BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 829
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          Date of Hearing:  June 4, 2014

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
                           K.H. "Katcho" Achadjian, Chair
                  SB 829 (Galgiani) - As Amended:  February 13, 2014

           SENATE VOTE  :  34-0
           
          SUBJECT  :  Local government:  City of Escalon:  sale of property.

           SUMMARY  :  Allows the City of Escalon to sell specified parcels  
          of land, which were acquired with state bond funds, under  
          certain conditions.  Specifically,  this bill  :   

          1)Allows the City of Escalon (City) to sell parcels 247-130-34  
            and 247-130-35 located at 19401 Dahlin Road, in the County of  
            San Joaquin, if all of the following conditions are met:

             a)   The City complies with provisions of the Safe  
               Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water, Clean Air, and Coastal  
               Protection Bond Act of 2000 (the Villaraigosa-Keeley Act)  
               that specify maintenance, use, transfer, and disposition  
               restrictions on the property, and submits to the Department  
               of Parks and Recreation (DPR) a proposal demonstrating  
               compliance with those provisions; 

             b)   The City submits to DPR a proposal that contains all of  
               the following: 

               i)     The sale price and acquisition price of the original  
                 grant-funded property and the replacement property,  
                 respectively, along with a finding that the replacement  
                 property has a value that equals the amount of the grant  
                 used to acquire the original property, the fair market  
                 value of that real property, or the proceeds from the  
                 sale, whichever is greater;

               ii)    A commitment by the City to file a deed restriction  
                 on the replacement property, 
               if the proposal is approved by DPR; 

               iii)   Current appraisals of both properties, along with a  
                 third-party review of the appraisals; 

               iv)    A willing seller letter for the replacement property  








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                 to be acquired; 

               v)     A parcel map of the replacement property to be  
                 acquired and the proposed new site; 

               vi)    A conceptual site plan for the replacement property,  
                 if the property requires development for public use; and,

               vii)   A commitment by the City to develop the replacement  
                 property for recreational purposes. 

          2)Prohibits the sale of the original property and purchase of  
            the replacement property pursuant to 1), above, from occurring  
            until DPR determines that all of the conditions set forth in  
            1), above, have been met.
          3)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 circumstances of the purchase of the  
            original property by the City and the limits placed on the  
            use, including the sale of that property, by the  
            Villaraigosa-Keeley Act.

          4)Declares that this bill is an urgency statute necessary for  
            the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or  
            safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution  
            and shall go into effect immediately.  The facts constituting  
            the necessity are:  To facilitate the timely use of grant  
            funds and the development of parkland in the City, it is  
            necessary that this act take effect immediately.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Authorizes, under the Villaraigosa-Keeley Act, a financing  
            program for the acquisition, development, improvement,  
            rehabilitation, restoration, enhancement, and protection of  
            park, recreational, cultural, historical, fish and wildlife,  
            lake, riparian, reservoir, river, and coastal resources,  
            through the issuance of general obligation bonds.

          2)Requires that the proceeds from the Villaraigosa-Keeley Act be  
            used only for the purpose for which the grant was made.

          3)Prohibits a property that was purchased with grant funds from  
            changing to a use that is not permitted under the  








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            Villaraigosa-Keeley Act unless such a change is authorized by  
            the Legislature.  

          4)Requires, if the use of the property changes or the property  
            is sold, the grantee to receive or purchase property of equal  
            value and create new parkland, or return the funds back to the  
            state, as specified.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.

           COMMENTS  :   

           1)Purpose of this bill  .  This bill allows the City to sell  
            specified parcels of land, that were originally acquired with  
            Villaraigosa-Keeley Act bond funds, as long as the City meets  
            specified conditions and DPR determines that those conditions  
            have been met.  This bill is author-sponsored.

           2)Author's statement  .  According to the author, "The City of  
            Escalon obtained grant funds from the (Villaraigosa-Keeley)  
            Act to acquire property outside the City limits for a creation  
            of a new park adjacent to a planned housing development.  The  
            developer canceled its development plans, which left the City  
            with undeveloped parkland outside City limits where no  
            residents would reside.  This parkland is remote, and without  
            housing to support utility infrastructure, park development  
            became unnecessary."

           3)Background  .  The Villaraigosa-Keeley Act requires grant  
            recipients to agree to use the property only for the purposes  
            for which the grant was made.  The grantee cannot make any  
            other use or sale or other disposition of the property, except  
            as authorized by a specific act of the Legislature.  If the  
            use of the property changes or the property is sold upon  
            approval by the Legislature, the grantee must either return  
            the funds to the state or use replacement funds for a purpose  
            that is consistent with the original grant.  The replacement  
            funds can equal the amount of the grant, the fair market value  
            of the real property, or the proceeds from the sale of the  
            property, whichever is greater.

           4)Previous legislation  .  The Legislature has allowed several  
            cities to transfer park property acquired or developed with  
            state bond funds to other public entities on the condition  








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            that the cities or entities provide replacement property:

            AB 1732 (Hall), Chapter 191, Statutes of 2010, allowed the  
            City of Los Angeles to transfer to the Los Angeles Unified  
            School District (LAUSD) parkland acquired with park bond funds  
            and, in exchange, LAUSD provided replacement parkland  
            facilities.

            AB 1457 (Baca), Chapter 852, Statutes of 2006, allowed the  
            City of San Bernardino (San Bernardino) to transfer Seccombe  
            Lake Park to the Redevelopment Agency of San Bernardino in  
            exchange for replacement park land within reasonable proximity  
            of Seccombe Lake Park.

            AB 1864 (Matthews), Chapter 558, Statutes of 2006, allowed the  
            City of Merced to transfer up to three acres of land in  
            Fahrens Creek Park to the Merced City School District to  
            construct a new school, subject to the provisions of the  
            Public Park Preservation Act of 1971.

            AB 730 (Diaz), Chapter 28, Statutes of 2001, allowed the City  
            of San Jose to exchange 3.82 acres of parkland at Coyote Creek  
            Park, acquired with state funds, for a parcel of 13 acres to  
            be used in the Coyote Creek Park.

           5)Urgency clause .  This bill contains an urgency clause.

           6)Arguments in support  .  The City of Escalon, in support,  
            writes, "This bill will allow the City of Escalon to sell 31  
            acres that was acquired under public resources code.  By this  
            bill, the City will dispose of the land and reinvest in a more  
            feasible park acquisition pursuant to this grant program."

           7)Arguments in opposition  .  None on file.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           
          City of Escalon
           
            Opposition 
           
          None on file









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           Analysis Prepared by  :    Angela Mapp / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958