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Agenda Item
ASR
Control 20-000418 |
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MEETING DATE: |
06/23/20 |
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legal entity taking action: |
Board of Supervisors |
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board of supervisors
district(s): |
5 |
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SUBMITTING
Agency/Department: |
OC Community Resources (Approved) |
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Department contact
person(s): |
Stacy Blackwood (949) 923-3743 |
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Thomas A. Miller (714) 834-6019 |
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Subject: Park Abandonment and
Authorization to Convey Land – Aliso and Wood Canyons
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ceo CONCUR |
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Clerk of the Board |
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Concur |
Approved Resolution to Form |
Discussion |
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Unanimous |
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Budgeted: N/A |
Current Year Cost:
N/A |
Annual Cost:
N/A |
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Staffing Impact: |
No |
# of Positions:
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Sole Source:
N/A |
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Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A
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Prior Board Action: 6/2/2020
#S66B, 1/13/2009 #24 |
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RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
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1. |
On June 23, 2020: |
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A. |
Adopt the Resolution of Intent to Abandon a portion of Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park identified on County records as Parcel PR70T-701.1 and set the matter for public hearing on September 1, 2020. (Requires a unanimous vote) |
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B. |
Continue this matter to September 1, 2020. |
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2. |
On September 1, 2020: |
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A. |
Find that the project is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Class 5 (Minor Alterations in Land Use Limitations) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines, Section 15305. |
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B. |
Adopt the Resolution of Abandonment for Parcel PR70T-701.1. |
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C. |
Return all executed original copies to OC Parks for further processing. |
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D. |
Find that Parcel PR70T-701.1 is not required for County use and authorize the Chief Real Estate Officer or designee to approve and execute all real estate instruments to transfer the parcel to a qualifying public entity for reasonable consideration based on the market value for the property’s intended use, subject to compliance with County Regional Riding and Hiking Trail policies and satisfaction of Park Abandonment requirements related thereto. (Requires a 4/5 vote pursuant to Government Code Section 25365.) |
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E. |
Authorize Chief Real Estate Officer or designee to execute document(s) necessary to amend the 2009 Amended and Restated Lease for the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park between the County and the City of Laguna Beach to remove parcels required for a Caltrans project along State Route 133, upon approval of County Counsel. |
SUMMARY:
Approval of park abandonment and actions by the Chief Real Estate Officer related to County properties will support safety and improvement projects on State Route 133 conducted by OC Public Works and the California Department of Transportation.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is finalizing plans for construction of improvements to State Route 133 (SR-133), also known as Laguna Canyon Road, in the City of Laguna Beach (City). The proposed project is divided into two segments (north and south), defined by the intersection of SR-133 and El Toro Road. The southerly segment, from El Toro Road towards the coast, is being proposed by Caltrans to address public safety issues, citing a higher-than-average volume of traffic accidents, including a fatality, in the vicinity of SR-133 and El Toro Road. The northerly segment, from El Toro Road inland, is being proposed as a joint-development between Caltrans and OC Public Works (OCPW) to widen the road to allow for undergrounding of utilities and addition of a bike lane.
To facilitate the project, OCPW agendized a separate item with the Board of Supervisors (Board) on June 2, 2020, to request approval of a Cooperative Agreement between the County and Caltrans and to delegate authority to the Chief Real Estate Officer to execute certain real property agreements and permits necessary for the project (Supplemental Item S66B). OC Community Resources/OC Parks (OC Parks) and County Executive Office Real Estate are separately requesting Board approval for other actions necessary to facilitate the Caltrans project.
The area of Laguna Canyon through which this section of SR-133 runs is adjacent to and east of Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and adjacent to and west of Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park, both of which are owned by the County, managed by OC Parks and enrolled in the Natural Communities Conservation Plan/Habitat Conservation Plan (NCCP/HCP) (Attachment A – Location Map). The SR-133 project will result in a series of impacts requiring mitigation or other actions, including impacts to both the NCCP/HCP reserve and designated County parkland. Actions to offset the NCCP/HCP impacts are addressed by OCPW through the utilization of Take credits, detailed further in the June 2, 2020, OCPW Agenda Staff Report. Actions to address impacts to County parkland are detailed below.
As depicted in Attachment A, a corner of the County’s Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park lies at the intersection of SR-133 and El Toro Road (Corner Parcel), adjacent to a private parcel held by Anneliese’s School (School). The School’s existing driveway will be impacted by the SR-133 project, and Caltrans has proposed to mitigate this impact by constructing a new driveway from El Toro to the School through the County’s Corner Parcel. As with most County parkland, this Corner Parcel (Parcel PR70T-701.1) is deed restricted for park purposes; it does not, however, contain recreational amenities. Given the location of Corner Parcel PR70T-701.1 bounded by El Toro, SR-133, the School, and the proposed new driveway, it is not convenient or necessary for park purposes. It may be abandoned pursuant to the County Park Abandonment Law of 1959 (Attachment E - Section 25580, et seq. of the Government Code) and pursuant to Section 2-5-301 “Abandonment” of the County Codified Ordinances. The County is negotiating the terms of consideration for the Corner Parcel with Caltrans, who has offered to purchase the parcel and accept transfer of title. Delegated authority to the Chief Real Estate Officer is being requested to complete the transfer of the property once an agreement has been reached. In addition to consideration for the land value, the County intends to reserve an easement through the Corner Parcel for connection to the trail system within Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park, per the County's Master Plan of Regional Riding and Hiking Trails.
The abandonment process requires the Board to meet twice. The first meeting establishes the intent to abandon the park and sets the date for the second meeting, at least 60 days later, and requires unanimous acceptance by all members. During the 60-day lag time, County staff will comply with all posting and publishing requirements mandated by the code section. Upon returning to the Board for the second meeting, the Board will conduct a public hearing and make its final determination regarding abandonment.
In addition to the County-owned parklands that comprise Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park, OC Parks also manages certain open space lands owned by the City pursuant to an Amended and Restated Lease approved by the Board on January 13, 2009 (Lease). The Caltrans project requires slope and drainage easements to be executed across small portions of City property currently included in the Lease. Although the County is not party to those easements, the City has indicated a need to amend the Lease to remove the specific areas impacted by the SR-133 project from the lease footprint. It is requested that the Board delegate authority to the Chief Real Estate Officer to negotiate and execute the document(s) required to reduce the lease footprint required for the Caltrans slope and drainage easements.
Compliance with CEQA: This action is not a project within the meaning of CEQA Guidelines Section 15378 and is therefore not subject to CEQA, since it does not have the potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. The approval of this agenda item does not commit the County to a definite course of action in regard to a project since it is an approval of park abandonment and actions by the Chief Real Estate Office related to County properties and real estate instruments in the City of Laguna Beach. This proposed activity is therefore not subject to CEQA. Any future action connected to this approval that constitutes a project will be reviewed for compliance with CEQA.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
N/A
STAFFING IMPACT:
N/A
ATTACHMENT(S):
Attachment A – Location Map
Attachment B – Regional Park Abandonment – Resolution of Intent
Attachment C – Regional Park Abandonment – Resolution of Abandonment
Attachment D – Real Estate Questionnaire
Attachment E – Government Code Section 25580