BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 121
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 121 (Dickinson)
As Amended August 12, 2013
Majority vote
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |58-18|(April 22, |SENATE: |37-0 |(August 15, |
| | |2013) | | |2013) |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: L. GOV.
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, and to
allow Merced County to do the same for property sales on the
former Castle Air Force Base.
The Senate amendments add Merced County and Castle Air Force
Base to the bill's property sales provisions and make technical
changes.
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,
AB 121
Page 2
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.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Allowed 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)Required 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;
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
AB 121
Page 3
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)Provided 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)Found and declared 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
Mather AFB and McClellan AFB.
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, and allows Merced
County to do the same to sell property on the former Castle AFB.
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
AB 121
Page 4
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 for Sacramento County 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.
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.
Sacramento County 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
AB 121
Page 5
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.
Merced County also seeks the ability to sell county-owned real
property on the former Castle Air Force Base through direct
negotiation with interested buyers. The uncertainty associated
with the sealed-bid process that applies to county property
sales deters potential investors interested in developing lands
on former military bases. This uncertainty played a role in
2012, when Merced County was working with a Texas-based
investment group that was looking to site a bioscience-stem cell
facility. As a result, the investors did not bid on the
property.
SB 339 (Cannella) of 2013 is similar to this bill, but allows
the exemption for any county in the state and for the
disposition of property acquired due to the closure of any
military base. SB 339 is pending in the Assembly Local
Government Committee.
SB 1546 (Cannella) of 2012 would have allowed 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 was held 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
Page 6
Analysis Prepared by : Angela Mapp / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958
FN: 0001648