the use of the City owned parking garage to satisfy the number of required parking spaces for the Cook Street Mixed-use Apartment project. The SDA also cites the incentive the City has agreed to provide to the applicant, which consists of waiving all building permit fees by 50%.
Alternative
The City Cou ncil can choose to not accept the SDA as drafted and provide further direction to staff.
Fiscal Considerations
The City would be providing significant financial incentives as part of the SDA. These incentives are intended to assist the development of this downtown project on underutilized parcels that would facilitate the City's vision of a vibrant downtown area that includes new housing, retail commercial, restaurants, and other tax -generating and employment producing opportunities. The implementation of the Fugate project would have far-reaching, long-term economic benefits through the creation of a new downtown residential use bringing added residents to the Downtown core.
Impact to the Community
The approval of the SDA is part of an implementation plan for the revitalization of the Downtown. The completion of this project would add more housing with a ground floor retail component in the Downtown. It would also continue the momentum of redevelopment in the Downtown, including on privately-owned land.
3 ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Cook Street Mixed-Use Development Plan
Attachment B: Sales and Disposition Agreement