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HomeMy WebLinkAboutE-6 Staff Report - Declaration of Surplus Land_APN 8684013923 and 904CONSENT ITEM E-6 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL VIA: SERGIO GONZALEZ, CITY MANAGER FROM: SERGIO GONZALEZ, ACTING ECONOMIC & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR DATE: AUGUST 15, 2022 SUBJECT: DECLARATION OF SURPLUS PROPERTY PURSUANT TO AB 1486 – APNS: 8684-013-923 AND 8684-013-904, IN THE CITY OF AZUSA, CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES BACKGROUND: The City of Azusa (“City”) owns and controls real property located in the northerly portion of the City, north of Mountain View Circle and West Sierra Madre Avenue (the “Property”). The subject Property consists of two parcels (APN: 8684-013-904 and APN: 8684-013-923) measuring approximately .65 acres and 9.41 acres The zoning designation for the subject Property is Recreation, its General Plan Land Use Designation is also Recreation, and is shown on the map below highlighted in red and green. Please note that the property highlighted in yellow on the map is NOT part of the subject item, as it was previously declared surplus, and was included on the map only to provide additional context. APPROVED CITY COUNCIL 8/15/2022 Declaration of Surplus Property – APN: 8684-013-904 and 923 August 15, 2022 Page 2 RECOMMENDATIONS: 1) Find that the declaration of surplus property is exempt from environmental review pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act; and 2) Adopt Resolution No. 2022-C55 declaring that the property identified as APN: 8684-013- 904 and APN: 8684-013-923 is surplus land and is no longer necessary for the City’s use; and 3) Approving the form of the Notice of Availability attached to the resolution, and directing the City Manager to follow the procedures set forth in the Surplus Land Act, California Government Code Section 54220, et seq., as amended by AB 1486, for the lease of surplus land Declaration of Surplus Property – APN: 8684-013-904 and 923 August 15, 2022 Page 3 ANALYSIS: The California Surplus Land Act (Government Code § 54220 et seq.) (the “Surplus Land Act”) requires all local agencies to prioritize affordable housing, as well as parks and open space when disposing of surplus land. The Property is in an area of the City not characterized by housing development. Nevertheless, in order to proceed to an eventual lease of the property, it is necessary to comply with the Surplus Land Act. New legislation (AB 1486) which took effect on January 1, 2020 significantly amended the Surplus Land Act to require that before a local agency takes any action to dispose of land, the land must be declared either “surplus land” or “exempt surplus land,” as supported by written findings. “Surplus land” means the land owned by a local agency for which the local agency’s governing body takes formal action in a regular public meeting declaring that the land is surplus and is not necessary for the agency’s use. The City must take formal action declaring the subject City-owned property is surplus property. Adoption of the attached Resolution would declare the subject property as surplus land. New legislation (AB 1486) which took effect on January 1, 2020 significantly amended the Surplus Land Act to require that before a local agency takes any action to dispose of land, the land must be declared either “surplus land” or “exempt surplus land,” as supported by written findings. “Surplus land” means the land owned by a local agency for which the local agency’s governing body takes formal action in a regular public meeting declaring that the land is surplus and is not necessary for the agency’s use. The parcels which make up the subject Property meet the definition of surplus land and is no longer necessary for the City’s use. The City must take formal action declaring the subject City-owned property is surplus property. Adoption of the attached Resolution would declare the subject property as surplus land. Upon the City’s determination that the 8684-013-904 and 8684-013-923 property is surplus land, the procedures set forth in Government Code Section 54220 et seq. must be followed. Those procedures require the City to offer the surplus land to certain public entities for a period of 60 days by transmitting a written notice of availability to those entities, including: 1. For the purpose of developing low and moderate income housing, a written notice of availability of the surplus land shall be sent to any “local public entity” as defined in Health and Safety Code 50079 within whose jurisdiction the surplus land is located and to “Housing Sponsors” that have notified the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) of their interest in surplus land. 2. For open space purposes, a written notice of availability of the surplus land shall be sent to local park districts. 3. For the purpose of use by a school district for school facilities construction or open space purposes, a written notice of availability of surplus land shall be sent to the Azusa Unified School District. 4. To any other public entities with jurisdiction over the parcels of surplus land a written notice of availability. Declaration of Surplus Property – APN: 8684-013-904 and 923 August 15, 2022 Page 4 If the City receives a correspondence expressing interest from any of the above entities after transmitting a written notice of availability, the City is required to enter into good faith negotiations concerning the price and terms of disposition with that entity for a period of 90 days. If the price and terms cannot be agreed upon after 90 days (or if no entity gives notice of interest), the City may dispose of the surplus land without further regard to the surplus land procedures, subject to provisions in the Surplus Land Act requiring the recording on title of an affordability covenant in the event more than ten (10) units of residential housing are ever developed on the subject property. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS: The action is exempt from environmental review pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (Pub. Resources Code, § 2100 et seq.) and State CEQA Guidelines (Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 14, §15312) which applies to the declaration and sale of surplus government property. FISCAL IMPACT: There would be no fiscal impact related to this item. Prepared by: Reviewed by: Matt Marquez Marco Martinez Economic & Community Development Director City Attorney Fiscal Review by: Reviewed and Approved by: Talika M. Johnson Sergio Gonzalez Director of Administrative Services City Manager Attachments: 1) Resolution No. 2022-C55 & Draft Notice of Availability RESOLUTION NO. 2022-C55 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA DECLARING PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54221 THAT CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY OWNED BY THE CITY COMMONLY KNOWN AS ASSESSOR PARCEL NUMBERS 8684- 013-904 AND 8684-013-923, LOCATED NORTH OF MOUNTAIN VIEW CIRCLE AND WEST SIERRA MADRE AVENUE, IS NON- EXEMPT SURPLUS LAND, APPROVING THE FORM OF NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY THEREFOR, AUTHORIZING THE GENERAL MANAGER TO COMPLY WITH THE SURPLUS LAND ACT, AND FINDING THE FOREGOING CATEGORICALLY EXEMPT FROM CEQA REVIEW WHEREAS, the City of Azusa (the “City”) is the owner in fee simple of that certain real property, commonly known as Assessor Parcel Numbers 8684-013-904, which is approximately 0.65 acres in size, as well as Assessor Parcel Number 8684-013- 923, which is approximately 9.41 acres in size, as more particularly depicted in Exhibit A, attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference (“Property”). The Property is located in the northerly portion of the City, north of Mountain View Circle and West Sierra Madre Avenue; and WHEREAS, the City no longer has any use for the Property; and WHEREAS, the Surplus Land Act, Government Code sections 54220 et seq. (as amended, the “Act”), applies when a local agency disposes of “surplus land,” as that term is defined in Government Code section 54221; and WHEREAS, the Property is “surplus land” under the Act, because it is land owned in fee simple by the City for which the City Council will take formal action (in the form of adoption of this resolution) in a regular public meeting declaring that the land is surplus and is not necessary for the City’s use; and WHEREAS, the Act requires that prior to the disposal of any surplus land, unless an exemption applies, a local agency must issue a Notice of Availability to, among others, affordable housing developers, and thereafter, if any entity submits a qualified Notice of Interest within sixty (60) days of issuance of the Notice of Availability, the local agency must negotiate in good faith for at least ninety (90) days with any such submitting entities; and WHEREAS, the Property is not exempt from the Act; and WHEREAS, a form of Notice of Availability is attached hereto as Exhibit B. Attachment 1 NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA, CALIFORNIA, DOES HEREBY RESOLVE 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 finds and declares that the Property is “surplus land” as used in the Act, because the Property is owned in fee simple by the City, and the Property is surplus and is not necessary for the City’s use. SECTION 3. The City Council hereby approves the form of Notice of Availability (“NOA”) substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit B. SECTION 4. The City Council hereby authorizes the City Manager or designee to take all necessary actions to fully comply with the Act without further need to obtain City Council approval. SECTION 5. This Resolution has been reviewed with respect to the applicability of the California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code Section 21000 et seq.) (“CEQA”). City staff has determined that the designation of this property as non-exempt surplus, approval of the form of NOA, and authorization for the City Manager to comply with the Act do not have the potential for creating a significant effect on the environment and are therefore exempt from further review under CEQA pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c)(3), because such actions do not constitute a “project” as defined by the CEQA Guidelines, Section 15378. In the alternative, even if the actions contemplated here constituted a “project” under CEQA, they involve the sale of surplus government property, which is exempt from environmental review under CEQA pursuant to a Class 12 categorical exemption. Specifically, the government property is not located in an area of statewide, regional or areawide concern as defined in CEQA Guidelines section 15206(b)(4). The Property is not located in any of the following: the Lake Tahoe Basin, the Santa Monica Mountains Zone, the California Coastal Zone, an area within ¼ mile of a wild and scenic river, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the Suisun Marsh, or the jurisdiction of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. Therefore, the City Council’s adoption of this Resolution is exempt from CEQA review. Finally, adoption of the Resolution does not have the potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. If and when the Property is sold to a purchaser, and that purchaser proposes a use for the Property that requires a discretionary permit and CEQA review, that future use and project will be analyzed at the appropriate time in accordance with CEQA. SECTION 4. If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this Resolution is declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Resolution. SECTION 5. The City Clerk shall attest and certify to the passage and adoption of this Resolution and enter it into the book of original resolutions, and it shall become effective immediately upon its approval. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 15th day of August, 2022. ____________________________________ Robert Gonzales Mayor ATTEST: ____________________________________ Jeffrey Lawrence Cornejo, Jr. City Clerk STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss. CITY OF AZUSA ) I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Resolution No. 2022-___ was duly adopted by the City Council, at a regular meeting of said City Council held on the 15th day of August 2022, by the following vote of the Council: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: ___________________________________ Jeffrey Lawrence Cornejo, Jr. City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: ___________________________________ Best, Best & Krieger, LLP City Attorney EXHIBIT A Property Depiction EXHIBIT B Form of Notice of Availability (Starts on Following Page) DATE To All Interested Parties: RE: Notice of Availability of Surplus Property As required by the Surplus Land Act (Government Code Section 54220 et seq.) (the “Act”), the CITY OF AZUSA (the “City”) is providing notification that the City intends to lease the surplus property listed in the accompanying table, which is more particularly depicted in Attachment 1. APN ADDRESS SIZE (AC) ZONING GENERAL PLAN DESIGNATION CURRENT USE 8684-013- 923 N/A 9.41 acres Recreation Recreation Azusa Light & Water Equipment/Facility 8684-013- 904 N/A .65 acres Recreation Recreation Azusa Light & Water Equipment/Facility The City owns and controls property located in the northerly portion of the City, northeast of Mountain View Circle and West Sierra Madre Avenue, and adjacent to the City’s water spreading grounds. The subject parcels are currently home to water infrastructure, including tanks and wells. The City intends to lease (and not sell) the subject property. In accordance with Government Code Section 54222, you have sixty (60) days from the date this Notice was sent via certified mail or electronic mail to notify the City of your interest in acquiring any or all of the above properties. However, this offer shall not obligate the City to lease the property to you. Instead, if your notice of interest is compliant with the Act, the City would enter into at least ninety (90) days of negotiations with you pursuant to Government Code Section 54223. If no notices of interest are received during the 60-day period or no agreement is reached on lease terms, with a submitter of a qualifying notice of interest, the City may market the property to the general public. As required by Government Code Section 54227, if the City receives more than one letter of interest during this 60-day period, it will give first priority to entities proposing to develop housing where at least 25 percent of the units will be affordable to lower income households. If more than one such proposal is received, priority will be given to the proposal with the greatest number of affordable units. If more than one proposal specifies the same number of affordable units, priority will be given to the proposal that has the lowest average affordability level. In the event your agency or company is interested in leasing one or more of the properties, you must notify the City in writing within sixty (60) days of the date this notice was sent via certified mail or electronic mail. Notice of your interest in acquiring any of the properties should be delivered to: City of Azusa Attn: Carina Campos, Economic Development Specialist 213 East Foothill Boulevard Azusa, CA 91702 You may also direct your questions to ccampos@AzusaCa.Gov or by calling (626) 812-5102. Entities proposing to submit a letter of interest are advised to review the requirements set forth in the Surplus Land Act (Government Code Section 54220- 54234) and the Surplus Land Act Guidelines (April 2021) promulgated by the State Department of Housing and Community Development. ATTACHMENT 1 Depiction of Surplus Property