City of South San Francisco

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result	Action Details	Meeting Details	Video
No records to display.

Title

Staff Report Regarding a Public Hearing to Consider the Adoption of a Resolution of Necessity to Acquire a Vacant Property In and Along Antoinette Lane (No Address, No Assessor’s Parcel Number), Related to the Community Civic Campus Project, Phase II (Jacob Gilchrist, Director of Capital Projects, and Sky Woodruff, City Attorney)

label

RECOMMENDATION

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Council Members take the following actions:

1. Receive public testimony from the Property Owner(s) and others;

2. Conduct a hearing on the proposed Resolution of Necessity to determine: whether the public interest and necessity require the proposed Community Civic Campus Project, Phase II (“Project”); whether said Project is planned or located in the manner that will be most compatible with the greatest public good and least private injury; whether the proposed property acquisition is necessary for said Project; whether an offer to the owner of record pursuant to Government Code section 7267.2 was made to the record owner or has not be made because the owner could not be located with reasonable diligence; and, whether to authorize the acquisition of a fee simple interest in the entire property located in and along Antoinette Lane, South San Francisco, California (No Address, No Assessor’s Parcel Number);

3. Consider adopting the Resolution of Necessity authorizing and directing the City’s attorneys to prepare, commence, and file proceedings in eminent domain for the purpose of acquiring the fee simple interest in the entire property located in and along Antoinette Lane, South San Francisco, for the Civic Campus Project, Phase II, and authorizing staff and counsel to deposit with the State Treasury the amount of probable just compensation established by an approved appraisal for the eminent domain proceeding.

Body

BACKGROUND

As part of a three-phase plan to create a complex of new public facilities for use by City residents, Phase II of the Community Civic Campus Project (“Project”) is a project to construct a new, multi-use building that will provide a library branch, recreation center, city council chambers, and community theater, as well as a new, ADA-accessible park with open space and a playground.

DISCUSSION

This staff report is submitted for review by the City Council prior to the recommended adoption of the proposed Resolution of Necessity to authorize the acquisition by eminent domain of a fee simple interest in a small, vacant property located in and along Antoinette Lane, with no Assessor’s Parcel Number, as more particularly described and depicted in the legal description and plat map attached to the proposed Resolution of Necessity, and incorporated herein by reference (“Subject Property”), for the Project. The Subject Property would be used for the construction of the outdoor and landscaping improvements in the Project, including the realignment of Antoinette Lane, construction of a multimodal path, ADA-compliant parking stalls, and park space. The owner of the Subject Property is Baden Brick Company, which was dissolved in 1914.

Prior to the commencement of an eminent domain proceeding, a resolution of necessity must be adopted pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Section 1245.220. The statutory requirement that a public entity adopt a resolution of necessity before initiating a condemnation action “is designed to ensure that public entities will verify and confirm the validity of their intended use of the power of eminent domain prior to the application of that power in any one particular instance” (San Bernardino County Flood Control Dist. v. Grabowski (1988) 205 Cal.App.3d 885, 897).

A resolution of necessity must contain: (1) a general statement of the public use for which the property is to be taken, (2) a reference to the statute authorizing the exercise of eminent domain, (3) a description of the property, and (4) a declaration stating that each of the following have been found and determined by the Council (Code of Civil Procedure section 1245.230):

a. The public interest and necessity require the proposed Project;

b. The proposed Project is planned or located in the manner that will be most compatible with the greatest public good and the least private injury;

c. The property described in the resolution is necessary for the proposed Project; and,

d. That either the offer required by Section 7267.2 of the Government Code has been made to the owner or owners of record, or the offer has not been made because the owner cannot be located with reasonable diligence.

In addition, insofar as the property interest to be acquired has heretofore been dedicated to public use, the Council will need to find that the acquisition of such property by the City for the Project is for a more necessary public use to which the property has already been appropriated or is a compatible public use pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Sections 1240.510 and 1240.610.

This Staff Report provides information addressing each of these proposed findings.

To be adopted, a resolution of necessity must be approved by a supermajority of “at least two-thirds” of the City Council, per Code of Civil Procedure section 1245.245(a). Given there are five Council members, this means the resolution requires approval by a minimum of four Council members to pass.

1. Statement of Public Use

The acquisition of the Subject Property is for a public use, namely, as part of the construction of the Project’s outdoor facilities and improvements. As explained further below, the Subject Property would be used exclusively by the public as a roadway, a multimodal path with a widened sidewalk and dedicated bicycle lane, multiple ADA-compliant parking stalls, and park and playground space.

2. Statutory Authorization for Exercising the Power of Eminent Domain

The City is authorized to acquire the Subject Property and to exercise the power of eminent domain for the construction of civic, park and recreational facilities, and public streets, pursuant to Article I, section 19 of the California Constitution; Government Code sections 37350.5, 37501, 38002, 38010, 37353 and 40404; Public Resources Code section 5301; and Code of Civil Procedure sections 1230.010 et. seq. (the California Eminent Domain Law), including but not limited to sections 1240.010, 1240.020, 1240.030, 1240.110 and 1240.120, and other provisions of the law.

As set forth above, the City’s specific statutory authorization for exercising eminent domain related to the Project include:

• Government Code section 37350.5, which allows the City to acquire by eminent domain any property necessary to carry out any of its powers or functions;

• Government Code section 37501, which allows the City to “acquire, by condemnation or otherwise, the necessary land and construct and maintain a public assembly or convention hall upon it”; and

• Government Code sections 38002 and 38010 and Public Resources Code section 5301, which allow the City to acquire by condemnation land situated in the City needed for a public park, urban open-space lands, playground, or library; and

• Government Code sections 37353 and 40404 and Public Resources Code section 5301, which allow the City to acquire by condemnation land necessary for parking motor vehicles, “public boulevards,” or “[e]stablishing, laying out, extending, and widening streets and other public highways and places within the city.”

3. Project Description

The larger Community Civic Campus Project is a three-phase project that will construct a number of new public facilities for use by City departments and members of the public accessing City services and taking part in a range of social, cultural, and recreational activities. Phase I will be the new state-of-the-art Police station and headquarters (located at the corner of Chestnut Avenue and Antoinette Lane). Phase II will be the combined Library, Parks & Recreation and Community Theater / Council Chamber center and park (located along El Camino Real between Chestnut Avenue and Arroyo Drive) that broke ground in February. The new facility will house a library branch, as well as a vast amount of space dedicated to exhibiting artwork, performances, and classrooms for use by the public. In addition, Phase II will include a new City Council Chambers that will also serve as a community theater, and a public park with playground and exercise areas. Phase III will consist of construction of a new fire station and future development on the current City-owned Municipal Services Building site.

Project Planning and Implementation

Planning and implementation of the larger Community Civic Campus Project has been ongoing since November 2015, when voters approved Measure W, which imposed a half-cent sales tax (transaction and use tax) over 30 years to fund City services. Beginning with a series of City Council meetings and a Mayor’s Town Hall in 2016, the City has since conducted significant public outreach-including focus groups, committee presentations, community meetings, and City Council study sessions-to present and solicit input that helped inform design efforts. For the Project (the Library, Parks & Recreation and Community Theater/Council Chamber and park phase), staff attended or conducted 36 meetings with community organizations and approval bodies, and reviewed more than 400 responses to its parks survey. Council adopted a master site plan for the full Community Civic Campus Project on August 22, 2018, design parameters for the Project on February 26, 2020, and a final design of the Project on August 12, 2020.

Construction of Phase I (Police) broke ground in 2020 and is expected to be completed in Fall 2021. Phase II (the Project) broke ground in February and is expected to be completed in 2023.

Project Funding

The Project cost is estimated to be $101 million, which will be paid primarily through a combination of Measure W revenues ($19.4 million) and Measure W bond proceeds ($74 million), along with other funding sources, including grants and donations.

4. CEQA Compliance

The City published a Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (“SEIR”) analyzing the environmental impacts of the full Community Civic Campus Project-including Phase II-pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) in October 2017. The SEIR updated a previous EIR certified and adopted in 2011 for the El Camino Real/Chestnut Avenue Area Plan, which guides development in an approximately 98-acre planning area along El Camino Real from Southwood Drive to north of Sequoia Avenue. The Community Civic Campus Project covers only a small portion of this original plan area, but because impacts of the proposed land uses for the three-phase project were not considered in the original EIR, the City undertook the SEIR when considering the project. This SEIR process included issuing a Notice of Preparation, reviewing comments in response to the Notice of Preparation, preparing a Draft SEIR, responding to comments on the Draft SEIR, and issuing a Final SEIR. The City Council certified and adopted the Final SEIR for the Project on December 13, 2017.

The documents described above are available for the Council’s review and consideration, and are incorporated by reference herein. These documents are available through the City website, <https://weblink.ssf.net/weblink/Browse.aspx> (in the “Planning” folder and “Environmental Reports” and “ECR Chestnut SEIR” subfolders) and other information concerning the Project is available at the website www.communityciviccampus.net <http://www.communityciviccampus.net>.

5. The Public Interest and Necessity Require the Proposed Project

The Project serves two core objectives, as expressed by voters through adoption of Measure W. The first core objective of the Project is to provide a range of cultural and recreational programming for City residents. Voters expressed specific goals of providing youth/teen educational and recreational programming, as well as programing for seniors and disabled residents. These goals are directly addressed by the Project, which will provide:

• A full-service library branch with circulating book, DVD, and digital media collections and computer lab

• Performance space through a 100-seat theater

• Exhibit and gallery space

• A range of social spaces, including library reading rooms and seating areas for children, teens, and adults; and library collaboration spaces

• Flexible program spaces, including a social hall that may be rented and a library program room

• Dedicated library zones for teens and early literacy, a maker space, and a science discovery lab

• Dedicated classrooms for enrichment activities, including two art classrooms, three music rooms, and two dance studios

A second core objective of Measure W was to maintain and provide public safety and other essential services to City residents. Along with other phases of the Community Civic Campus, the Project will support this goal by providing expanded and updated office space to the City’s library, and parks and recreation departments. At the same time, the new Council chambers is expected to encourage access by more members of the public to City policymaking.

The Project stems from the City’s critical need to meet increasing demand for library services and recreational programming, fueled by population growth over the past decade. According to the library’s 2016 strategic plan, visits to the library branches more than doubled between 2009 and 2015 to more than a half million annual visits, while attendance at library programing rose almost 40 percent during that time. An August 2020 study estimated that, based upon the City’s projected population increase and current per capita usage of facilities and collections materials, the City will need approximately 9,900 square feet of additional library space and 32,000 additional materials in circulation in order to maintain the current library service standard over the next twenty years.

This surge in demand is reflected in the City’s overall need for additional parks and recreational programming, as well. According to the Parks and Recreation Department 2015 Master Plan, the City needs 44.4 acres of new parks by 2030 to serve the projected population growth. The master plan also noted a continued increase in demand for recreation programing-with annual enrollment in recreation classes increased by 14% in 2011-2012 alone-that has seen many of the City’s recreation facilities operating at or past capacity.

6. The Project is Planned or Located in the Manner that Will Be Most Compatible with the Greatest Public Good and Least Private Injury

As discussed above, planning for the larger Community Civic Campus Project began after voters in 2015 approved a tax measure that raised funds for construction of new police facilities, to maintain essential City services, and to expand recreation programming, among other express goals. The current Project site was chosen after extensive City Council review, including two study sessions dedicated to the issue and additional discussion over a series of meetings, and community outreach. The documents pertaining to these study sessions and meetings are incorporated herein by this reference.

The Council considered two possible locations for the Project:

• the Project site, which includes City-owned land located east of El Camino Real and enclosed by Chestnut Avenue and Mission Road. The City-owned Municipal Services Building and related land was included as part of a potential third phase of the larger Community Civic Campus Project, and

• an alternative site, which included the Municipal Services Building and land immediately adjacent to it that is west of El Camino and enclosed by Westborough Boulevard, Camaritas Avenue and Arroyo Drive.

The Project site was believed to be situated entirely on public land. The site required acquiring several parcels from the City’s former redevelopment agency, which had acquired the land and adjoining property from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission in 2008 for future development as mixed-use, transit-oriented development, and open space. The majority of this property was vacant. By contrast, all three configurations considered by Council for the alternative site required acquiring privately owned and already occupied land. One configuration required acquiring land that was (and currently is) entirely occupied by a DaVita dialysis clinic and a portion of its parking lot, and the other two configurations required acquiring land entirely occupied by the DaVita clinic, an O’Reilly auto-parts store, and Gunther’s Restaurant.

The image below, from Google Maps, shows an approximate comparison of the land that the City would have needed to acquire to develop the Project on each of the two proposed sites, with the land to be acquired on the Project site outlined in yellow and the land needed for the alternative site outlined in red:

In addition, a Bay Area Rapid Transit (“BART”) right of way runs the length of the Project site between El Camino Real and Antoinette Lane and effectively bisects it, as is approximately shown below:

Buildings and even certain trees cannot be installed on this BART-owned property because of the BART tunnels located underground. This prohibition on surface structures imposes significant limitations on the Project site’s development, and the Project’s proposed open space park complies with these restrictions.

The Subject Property also has further limitations on its use. As described further below, the majority of the property is currently used as a public roadway and sidewalk.

7. The Proposed Property Acquisition is Necessary for the Project

The property that is the subject of the recommended Resolution of Necessity is a remnant parcel left over from a larger land holding from many years ago. The Subject Property is on the west side of Antoinette Lane, north of Chestnut Avenue, in South San Francisco. The Subject Property is long and narrow, with an elbow-shaped bend towards the middle of the site. This is an approximation to the parcel location, superimposed on a Google Earth image:

Much of the Subject Property is currently encumbered by the Antoinette Lane roadway with asphalt paving, curbing, gutter, and sidewalk. A small portion of the Subject Property at the elbow is outside of the public road. This portion of the Subject Property is vacant.

The Subject Property is critical to the completing the Project’s outdoor and landscaping improvements, namely:

• Realignment and narrowing of Antoinette Lane;

• Construction of a missing portion of Centennial Trail from the Antoinette Lane cul-de-sac to Chestnut Avenue;

• Relocation and construction of a bicycle lane onto this completed portion of Centennial Trail;

• Sidewalk and frontage improvements along Antoinette Lane, including landscaping connecting to the park, widening of the sidewalk through a bulb-out at the corner of Chestnut Avenue and Antoinette Lane to increase pedestrian safety and allow for the addition of second crosswalk along Chestnut Avenue;

• Installation of three Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant parking stalls for park/facility user access; and

• Construction of the Phase II playground and open space areas, which will include outdoor exercise equipment, a restroom facility and other open space elements.

Below is an illustration of these planned improvements:

8. Government Code section 7267.2 Offer

Government Code 7267.2 provides, in pertinent part: “Prior to adopting a resolution of necessity pursuant to Section 1245.230 of the Code of Civil Procedure and initiating negotiations for the acquisition of real property, the public entity shall establish an amount that it believes to be just compensation therefor, and shall make an offer to the owner or owners of record to acquire the property for the full amount so established, unless the owner cannot be located with reasonable diligence.”

The City obtained an appraisal for the fair market value of the Subject Property. However, despite extensive efforts, staff has been unable to locate a living representative of the record owner of the Subject Property to make an offer pursuant to Government Code section 7267.2. The Subject Property has no address and is not assessed. Thus, there is no owner listed with the County of San Mateo Tax Assessor. A litigation guarantee for the Subject Property ordered by the City states the record owner of the Subject Property is Baden Brick Company. The City requested the corporate records of Baden Brick Company from the California Secretary of State. These records state that the corporation was dissolved in 1914. There is no agent for service of process or address on file for the corporation, and the City was unable to locate a living representative of the corporation. Thus, staff was not able to make a written offer for the appraised value of the property.

9. Notice of Hearing on the Proposed Resolution of Necessity

Code of Civil Procedure section 1245.235, subdivision a, requires a public entity to give “each person whose property is to be acquired by eminent domain and whose name and address appears on the last equalized county assessment roll notice and a reasonable opportunity to appear and be heard on the matters referred to in Section 1240.030.” Since the Subject Property is not assessed, there is no address on the last equalized county assessment roll. On February 10, 2021, a Notice of Intention to Adopt a Resolution of Necessity, incorporated herein by reference, was posted on the Subject Property and was published on the City website. The notice was also published in the San Mateo Daily Journal. This notice notified the property owner of their right to appear and be heard before the City Council on March 10, 2021 on the following matters:

1. Whether the public interest and necessity require the Project;

2. Whether said Project is planned or located in the manner that will be most compatible with the greatest public good and the least private injury;

3. Whether the Subject Property is necessary for the Project; and

4. Whether the offer required by Government Code section 7267.2 has been made to all owners of record, unless the owner or owners could not be located with reasonable diligence.

B. Required Deposit with State Treasurer

Should the City Council adopt the Resolution of Necessity and commence an eminent domain proceeding, it will need to show that it has deposited the probable amount of compensation that will be awarded in the proceeding with the State Treasury in order to obtain prejudgment possession. (Code of Civil Procedure sections 1255.010 and 1255.410.) The deposit amount will be based on the approved appraisal. Staff thus seeks, as part of the Council’s adoption of any Resolution of Necessity, authorization to make the deposit of probable compensation with the State Treasurer for the probable amount of just compensation, based on an appraisal, for the eminent domain proceeding.

FISCAL IMPACT

The Project’s budget includes funding for the property acquisition that is the subject of the Resolution of Necessity hearing. This is included in the current total project budget of $101,000,000 for pf1707 presented to Council on November 9, 2020. No additional funding appropriation is required.

RELATIONSHIP TO STRATEGIC PLAN

The Community Civic Campus Project, including Phase II, is included in the City’s Strategic Plan. Phase II aligns with Priority #2 which is focused on enhancing quality of life.

CONCLUSION

Since the City has been unable to locate the property owner to negotiate a voluntary purchase of the property, Staff recommends the Council conduct a public hearing to consider the adoption of the Resolution of Necessity; make the requisite findings and adopt the Resolution of Necessity authorizing and directing the City’s attorneys to prepare, commence, and file proceedings in eminent domain for the purpose of acquiring a fee simple interest in the Subject Property for the Community Civic Campus Project Phase II; and authorizing staff and counsel to make the necessary deposits with the State Treasurer for the eminent domain proceeding.

3705838.5

Legislation Details