BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 121
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 121 (Dickinson)
As Amended April 15, 2013
Majority vote
LOCAL GOVERNMENT 7-2
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|Ayes:|Achadjian, Levine, Alejo, | | |
| |Bradford, | | |
| |Gordon, Mullin, Frazier | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Melendez, Waldron | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Provides an exemption from current law governing the
disposition of county property to allow Sacramento County to
sell or lease its property on the former Mather Air Force Base
or McClellan Air Force Base under specified conditions.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Allows the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors (Board), by
a four-fifths vote of the board, to sell, or enter into a
lease, concession, or managerial contract involving a
specified area of county property that the county has acquired
from the federal government due to the closure of Mather Air
Force Base (AFB) or McClellan AFB, without otherwise complying
with current law governing the disposition of county property.
2)Requires the Board to take action as specified above only if
the following conditions are met, or if the Board makes a
finding in a noticed public hearing that the following
conditions were met at the time the property was acquired from
the federal government:
a) Reuse of the property is governed solely by the county;
b) The county has prepared and adopted a general or
specific plan pursuant to current law, as specified, and
has adopted a zoning ordinance for the area, and the
proposed use is consistent with that general or specific
plan and the zoning ordinance;
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c) The airport land use commission has prepared and adopted
a comprehensive airport land use plan for the area pursuant
to current law, as specified, and the proposed use is
consistent with that plan;
d) The county has complied with current law governing the
disposition of surplus land and the conformity of real
property acquisition or disposition with its general plan
with regard to the property, as specified; and,
e) The county has given notice in a regularly-published
newspaper, as specified, and posted the notice in the
office of the county clerk. The notice shall specify the
date that the Board determines that any of the affected
property shall be subject to this bill, and shall include
all of the following:
i) A description of the property proposed to be sold,
leased, or subject to a concession or managerial contract
pursuant to this bill;
ii) The proposed terms of the sale, lease, concession,
or managerial contract;
iii) The location where offers will be accepted and
executed; and,
iv) The telephone number and address of the county
officer responsible for executing the sale, lease,
concession, or managerial contract.
3)Provides that this bill shall not be construed to release
Sacramento County from complying with the provisions in
current law governing the disposition of real property by
successor agencies to redevelopment agencies, as specified, if
the property is located in a former redevelopment area.
4)Finds and declares that a special law is necessary and that a
general law cannot be made applicable within the meaning of
Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution
because of the unique needs of the County of Sacramento
relative to the disposition of the property acquired by the
county from the federal government pursuant to the closure of
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Mather AFB and McClellan AFB.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Prescribes the procedures that counties must follow when
leasing or selling real property.
2)Requires the county board of supervisors, before ordering the
sale or lease of any property, in a regular open meeting, by a
two-thirds vote of all its members, to adopt a resolution,
declaring its intention to sell the property, or a resolution
declaring its intention to lease it, as the case may be. The
resolution shall describe the property proposed to be sold, or
leased, in a manner as to identify it and shall specify the
minimum price, or rental, and the terms upon which it will be
sold, or leased, and shall fix a time, not less than three
weeks thereafter for a public meeting of the board of
supervisors to be held at its regular place of meeting, at
which sealed proposals to purchase or lease will be received
and considered.
3)Requires, at the time and place fixed in the resolution for
the meeting of the board of supervisors, all sealed proposals
which have been received to, in public session, be opened,
examined, and declared by the board. Of the proposals
submitted which conform to all terms and conditions specified
in the resolution of intention to sell or to lease and which
are made by responsible bidders, the proposal which is the
highest shall be finally accepted, unless a higher oral bid is
accepted or the board rejects all bids.
4)Provides several limited exemptions to these procedures for a
variety of public purposes.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : This bill allows Sacramento County to sell or lease
real property on the former Mather AFB or McClellan AFB without
having to follow all of the requirements in current law
governing the disposition of county property. According to the
author, "Mather and McClellan were designated as redevelopment
areas and the tools that came with redevelopment were
advantageous for the County and a number of successful property
sales were accomplished via the Sacramento Housing and
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Redevelopment Agency (SHRA). Over 200 acres with 2.5 million
square feet of Class A office space was developed in the Mather
Commerce Center with the assistance of SHRA. Redevelopment is
no longer available for the county to use in the continued
development of Mather and McClellan.
"Without this exemption (that AB 121 provides), the County would
be required to sell to the highest bidder, regardless of how the
bidder's long-term plans for the site conflict with the County,
and undertake Requests for Proposals (RFPs), a time consuming
and labor intensive practice." This bill is sponsored by the
Sacramento County Board of Supervisors.
Current law requires counties to follow specified procedures
when disposing of surplus property. These requirements are in
place to provide transparency and protect the public's tax
dollars, and include a two-thirds vote of the county board of
supervisors, advance public notice and a public hearing, minimum
sale price, sale terms, and a bid process that can be observed
by the public. However, these procedures are lengthy and the
required competitive sealed-bid process, which is open to
anyone, can run counter to a county's intent for the property's
highest and best use, the author contends.
Redeveloping former military bases poses unique challenges.
Both Mather and McClellan are designated Superfund sites, with a
variety of contaminants and other hazards that require
remediation and a developer with the expertise and resources to
handle such complex work. The competitive bid process requires
the county to accept the highest responsible bidder, regardless
of that contractor's track record in redeveloping brownfield
sites like former AFBs.
This bill re-enacts an exemption that was originally enacted in
1997 and expired January 1, 2011. According to the author, this
exemption was instrumental in a public/private sales contract
for more than 800 acres of property in the southeast corner of
Mather in 2010. The purchase agreement was originally for 639
acres, and was recently amended to add additional acreage for
opportunities. The exemption was used as the legal basis to
contract with the developer, which will master plan the 800
acres as a mixed use development that is expected to generate
3,600 construction jobs and 3,000 permanent jobs.
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Sacramento County expects to rely on the exemption proposed in
this bill to develop areas at Mather that were adopted as part
of Sacramento County's Mather Field Specific Plan in 1997. The
sponsor reports that the exact development will depend on many
factors, including the market, and that the primary objective of
a 357-acre airport commercial area is to create an airport
business park complex that is oriented to air cargo, aircraft
maintenance, general aviation and airport support uses. This
area is adjacent to the Mather Airport runway, one of the
largest runways in the state, which makes it attractive for
related commercial development and job creation. Development
could include aircraft maintenance facilities, facilities for
manufacturing small- to medium-sized aircraft, aircraft sales,
aircraft storage, public sector and private industrial and
distribution centers, and facilities for aerial photography and
survey companies. The primary objective of an 89-acre adjacent
commercial development area would consist of facilities in
support of the airport development as well as general commercial
facilities, such as food and service industries and limited
retail facilities.
In 2012, a similar bill, SB 1546 (Cannella), was introduced
allowing a county that owns real property on a converted
military base to sell that real property or any interest therein
in the manner and upon the terms and conditions approved by the
board of supervisors without complying with state laws governing
the sale of county-owned real property, upon a finding that the
sale is in the public interest. SB 1546 died in the Senate
Governance and Finance Committee.
Support arguments: "Under AB 121, the County would continue to
comply with all the original conditions of the exemption, such
as the requirement that the Sacramento County Board of
Supervisors take action at a noticed public hearing. The
authority for the County to continue to directly negotiate with
interested developers in AB 121 is critical to revitalizing
these two important economic assets in our region and additional
time is required."
Opposition arguments: Opponents could argue that the
competitive bid process is the most effective method to garner
the highest price for public lands and, thus, the best
protection for taxpayer dollars.
AB 121
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Analysis Prepared by : Angela Mapp / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958
FN: 0000166