BILL ANALYSIS Ó 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