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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 01221991 - FC.3 3 - Contra TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ' `✓Wla o. FROM: Finance Committee ') CESTA C R DATE: January 2,2 , 1991 SUBJECT: Policy Regarding Accepting Ownership -6f Open Space and Recreation Facilities SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATIONS(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS A. Adopt the following Interim Policy regarding accepting ownership of Open Space and Recreation Facilities: The County will only consider the accepting ownership of public access open space or local park lands after ownership of such lands is offered to cities, autonomous park and recreation districts, County service areas, homeowners associations or other potential entities. For a project which already has County approval, and for which an entity is needed to take control of the land, this interim policy will be utilized. County acceptance should be considered the agency of last resort or as a holding entity until other agencies can take over ownership of the land. The County will consider accepting ownership of Open Space and Recreation Facilities subject to the following criteria: 1. Pubic Access: All lands and facilities to be accepted by the County shall be open to the generalpublic for use. Generally, trails are not .to be considered open spaces to be accepted under this interim policy. Visual open spaces not having public access will not be accepted. 2 . Public Safety: Each proposed dedication shall be. reviewed for public safety. All Sites shall have sufficient visual exposure and be relative stable geotechnically to insure a relatively safe facility. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: X YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER Recommendations are fo n a split vote, with Tom Torlakson supporting and Bob Schroder:ono t su o SIGNATURE(S) R hrod Tom Torlakson ACTION OF BOARD anuary 22, APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED. x & OTHER x REQUESTED a presentation by the Growth Management and Economic Development Agency Director on February 5, 1991 on the issues involved. VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A X UNANIMOUS (ABSENT — ) TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN AYES: NOES: ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE ABSENT: ABSTAIN: MINUTES OF, THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. cc: Community Development Public Works (AD) ATTESTED County Administrator , IL BATgAELOR, CLERK OF. Auditor-Controller THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS County Counsel AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Risk Management Growth Management BY 44 DEPUTY RECOMMENDATIONS (CONT'D) 3 . Funding: Prior to acceptance, either the County, one of its subdivisions or another governmental entity must have accepted financial ' responsibility for said lands and facilities. The government entity's acceptance of financial responsibility shall be documented by a Board Order. 4. County Liability: The potential liability exposure resulting from accepting ownership of said lands and facilities shall be mitigated by the purchase of insurance or payment of a premium to the County's Self Insured Liability Trust Fund. County Risk Management will determine the method and amount of mitigation. 5. Maintenance: The department or organization having maintenance responsibility for the lands and facilities shall be identified at the time of acceptance by the County. B. Direct the Community Development Department, in consultation with Public Works and other affected Departments, to prepare a study on the County operated Parks and Recreation Services and how this function should be handled in the long term. C. For development projects that have not yet been approved, the conditions of approval shall specifically identify any lands and facilities to be accepted under this interim policy. Where final development plans on tentative maps are not finally decided by the Board of Supervisors, within 90 days of such approval the applicant shall request the Board to accept ownership. FISCAL IMPACT The financial impact of accepting ownership of open space areas is unknown. Liability exposure could be significant where the open space is a hillside that might experience landslides or where a site has heavy active use by the public. BACKGROUND/REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS The County does not have an official policy on accepting ownership of open space. Based on staff's interpretation of the Board's desire to avoid liability and the absence of funding, staff has been following an unofficial policy of "the County does not accept any open space areas" . However, through the development process, conditions of approval are creating open space and recreation areas and specifying public access. The Finance Committee recommends that the above policy be adopted to give guidance to staff. During the past ten years, many developments in the County have created open space areas. Ownership and responsibility for most of these areas rests with (1) the developer who has retained ownership of the open space area, (2) the East Bay Regional Park District or other park districts which have accepted some of the sites, or (3) the Homeowners' Association or other associations established by the developer for the subdivision. In the case of the developer retained parcels, we may experience in the future instances where the sites are not maintained and fire abatement costs will force the parcels into a tax delinquency status, i.e. no ownership. If the County assumes responsibility for open space and recreation facilities, the County will be subject to additional potential liability exposure. Even though the County may be protected by some immunities, the County could still be subject to the cost of claims and legal defense on those claims. To protect the County, funding should be provided to cover the cost of this exposure. Such funding would be based on actuarial computations. The Committee is concerned about the long term financial impact from acceptance of open space. Serious consideration should be given during the development review process on the desirability of requiring an open space area to be open to the general public. In many cases, the only entity available for assuring financial responsibility will be a County Landscaping and Lighting District AD 1979-3 (LL-2) Zone established for the subdivision. It must be recognized that using this method will place a long term financial burden on the new homeowner in the subdivision. The County currently provides park and recreation services to limited geographic areas as an adjunct to other County Service Areas and Landscaping and Lighting Districts. the proposed Interim Policy can serve until a longer range study of the issue of accepting open space and park lands is completed. (Recommendation #B) msc/opsprec.bos