BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE
Senator Lois Wolk, Chair
BILL NO: AB 121 HEARING: 5/15/13
AUTHOR: Dickinson FISCAL: No
VERSION: 4/15/13 TAX LEVY: No
CONSULTANT: Lui
SACRAMENTO COUNTY'S PROPERTY SALES
Authorizes the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, by
4/5-vote of the board, to sell, or enter into a lease,
concession, or managerial contract for county property.
Background and Existing Law
State law generally requires a county to sell or lease
property using a competitive sealed-bid process. A county
board of supervisors must, by a 2/3-vote, adopt a
resolution in a regular open meeting declaring its
intention to sell or lease the property. The resolution
must describe the property and the terms upon which it will
be sold or leased. At least three weeks after adopting the
resolution, the board must hold a public meeting at which
sealed proposals to purchase or lease the property must be
considered. State law exempts a county from these
requirements, and allows it to sell real property at less
than fair market value, to provide housing that is
affordable to low and moderate income residents.
As part of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process
that followed the end of the Cold War, Mather Air Force
Base (AFB) and McClellan Air Force Base in Sacramento
County closed in 1991 and 2001, respectively. In 1996, the
Legislature set up a generic statute to expedite the
redevelopment of military bases
(AB 2736, Weggeland, 1996). Because many of the
assumptions underlying the 1993 special statute didn't
materialize, local officials asked the Legislature to
repeal the special law (AB 774, Cardoza, 2000). Sacramento
County formed its own redevelopment project area to fund
improvements on county property on the former Air Force
bases. To facilitate Sacramento County's efforts to
revitalize lands on the Air Force bases, the Legislature
granted it the authority to enter into leases, concessions,
AB 121 -- 4/15/13 -- Page 2
and managerial contracts, without following the public
bidding process, by a 4/5-vote of the board and if
specified findings and conditions were met (AB 797,
Takasugi, 1997).
Until 2011, the Community Redevelopment Law allowed local
officials to set up redevelopment agencies (RDAs), prepare
and adopt redevelopment plans, and finance redevelopment
activities. The Law authorized RDAs to sell or lease
property without public bidding as long as the RDA provided
public notice and held a public hearing. Citing a
significant State General Fund deficit, Governor Brown's
2011-12 budget proposed eliminating RDAs and returning
billions of dollars of property tax revenues to schools,
cities, and counties to fund core services. Among the
statutory changes that the Legislature adopted to implement
the 2011-12 budget, AB X1 26 (Blumenfield, 2011) dissolved
all RDAs.
Sacramento County's authority to pursue an alternative
process to enter into leases, concessions, and managerial
contracts for county property due to the closure of Mather
AFB and McClellan AFB was automatically repealed on January
1, 2011. Sacramento County officials want the Legislature
to renew this authority.
Proposed Law
Assembly Bill 121 authorizes the Sacramento County Board of
Supervisors, by 4/5-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 or McClellan Air Force Base.
AB 121 prohibits the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors
from taking a vote to sell, or enter into a lease,
concession, or managerial contract involving specified
property unless the following conditions are met, or if the
Board makes a finding in a noticed public hearing that the
following conditions were met when the county acquired
property from the federal government:
The county solely governs the property's reuse.
The county has prepared and adopted a general or
specific plan according to state law and has adopted a
AB 121 -- 4/15/13 -- Page 3
zoning ordinance for the area, and the proposed use is
consistent with that general or specific plan and the
zoning ordinance.
The airport land use commission has prepared and
adopted a comprehensive airport land use compatibility
plan (ALUCP) for the area, according to state law, and
the proposed use is consistent with the ALUCP.
The county has complied with state laws regarding
the disposal of surplus land.
The county has published notice for ten days in a
newspaper published at least weekly, and posted the
notice in the county clerk's office. The notice must
specify the date that the board determines that any of
the affected property is subject to the bill's
requirements, and must include all of the following:
o A description of the proposed property to
be sold, leased, or subject to a concession or
managerial contract.
o The proposed terms of the sale, lease,
concession, or managerial contract.
o The location where offers will be
accepted and executed.
o The county officer's telephone number and
address.
The bill requires the County of Sacramento to comply with
state laws governing redevelopment agencies' dissolution
and successor agencies, if the property is located in a
former redevelopment area.
The bill makes findings and declarations that a special law
is necessary because of Sacramento County's unique needs,
relative to the disposition of property acquired following
the closure of Mather Air Force Base and McClellan Air
Force Base.
State Revenue Impact
No estimate.
Comments
1. Purpose of the bill . Developing real property on a
decommissioned air force bases poses substantial
challenges. Revitalizing former base property that may
AB 121 -- 4/15/13 -- Page 4
contain outdated structures, inadequate infrastructure, and
toxic contamination requires a sophisticated developer with
sufficient resources to make substantial capital
investments. The Legislature recognized these obstacles
and granted Sacramento County an exemption from state laws,
authorizing the County to enter into a lease, concession,
or managerial contract by a 4/5-vote of its Board and only
if specific conditions were met for county property on
former Mather and McClellan Air Force Bases. However, this
authorization sunset in 2011, and development at the two
former bases is not yet complete. Sacramento County
utilized its exemption to attract a developer for former
Mather AFB. According to the author, the exemption was
instrumental in the County's ability to directly negotiate
with a qualified developer for the purchase and development
of more than 800 acres of property on former Mather AFB in
2010. This development is planned as a mixed-use
development and expected to generate 3,600 construction
jobs and 3,000 permanent jobs. The County also intends to
develop around 450 acres adjacent to the Mather Airport
runway into an airport business park complex, such as
aircraft maintenance facilities, aircraft manufacturing
facilities, and industrial distribution centers. AB 121
restores Sacramento County's ability to expedite land
transactions and allows the County to directly negotiate
with developers to achieve the highest and best use of the
land. By re-enacting the exemption, Sacramento County can
continue to utilize the vital flexibility needed in their
efforts to develop Mather and McClellan Air Force Bases.
2. Related efforts . On May 8, the Committee passed SB 339
(Cannella) on a vote of 7-0, which authorizes a county, by
a 4/5-vote of the board of supervisors, to sell, or enter
into a lease, concession, or managerial contract involving
county property acquired from federal government from the
closure of a military base. Given that the authority
granted under SB 339 applies to all counties, the Committee
may wish to consider whether the Legislature should pass
legislation that applies only to Sacramento County.
Assembly Actions
Assembly Local Government: 7-2
Assembly Floor: 58-18
AB 121 -- 4/15/13 -- Page 5
Support and Opposition (5/9/13)
Support : Sacramento County.
Opposition : Unknown.