DECLARATION OF FOUR CITY OWNED PARCELS AS
NON‐EXEMPT SURPLUS LAND
City Council Meeting
December 6, 2022
Background:
Downtown Asset Development Series of Study Sessions
Prior to surplus of sites from the January
meeting, it was identified that Council and
Staff needed additional information
25 Jan. 2022
Updated parking study for downtown
presented
23 Aug. 2022
Full 2019 Santa Rosa Civic Center Feasibility
Analysis presented and 2016 Housing
Action Plan review
13 Sep. 2022
Review SLA and Direction on Surplus strategy
from Council
11 Oct. 2022
The State of CA on Excess and Underutilized
Government Property
The Aim of the Surplus Land Act (SLA) is to
increase the availability of real property in
California for affordable housing development by
requiring the prioritization of affordable housing
when selling or leasing public lands.
To address the shortage of housing , Governor
Newsom ordered the Department of General
Services (DGS) and the Department of Housing
(HCD) to identify excess state‐owned property and
aggressively pursue housing projects.
Additionally, DGS has streamlined a plan to
transition underutilized multistory state buildings
into housing for the purpose of expanding
affordable housing.
“It starts with housing, perhaps our most
overwhelming challenge. There’s too much
demand and too little supply. And that is
happening in large part because too many
cities and counties aren’t even planning for
how to build. These cities need to summon
the political courage to build their fair share
of housing. I want to support local
governments that do what’s right, like
Anaheim and Santa Rosa. But there must be
accountability for those that don’t.”
Governor Newsom
Surplus Lands Act (SLA)
Updates to
the SLA
Government
Code Section
54222
Government owned property must:
Be declared surplus by its governing body prior to disposition or request for proposal (RFP) for development, even with continued use such as government facilities.
Be made available to housing sponsors for affordable housing through a notice of availability to the State Department of Housing and Community Services (HCD) prior to being made available to private developers through the RFP process.
Council
Direction
Bypass the City Council Surplus Policy and follow the SLA requirements for surplus
Declare City Hall, City Hall Annex block, Public Safety Building (PSB), and Municipal Services Center South (MSCS) as surplus with the required replacement of a Civic Center as well as police and fire facilities.
Declare several of the parking assets “non‐exempt surplus land” to make way for affordable housing/mixed use and
housing amenities in the Downtown, with the goal of bringing more activity to the area.
Feedback from Council during the Oct. 11 study session gave Staff direction to:
Collateralization
of Certain
Downtown
Assets
City Hall Annex and associated buildings are
being held as collateral as part of the 2007
acquisition of 655 1st street (“West America Bank
Building”) and later refinanced into the 2016
Courthouse Square reconstruction debt. MSCS
and PSB are collateral against 1996
Redevelopment financing refunded in
2016. Due to this, and in the absence of a fully
vetted financial plan to cover the debt service of
a new Civic Center, Staff is recommending that
these particular sites not be declared surplus
until a fully formed financial plan can be
established.
Housing
Potential of
Proposed Sites
Garage 5 ‐ .66 acres/FAR 8 – 195 Parking Stalls currently Potential housing units if developed:
• 230 ‐ 800 sf units or
• 184 – 1,000 sf units or
• 153 – 1,200 sf units
Lot 11 –. 7 7 acres/FAR 8 –6 5 Parking Stalls currently Potential housing units if developed:
• 268 ‐ 800 sf units or
• 214 – 1,000 sf units or
• 179 – 1,200 sf units
Whitehouse Site‐ 1.31 acres/FAR 8 – 113 Parking Stalls currently Potential housing units if developed:
• 463 ‐ 800 sf units or
• 370 – 1,000 sf units or
• 309 – 1,200 sf units
*Structured parking does not count toward total FAR requirements *FAR is the ratio of total building area in relation to lot size. It can be calculated by taking the total building square footage and dividing it by the area of the lot. FAR does not directly limit the height or number of stories of a building; it simply controls the amount of building space allowed on a given lot.
Future
Demand on
Parking
Walker Consultants (Walker)
completed a study to
determine the demand for
future parking based on
anticipated developments,
and the impact to the City’s
Parking System
Walker used the June 2022 parking utilization study as a baseline
The City provided Walker with additional information
including current permits assigned in all garages and lots, and a detailed list of current and projected developments in the downtown
Walker utilized a shared parking model to determine potential parking demand in the downtown resulting from future
development
Walker concluded that the City’s Parking System is adequate to sustain the future demand of proposed developments if no public parking were provided at Lot 11, Whitehouse Site and Garage 5.
Study Methodology
•Walker Consultants utilized a “shared parking” approach to evaluate the needs for future development in the downtown
•Shared parking is the ability to use the same parking resource by multiple nearby or adjacent land uses without conflicts or encroachment, including spillover to adjacent properties or streets •The goal is to find the balance between providing adequate parking while minimizing the negative aspects of excessive land area or resources devoted to parking
•This methodology was developed in the 1980s and is a widely accepted industry standard for rightsizing parking facilities Shared Parking Analysis
Shared Parking Model:
•Considers parking demand for numerous uses including base parking ratios and default values for daily, hourly, and seasonal variations •Considers use of alternative modes of transportation and captive market effects
•Recognizes the interrelationship of parking among residents, and on‐ site accessory uses such as proposed retail, food and beverage space, and adjacent office uses
Shared Parking Analysis (cont.)
Below are the steps of the Shared Parking Analysis showing the supply needed from the remaining facilities:
990 resi units
4990 SF
commercial
proposed in
Downtown
Santa Rosa
Ratios
recommended
in Shared
Parking Model
Ratios based
on commute
data
Adjustments recommended in Shared
Parking Model
816 spaces
recommended
351 spaces
provided
480 spaces needed
off‐site
Shared Parking Analysis (cont.)
Development Name/Parking Facility Name
Additional Future Demand –N e w Development and Removal of Whitehouse Site, Lot 11, and G5
Lot 2L o t 10 Garage 1 Garage 3 Garage 9 Garage 12 1 Santa Rosa Ave 125
420 Mendocino Apartments 110
Ross Street Development 112
425 Humboldt St Apartments 17
The Flats at 528 B Street 25
891 3rd St Multi‐Family Housing 17
888 4th St Apartments
Caritas Homes ‐ Phases I and II 74
Whitehouse site removal 27
Lot 11 removal 48
Garage 5 removal 117
Total Additional Demand 48 17 321 17 144 125
Shared Parking Analysis (cont.)
Lot DL o t 2L o t 10 Lot 6 Garage 1 Garage 3 Garage 9 Garage 12 Current Design Day Parking Occupancy with
increases in Permit Sales 29 92 37 25 127 287 155 162
Additional Demand ‐ Future Development and
Loss of Whitehouse site, 11, & G5 0 48 17 0 321 17 144 125 Total Future Occupancy 29 140 54 25 448 304 299 297
Parking Inventory 39 144 73 43 756 708 448 727
Future Number of Spaces Available 10 4 19 18 308 404 149 440 Future Parking Utilization 74% 97% 74% 58% 59% 43% 67% 39% Study Findings
• A substantial amount of public parking still sits empty in downtown Santa Rosa
• June 2022 study showed only 30% public parking utilization during the design day conditions. Adjusting parking demand up to pre‐pandemic levels, there would still be an estimated 2,585 public parking spaces available, or a 44% utilization • Several development projects are proposed downtown that will need off‐ site parking
• While many of the developments will provide on‐site parking, Walker projects an estimated 480 spaces would be needed off‐site to accommodate the demand of these development projects
• Overall parking permit sales are projected to increase • Since previous design day study, some facilities have had higher permit sales, with a projected increase of 171 parking permits for those facilities Study Findings, continued
•Existing public parking facilities can accommodate the demand projected from future development
• Projected need for 480 off‐site parking spaces could be accommodated by public parking facilities including Lot 10 (5th Street), Garage 1 (7th Street), Garage 3 (5th Street), and Garage 12 (1st Street)
•Existing public parking facilities can accommodate the demand from the loss of parking from the three proposed surplus parcels • Walker projects the parking demand from losing the three proposed parking facilities (approximately 182 vehicles in the last study) could be accommodated by available parking other City facilities like Garage 9 and Lot 2 for example
•Study Area is projected to have capacity with future development • Study area‐wide utilization is expected to grow to 48% (up from 30%), but will be spread out with a few locations expected to exceed 85% utilization Parking Recommendations
Whitehouse
Site
No public parking
requirement‐ open
to negotiation
Lot 11
No public parking
requirement –
open to
negotiation
Garage 5
Minimum 75 public
stalls ‐negotiations
to include potential
City investment
To Balance the Councils Goals and Visions with the needs of the Downtown, Staff Recommends the following regarding replacement of public parking:
Next Steps
• City Council closed session for consideration of price and terms for long term lease or sale of parcels
• HCD approval of Resolutions (30 days)
• Submit a notice of availability to HCD making the
property available to approved affordable housing
sponsors
Next Steps
Continued
Negotiate with interested housing
sponsors
Enter into agreement with housing
sponsor for development
If no interest from approved affordable
housing sponsors, then…
Project sounding, possible issuance of
RFP to private developers
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended by the Finance, Planning and Economic Development and Transportation and Public Works Departments that the Council, by three separate resolutions, pursuant to Government Code Section 54221: 1) declare that each of the following four City owned properties located at (a) 625 and 637 3 rd Street, APNs 009-013-011 and 009-013-012 (“Garage 5”), (b) 500 5th Street, APN 010-053-028 (“Lot 11”), and (c) 730 3rd Street, APN 009-072-044 (“Lot 7”, aka “Whitehouse Site”, together with Garage 5 and Lot 11, collectively “Surplus Lands”) are “non-exempt surplus land”; 2) direct Staff to prepare and submit Notices of Availability for the Surplus Lands; and 3) authorize the City Manager to take all necessary actions to comply with the Surplus Lands Act and carry out Council’s direction in the disposition of the Surplus Lands