Title
Consider Addressing the Surplus Lands Act, including Lobbying Efforts and Assembly Bill 1486. (Councilmember Herrera Spencer) [Not heard on May 4, 2021]
Body
COUNCIL REFERRAL FORM
The Council can take any of the following actions:
1) Take no action.
2) Refer the matter to staff to schedule as a future City Council agenda item.
3) Take dispositive action if sufficiently noticed such that the public and Council have been provided sufficient information by the published agenda, and no formal published notice of a public hearing is required.
Name of Councilmember requesting referral: Councilmember Herrera Spencer
Date of submission to City Clerk (must be submitted before 5:00 p.m. on the Monday two weeks before the Council meeting requested): 4/19/2021
Council Meeting date: 5/4/2021
Brief description of the subject to be printed on the agenda, sufficient to inform the City Council and public of the nature of the referral:
On or about July 7, 2020 (before I was seated on Council), Council authorized the City Manager to Execute a First Amendment to the Agreement with Lang, Hansen, O’Malley & Miller, a California General Partnership, Extending the Term of the Agreement by Two Months and Increasing the Compensation by $20,000, for an Aggregate Amount Not to Exceed $91,000, for Legislative Advocacy/Governmental Relations Services Relating to the Surplus Land Act. The agenda item provided, "The SLA, and AB 1486, the amendment to the Act approved October 9, 2019, governs the disposition of surplus land by local agencies, such as cities, school districts and successor agencies. The intention of the bill is to alleviate California’s housing crisis by prioritizing surplus government land for affordable housing development. AB 1486 added several new requirements to the process and included additional activities that constitute disposition of surplus property, with financial penalties for non-compliance. These new regulations impact the City’s ability to lease or sell property at Alameda Point. Accordingly, the City retained the services of a Consultant to advocate on the City’s behalf for an amendment of the legislation such that Alameda Point may continue to transition from a former military base to civilian reuse as anticipated in the Community Reuse Plan and subsequent entitlement documents." The Agenda item was approved unanimously as a Consent item with no discussion.
On March 25, 2021, an article was published. "A new state law that took effect in January has stymied the city’s plan for commercial development on a plot of land at Alameda Point. Assembly Bill No. 1486 requires cities, counties, special districts and the state to first offer any and all surplus land to affordable housing developers before it can be leased for more than one year or sold. This legislation amended the Surplus Lands Act and, unbeknownst to the city when it supported the bill, swept in former military bases...Soon after the new law took effect, the city hired a lobbyist to work with other base closure communities on a legislative solution..Affordable housing developers seeking the so-called surplus land at Alameda Point would be required to pay the same $1.65 million per acre as any other developer to meet fair-share infra structure obligations. In the case of the 22-acre parcel, part of the purchase price would go toward building a new street where there currently is none. “We get to treat this like any other project,” said Mocanu. “If we cannot get to an agreement [with an affordable housing developer], the land is freed from the surplus process.” But the City first wants to try to get the law changed to untangle former military bases from the surplus process. “I’m aware of the surplus land issue at Alameda Point,” said Assemblymember Rob Bonta. “I’m reaching out to Assemblymember Ting to discuss this local issue.” The city remains hopeful.."
New Law Hampers Point Development | Alameda Sun
As much as I appreciate the City's interest in commercial development of the former Base, affordable housing is critical to many Alamedans. The former Base will have more housing, however, the majority of what is being built is million dollar plus homes and high end, luxury apartments, out of reach of many Alamedans. Not honoring the Surplus Lands Act may well continue to limit Alameda's and Alamedans' affordable housing opportunities. I think the public deserves the opportunity to publicly discuss this issue.
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