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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 03062001 - C.7 ;THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AS THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CONTRA COSTA COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT, CALIFORNIA TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FROM: MAURICE SHIU, CHIEF ENGINEER, CONTRA COSTA COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT DATE: MARCH 6, 2001 SUBJECT: APPROVE AND AUTHORIZE CHIEF ENGINEER OF THE FLOOD CONTROL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT TO EXECUTE AGREEMENT TO PURCHASE TAX DEFAULTED PROPERTY FOR PARCELS ALONG WATERFRONT ROAD IN THE MARTINEZ AREA. SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION I. Recommended Action: APPROVE the attached Resolution approving the Agreement to Purchase Tax-Defaulted Property and AUTHORIZING the Chief Engineer to execute said agreement for the acquisition of tax defaulted property located on Waterfront Road to be used for Flood Control District project mitigation. process. Funding for the acquisition will be through a grant. Continued on Attachment: X SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE —OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOARD ON March 6, 2001 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED x OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS x UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: RMA:mw G:\GrpData\Admin\Mitch\bo\2001\Praxis Property BO 3-6-01.doc Orig.Dir: Public Works(Admin Svcs) Contact: Mitch Avalon(313-2203) 1 hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action c: County Administrator taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors M.Avalon,Deputy Public Works Director on the date shown. T.Batt,Muir llcritagc Land"f nut D.Eckerson,Flood Control V.Laws,Real Property ].Kopchik,CDD N.Wenninger,EBRPD M.Martinez,Tax Collector ATTESTED March 6, 2001 T.Worth,Trust for Public Land JOHN SWEETEN, CLERK OF THE BOARD AND nZADMINI.S OR BYDEPUTY SUBJECT: APPROVE AND AUTHORIZE CHIEF ENGINEER OF THE FLOOD CONTROL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT TO EXECUTE AGREEMENT TO PURCHASE TAX DEFAULTED PROPERTY FOR PARCELS ALONG WATERFRONT ROAD IN THE MARTINEZ AREA. DATE: MARCH 6. 2001 PAGE 2 II. Financial Impact: Staff time involved in the property acquisition process and the notification costs required by the acquisition. III. Reasons for Recommendations and Background: There is a parcel of land located on Waterfront Road in the Martinez area, east of Interstate 680 and near the Walnut Creek Channel. The property, commonly known as the Praxis Property, is approximately 120 acres in size. The Flood Control District would like to acquire the property as a mitigation site for future Flood Control District projects in the area. The Flood Control District is planning a project on lower Walnut Creek Channel that will require mitigation from the regulatory agencies. The District will restore this property as mitigation for that project and other projects in the future. Strategically, the District would like to have a large parcel, such as this, to provide for project mitigation to enable the District to complete Flood Control infrastructure for the citizens of Contra Costa County. The property has been tax delinquent for several years. The Flood Control District has been working with the Tax Collector's office to acquire the property pursuant to the provisions in the Revenue and Taxation Code. After the attached Agreement to Purchase Tax-Defaulted Property is executed, the Tax Collector will send it to the State for their approval and send out notification that the property is in the process of being acquired. This provides the property owner one last chance to pay off the taxes and retain title to the property. Last year, the Tax Collector put the property up for sale at a tax auction to the public but nobody put in an offer to pay the taxes and purchase the property. It was anticipated that the total process to acquire the property would take six months to a year to complete. The tax process alone requires a minimum of six months, if everything goes smoothly. The Tax Collector's Office has determined the amount of back taxes due on the property to be $617,000. The Flood Control District has recently identified a source of grant funds to provide all of the $617,000 for property acquisition. The funding comes with a deadline to have the monies expended by the end of March 2001. There are a lot of procedural tasks that have to be completed by March of 2001. This funding constraint accelerates a twelve-month process into a three-month process. In working with the Tax Collector's Office, it seems possible for the Flood Control District to meet the requirements of the grant funds. It is County policy not to acquire property until an environmental assessment of the property is performed. An environmental assessment of the property will determine the feasibility of the site for restoration by the Flood Control District and for use as project mitigation. The assessment will include testing for hazardous materials,presence of endangered species that may hinder restoration work, and restoration potential given the soils, drainage, topography and other constraints. The environmental assessment will make sure there are no hazardous materials or other issues that would pose a liability for the Flood Control District and the County. The Flood Control District recommends moving forward with the acquisition process, even though there is a chance that the environmental assessment may indicate that acquisition is not in the best interest of the District, and the District may ultimately have to back out of the acquisition. Normally we would perform an environmental assessment before starting the acquisition process. Unfortunately, in this case, we do not have the time to perform the environmental assessment before initiating the acquisition process and must do them concurrently. _r SUBJECT: APPROVE AND AUTHORIZE CHIEF ENGINEER OF THE FLOOD CONTROL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT TO EXECUTE AGREEMENT TO PURCHASE TAX DEFAULTED PROPERTY FOR PARCELS ALONG WATERFRONT ROAD IN THE MARTINEZ AREA. DATE: MARCH 6. 2001 PAGE 3 Attached is an Agreement to Purchase Tax Defaulted Property prepared by the Tax Collector's office. The Agreement must be signed to initiate the property acquisition process. As mentioned earlier, the acquisition process must begin now prior to completing the environmental assessment due to the funding requirements. The Agreement, however, will not become effective until the CEQA review is complete and approved, until the environmental assessment for the property is complete and satisfies the requirements of the Flood Control District, and until the grant monies are deposited with the Tax Collector's office. On January 16, 2001, the Board declared its intent to acquire the Praxis property and to authorize staff to proceed with the acquisition process, environmental assessment, and CEQA review. The attached Agreement to Purchase Tax-Defaulted Property is the next step in the acquisition process. Once the agreement is signed by the Flood Control District as the property owner, the Tax Collector will submit it to the Board for approval by the County. Staff is recommending the Board approve the attached agreement and resolution authorizing its execution. IV. Consequences of Negative Action: The mitigation parcel on Waterfront Road would not be acquired for project mitigation. THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Adopted this Resolution on March 6, 2001 by the following vote: AYES: Supervisors Gioia, Gerber, DeSaulnier, Glover and Uilkema NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None RESOLUTION NO.: 2001/ 85 SUBJECT: Authorization to Purchase Tax-Defaulted Property WHEREAS, the Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District desires to acquire tax- defaulted property through a grant for restoration as mitigation for District projects; and WHEREAS, the properties in question are specifically described as Assessor's Parcel Numbers 159-310-030 and 159-310-031; and WHEREAS, the subject properties are over five years tax delinquent and subject to acquisition by the County pursuant to Section 3791.3 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code; and WHEREAS, the public need and necessity require transfer of both properties, in fee, at the price of$617,000 plus cost, by the Tax Collector to the Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District; and WHEREAS, it is Districts policy not to buy property until an environmental assessment is completed on the property verifying the property can be used for its intended purpose; and WHEREAS, time is of the essence in meeting funding deadlines and therefore the acquisition process through the Tax Collector's Office must begin now before completion of an environmental assessment of the property for CEQA compliance; and WHEREAS, an agreement has been prepared for the purchase of the tax defaulted property that will allow the acquisition process to begin and will provide for a) the satisfactory completion of the environmental assessment, b) satisfaction of all CEQA requirements, and c) the deposit of acquisition funds prior to the agreement becoming effective. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOVLED, by the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors as the governing body of the Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, that the agreement to purchase the tax defaulted property has been CONSIDERED and is hereby APPROVED and the Chair hereby authorizes the Chief Engineer to EXECUTE said agreement on behalf of the District. I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown. ATTESTED: JOHN SG,IEEMN ', Clerk of the Board of Supervisors and County Administrator G:\GrpData'•,,\dn,in`%Mitch\ bo\2001\'fax-Default Property Resolution.doe By , Deputy AGREEMENT TO PURCHASE TAX-DEFAULTED PROPERTY This agreement is made this day of by and between the Board of Supervisors of Contra Costa County, State of California, and the Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District ("Purchaser"), pursuant to the provisions of Division 1, Part 6, Chapter 8, of the Revenue and Taxation Code. s The real property situated within said county, hereinafter set forth and described in this agreement is tax-defaulted and is subject to the power of sale by the tax collector of said county for the nonpayment of taxes, pursuant to provisions of law. TERMS AND CONDITIONS It is mutually agreed as follows: 1. that as provided by Section 3800 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, the cost of giving notice of this agreement shall be paid by the PURCHASER, 2. that the PURCHASER agrees to pay the sum of$617,000.00 for the real property described in EXHIBIT"A"within 14 days after the date this agreement becomes effective. Upon payment of said sum to the tax collector, the tax collector shall execute and deliver a deed conveying title to said property to PURCHASER, and 3. that this agreement will not become effective until(a) the environmental assessment of the property is complete and satisfies the requirements of the Purchaser, (b) the Purchaser has completed its review of this project under the California Environmental Quality Act and, based on its review, is prepared to proceed with the purchase contemplated herein, and (c) the Purchaser is ready and willing to deposit the sum of$617,000.00 with the tax collector's office for the purchase of the property described above. If all or any portion of any individual parcel listed in EXHIBIT "A" is redeemed prior to the effective date of this agreement, this agreement shall be null and void as to the entire property described in EXHIBIT"A" (including all portions of the property which are not redeemed prior to the effective date of this agreement). This agreement shall also become null and void and the right of redemption restored upon the PURCHASER'S failure to comply with the terms and conditions of this agreement. C.q The undersigned hereby agrees to the terms and conditions of this agreement and are duly authorized to sign for said agencies. ATTEST: By: (Purchaser) (SEAL) ATTEST: Phil Batchelor, Clerk of the Board of By: Board of Supervisors Supervisors and County Administrator of Contra Costa County By: By: (Deputy) (Chair) (SEAL) This agreement was submitted to me before final execution by the board of supervisors and I have compared the same with the records of Contra Costa County relating to the real property described therein. County Tax Collector Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3775 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, the Controller agrees to the selling price hereinbefore set forth and pursuant to provisions of Section 3795 approves the foregoing agreement this day of KATHLEEN CONNELL, CALIFORNIA STATE CONTROLLER By: PJZ/jh fl:\Public Workv\tax-ief.wpd