BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: SB 1095
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: Evans
VERSION: 2/19/14
Analysis by: Nathan Phillips FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: April 29, 2014
SUBJECT:
State Highway Route 12
DESCRIPTION:
This bill deletes a portion of State Highway Route 12 in Santa
Rosa from the state highway system, and states the Legislature's
intent to transfer this property to local agencies for a park
and recreation facility to be known as the Southeast Greenway.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law gives the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) authority to declare excess property.
The California Transportation Commission (CTC) has issued
guidelines for the sale of excess property, which require
competitive bidding. The CTC exempts from the competitive
bidding process excess land sales to public agencies for public
use and for affordable housing.
Caltrans has declared its intent to deem as excess property a
52-acre parcel, running from Spring Lake to Highway 12 at
Farmers Lane in the City of Santa Rosa.
This bill states the intent of the Legislature to declare the
same 52 acres of State Highway Route 12 as surplus property and
to direct a transfer of the property to the Southeast Greenway,
a non-profit organization, for public use and recreation.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . According to the sponsor, the parcel this bill
declares as surplus was originally slated to be the home of a
Highway 12 bypass to connect with a proposed bridge over
Spring Lake in the City of Santa Rosa. Local voters
resoundingly defeated this plan. Without the bridge, the
corridor lost utility as a highway right-of-way, leading
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Caltrans to declare this property as excess. The author
introduced this bill to assist local agencies in acquiring the
property to develop it as a greenway.
2.The Southeast Greenway . The Southeast Greenway Campaign is a
community-based effort to develop an urban greenway on the
stretch of open space that links Spring Lake to Highway 12 at
Farmers Lane in Santa Rosa. The greenway would include bike
and pedestrian pathways, neighborhood parks, community
gardens, arts and recreation, and places for children and
youth. The fiscal sponsor of the Southeast Greenway Campaign
is the Leadership Institute for Ecology and the Economy, a
501(c)3 non-profit organization. The campaign is funded
primarily by private donors and individuals, and is working
directly with the City of Santa Rosa and Sonoma County to
acquire and develop the property.
3.Caltrans has authority (but not sole authority) to declare
excess property . Legislation is not necessary to declare
highway property as surplus or excess. Existing statute
provides the underlying authority to Caltrans to declare and
sell excess property. According to Caltrans, most excess land
declarations and property transfers occur through direct
negotiations between Caltrans and public agencies. There is
precedent, however, for the Legislature to direct Caltrans to
declare a highway as surplus property (see, for example, AB
434 [Keeley], Chapter 136, Statutes of 2001). The precedent
demonstrates that, while Caltrans can already make the
declaration of the land in question as surplus, legislation
can also declare highway surplus land and encourage the
acquisition of land for a local agency. This bill is merely
an expression of legislative intent for Caltrans to declare
surplus property. As such, the author's objective might more
appropriately be achieved through a resolution. The committee
may wish to amend the bill to explicitly direct, rather than
express an intention for, Caltrans to make the surplus
property declaration.
4.Should a sale be at a market price or a non-market price ?
Should the Southeast Greenway obtain this land for its
purposes at a below-market price, Santa Rosa's win would be
the state highway system's loss. The market value of the
52-acre parcel may exceed $15 million, according to informal
estimates, even though the original acquisition cost,
according to the author, was $740,000. Lost sale revenue
would be a loss to funds dedicated to the state highway
SB 1095 (EVANS) Page 3
system.
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday, April 23,
2014.)
SUPPORT: Santa Rosa Southeast Greenway Campaign (sponsor)
ArchiLOGIX
Bennett Valley Union School District
Forest Unlimited
Friends of the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit
District
LandPaths
Leadership Institute for Ecology and the Economy
Montgomery High School, Santa Rosa, CA
Neighborhood Association Serving Zip 95405
North Bay Association of Realtors
Parks Alliance for Sonoma County
Pepperwood Foundation and Preserve
Rincon Valley Union School District
Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce
Santa Rosa Cycling Club, Inc.
Social Advocates for Youth
Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open
Space District
Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Sonoma County Conservation Action
Sonoma County Department of Health Services
Sonoma County Regional Parks
Sonoma County Water Agency
Sonoma County Water Coalition
Sonoma Land Trust
OPPOSED: None received.