City Council Meeting: August 27, 2024 Santa Monica, California RESOLUTION NUMBER ___ (CCS)
(City Council Series)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA,
CALIFORNIA, DECLARING, PURSUANT TO THE SURPLUS LAND ACT, CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY OWNED BY THE CITY AND LOCATED AT 1333 4TH STREET, 1324 5TH STREET, 1333, 4TH STREET, 1324 5TH STREET, AND 2500 OLYMPIC
BOULEVARD IN THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, AS EXEMPT SURPLUS LAND; FINDING THAT SUCH DECLARATION IS EXEMPT FROM
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW UNDER THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT; AND TAKING RELATED ACTIONS
WHEREAS, the California Surplus Land Act (Government Code 54220 et seq.) (SLA) governs the sale of surplus lands and requires local agencies to prioritize opportunities for certain uses including affordable housing development for any land the entity may sell or lease; and
WHEREAS, surplus land may be declared either “surplus” or “exempt surplus” by the legislative body of the local agency as supported by written findings; and WHEREAS, the disposition of exempt surplus land does not have to follow the procedural requirements of the Surplus Land Act, and includes surplus land that is offered for open, competitive bid for 100% affordable housing development; and WHEREAS, the SLA and Housing Element Law require local agencies to report on the list of surplus lands in the General Plan Annual Progress Report, which is due April 1 of each year; and
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Monica owns those certain parcels at 1333 4th Street (APNs: 4291-011-909 and 4291-011-903), 1324 5th Street (APNs: 4291-011-900, 4291- 011-902, 4291-011-903, 4291-011-904, 4291-011-905, and 4291-011-908), and 2500 Olympic Boulevard (APNs: 4268-013-919 and 4268-014-900), in the City of Santa Monica, California (collectively, “the Properties”); and
WHEREAS, the Properties qualify as “exempt surplus land” within the meaning of the Surplus Land Act because the City has plans to develop these properties for qualifying affordable housing projects; and
WHEREAS, the development of the Properties for affordable housing is consistent with the City’s adopted and certified 2021-2029 Housing Element, which identifies these sites as suitable to accommodate a portion of the City’s share of regional housing need for lower income households pursuant to State law; and
WHEREAS, the City desires to issue a Request for Proposals for developers to develop affordable housing on the Properties; and
WHEREAS, the accompanying staff report provides supporting information upon which the declaration and findings set forth in this Resolution are based; NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council hereby resolves as follows:
SECTION 1. The above recitals are true and correct and are a substantive part of this Resolution.
SECTION 2. The City Council hereby declares that the Properties are surplus lands and not necessary for the City’s use.
SECTION 3. The City Council hereby declares that the Properties constitute exempt surplus land as defined under the Surplus Lands Act (“SLA”) because the Properties will be offered for open, competitive bid for 100% affordable housing development.
SECTION 4. This Resolution has been reviewed with respect to the applicability of the California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code Section 21000 et seq.) (“CEQA”). The designation of the Properties as exempt surplus does not have the potential for creating a significant effect on the environment and is therefore exempt from further review under CEQA pursuant to. The City Council hereby adopts a finding of categorical exemption pursuant to Section 15312 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, a finding of no possibility of significant effect on the environment pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption), and a finding that the development of affordable housing on City-owned property was previously analyzed in the 6th Cycle Housing Element Environmental
Impact Report.
SECTION 5. The City Manager or his or her designee is authorized to submit the report of declared surplus land and exempt surplus land as part of the Annual Report to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), in conformance with state law and file a Notice of Exemption pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15062.
SECTION 6. The City Manager or designee is hereby authorized to do all things which are deemed necessary or proper to effectuate the purposes of this Resolution, and any such actions previously taken are hereby ratified and confirmed.
Such actions include negotiating in good faith in accordance with the requirements of the SLA with any of the authorized entities that submit a written notice of interest to purchase or lease the property in compliance with the SLA.
SECTION 7. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution, and thenceforth and thereafter the same shall be in full force and effect.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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DOUGLAS SLOAN
City Attorney