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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 8359 City of Palo Alto (ID # 8359) City Council Staff Report Report Type: Consent Calendar Meeting Date: 10/16/2017 City of Palo Alto Page 1 Summary Title: Annual Williamson Act Contract Renewal Title: Annual Review of Williamson Act Contract Renewals Within the City of Palo Alto From: City Manager Lead Department: Planning and Community Environment Recommendation Staff recommends that the City Council review the Williamson Act Property Report for Calendar Year 2017 (Attachment A), including the renewal of 23 Williamson Act contracts, direct the staff to file the current list of properties with Department of Conservation, Division of Land Resource Protection Agency, and find the actions exempt from review under Section 15317 of the California Environmental Quality (CEQA) Guidelines. Executive Summary The proposed action would perpetuate 23 existing Williamson Act contracts between the City and landowners, which are aimed at preserving agricultural and compatible open-space uses. Currently 350.05 acres of land are under Williamson Act contracts in Palo Alto. The attached report includes the list of 23 properties currently under Williamson Act contracts and six properties currently under contract for which non-renewal notices have been filed previously. The City did not receive any new request for nonrenewal during this reporting cycle. The Williamson Act contracts for four properties owned by Mid-Peninsula Open Space District will terminate on December 31, 2017. Background The California Land Conservation Act of 1965, commonly known as the Williamson Act, is a state program to discourage agricultural lands from being converted to urban uses, to preserve open space and to promote an efficient urban growth pattern. The program provides property tax relief to owners of agricultural land who agree to limit the use of their property to agricultural or other approved compatible uses. City of Palo Alto Page 2 On July 24, 1974, the City of Palo Alto adopted Ordinance No. 2663 to establish rules for both establishing and administering Williamson Act contracts for Palo Alto properties. Among other things, the rules regarding administration of established contracts limit the allowable uses of the property to what is described in the contract, and provide that the contract remains in place when a property is sold, ensuring that the new owners are subject to the same use restrictions. Contracts are for a rolling 10-year term with a renewal date of January 1 each year, at which time one year is added to the contract term so that the term remains 10 years unless either party provides notice of nonrenewal. At least 80 days prior to that renewal date every year, the Council reviews the contracts and, at that time, may initiate a notice of nonrenewal for any contract or approve a notice of nonrenewal submitted by a landowner. If the Council takes such action, then that contract does not renew on January 1 and terminates nine years later. Under certain conditions, the Council may also approve a landowner’s request to cancel a contract. Contracts, for which the Council has not approved a notice of nonrenewal or a cancellation, automatically renew for another 10- year term each January 1. Discussion Under the California Land Conservation Act Program (Williamson Act), private landowners can voluntarily restrict their land to agricultural and compatible open-space uses under minimum 10-year rolling term contracts administered by City of Palo Alto. In return, restricted parcels are assessed for property tax purposes at a rate consistent with their actual use or generated income, rather than potential market value. Attachment A, the Williamson Act Property Report for Calendar Year 2017, provides information on the 2017 assessed land value, acreages and the land class (prime and non-prime land) of all the parcels that are under contract, as well as parcels for which nonrenewal requests have been filed. Attachment B is a map showing the location of these individual parcels. The following section is a summary of the parcels that are currently under Williamson Act contracts. Properties under Contract Renewal: Currently, there are 23 properties renewing their contract with the City of Palo Alto. Approximately 350 acres of land are under Williamson Act contracts in Palo Alto, as compared to 303,335 acres in Santa Clara County. The 2016 California Land Conservation Act Status Report (Link: 2016 California Land Conservation Act Status Report ) published in December 2016 provides detail of the land enrollment under the California Land Conservation Act throughout the state of California. The 23 contracts in the City of Palo Alto will renew for another 10-year term starting from January 1, 2018. Of the 23 contracts, the private Palo Alto City of Palo Alto Page 3 Hills Golf and Country Club, is not eligible for tax benefits. Although a golf course is a permitted use, only golf courses that are open to the public and charge minimal green fees are eligible for tax benefits. Approximately 42 percent of the land (147 acres) under Williamson Act contracts is defined as prime land with a Class I or Class II Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) rating, which is considered to have the features able to sustain long-term agricultural production. Stanford University Board of Trustee owns approximately 27 percent of the land under Williamson Act contracts and 34 percent is under other private ownership. Properties under Contract Nonrenewal: Six parcels have been approved for nonrenewal by the City Council between 2008 and 2016 and are listed in Attachment A. As stated above, no new Williamson Act contract nonrenewals have been requested this year. Four of these properties, owned by Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District, will reach the end of the ten-year term limit of non-renewal process and the contracts will terminate on December 31, 2017. Government Code Section 51246(a) Article 3 requires the City to deliver the notice of expiration to the Director of the Department of Conservation within 30 days of contract term expiration. The contract term limits of the remaining two properties in the non-renewal list will expire in 2024 and 2026 respectively. The California Department of Conservation’s Williamson Act Program requires participating cities and counties to complete and submit applications for an Open Space Subvention Act payment per Government Code section 16144, which states: "On or before October 31 each year, the governing body of each county, city, or city and county shall report to the Secretary of the Resources Agency the number of acres of land under its regulatory jurisdiction which qualify for state payments pursuant to the various categories enumerated in Section 16142, together with supporting documentation as the secretary by regulation may require.” While the State no longer provides meaningful subvention payments to local agencies, this reporting requirement remains in the law. Staff requests the City Council to approve the attached list of 23 parcels currently under Williamson Act so that this information can be filed in the City Clerk’s Office and forwarded to the State Department of Conservation, Division of Land Resource Protection by October 31, 2017. Resource Impacts Properties under Williamson Act contracts are assessed for property tax purposes at a rate consistent with their actual use or generated income, rather than potential market value. In Palo Alto’s case we receive no secured property taxes for these properties. Based on data from City of Palo Alto Page 4 the County Assessor’s Office, privately or non-government owned parcels assessed value (AV) would have been approximately $17.2 million if they weren’t under the Williamson Act which means the countywide secured property taxes (one percent of the AV) would be $172,000. Palo Alto’s share of this is approximately 9.4% or slightly more than $16K. In accepting the annual report each year, the City Council is effectively agreeing with past Councils that the preservation of the agricultural and open space lands in contract is important enough to warrant this foregone revenue. Historically, the City of Palo Alto received approximately $1,000 a year in subvention payments from the State to partially offset the foregone revenue. However, during the recession, the State has suspended funding for these payments. More recently, Assembly Bill 1265, passed on July 15, 2011, allowed participating cities and counties to recapture 10% of the benefits; however, implementation of this provision is generally only cost effective for cities and counties that have significant acreage under contract. Policy Implications The recommended action implements Ordinance 2663 regarding the administration of the Williamson Act for Palo Alto properties. The Williamson Act in general complies with the land use policies of the Comprehensive Plan and specifically supports Goal L-1 regarding local land use and growth management, as well as Policy L-1 which limits the extent of urban development. Environmental Review The recommended action of renewal of 23 contracts under the Williamson Act is exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15317 (Open Space Contracts or Easements) of the CEQA Guidelines. This action of approving the attached report does not have the potential to cause a significant effect on the environment Attachments: Attachment A: Williamson Act Property Report for Calendar Year 2017 (PDF) Attachment B: Williamson Act Parcels Map_2017 (PDF) Page 1 of 4 # of Parcels APN Street Name Full Address OwnerName Williamson Act Land Ownership Zoning Acerage after Deducting Homesite Exclusion Homesite Exclusion Land Class Contract Start Date Contract Status Assessed Land Value 20171 Assessed Land Value 20161 Assessed Land Value 20151 1 120-31-0012 El Camino Real 103 El Camino Real Leland Stanford Jr., Univ. Board of Trustees Stanford University Land PF 0.72 No acerage deducted Prime Unknown Unchanged; contract will continue for at least another 10 years. $11,040 $10,514 $10,514 2 120-31-0092 El Camino Real 103 El Camino Real Leland Stanford Jr., Univ. Board of Trustees Stanford University Land PF 10.00 No acerage deducted Prime Unknown Unchanged; contract will continue for at least another 10 years. $153,600 $146,285 $146,285 3 142-16-052 Coyote Hill Road No Street Number Leland Stanfors Jr. University Board of Trustee Stanford University Land AC (D)36.02 One acre deducted for homesite Non Prime Unknown Unchanged; contract will continue for at least another 10 years. $14,808 $14,102 $14,102 4 142-16-057 Coyote Hill Road No Street Number Leland Stanfors Jr. University Board of Trustee Stanford University Land AC( D)15.33 One acre deducted for homesite Non Prime Unknown Unchanged; contract will continue for at least another 10 years. $8,165 $7,776 $7,776 5 142-16-064 Deer Creek Road No Street Number Leland Stanfors Jr. University Board of Trustee Stanford University Land AC( D)4.04 One acre deducted for homesite Non Prime Unknown Unchanged; contract will continue for at least another 10 years. $2,520 $2,399 $2,399 6 142-16-065 Deer Creek Road No Street Number Leland Stanfors Jr. University Board of Trustee Stanford University Land AC( D)16.70 One acre deducted for homesite Non Prime Unknown Unchanged; contract will continue for at least another 10 years. $8,850 $8,428 $8,428 7 142-16-069 Coyote Hill Road No Street Number Leland Stanfors Jr. University Board of Trustee Stanford University Land AC( D)12.48 One acre deducted for homesite Non Prime Unknown Unchanged; contract will continue for at least another 10 years. $6,740 $6,419 $6,419 8 182-33-0143 Arastradero Rd 1525 Arastradero Rd City of Palo Alto City of Palo Alto Land PF 11.42 No acerage deducted Prime Unknown Unchanged; contract will continue for at least another 10 years. $0 $0 $0 9 182-35-008 Alexis Dr Alexis Dr Palo Alto Hills Golf and Country Club, Inc. City of Palo Alto Land OS 5.52 No acerage deducted Prime 5/1/1973 Unchanged; contract will continue for at least another 10 years. $52,791 $51,756 $50,979 List of Parcels under Williamson Act Contract that will Renew on January 1, 2018 ATTACHMENT A Page 2 of 4 # of Parcels APN Street Name Full Address OwnerName Williamson Act Land Ownership Zoning Acerage after Deducting Homesite Exclusion Homesite Exclusion Land Class Contract Start Date Contract Status Assessed Land Value 20171 Assessed Land Value 20161 Assessed Land Value 20151 10 182-35-035 Alexis Dr 3000 Alexis Dr Palo Alto Hills Golf and Country Club, Inc. City of Palo Alto Land OS 119.92 No acerage deducted Prime 5/1/1973 Unchanged; contract will continue for at least another 10 years. $1,454,941 $1,426,413 $1,404,987 11 351-05-024 Page Mill Rd 3845 Page Mill Rd Judith A. Block Trustee Private Ownership OS 7.72 One acre deducted for homesite Non Prime 2/16/1976 Unchanged; contract will continue for at least another 10 years. $53,254 $52,196 $51,419 12 351-05-042 Page Mill Rd 3837 Page Mill Rd David P. and Cynthia Lautzenheiser Trustee Private Ownership OS 9.00 One acre deducted for homesite Non Prime Unknown Unchanged; contract will continue for at least another 10 years. $404,770 $396,818 $390,866 13 351-05-043 Page Mill Rd No Street Number Richard D. Guhse Trustee Private Ownership OS 19.01 No acerage deducted Non Prime Unknown Unchanged; contract will continue for at least another 10 years. $1,200 $1,142 $1,142 14 351-05-044 Page Mill Rd 3905 Page Mill Rd Michael R. Lowry Private Ownership OS 5.43 One acre deducted for homesite Non Prime Unknown Unchanged; contract will continue for at least another 10 years. $185,464 $181,828 $179,097 15 351-05-045 Page Mill Rd 3895 Page Mill Rd Marc and Lesley Wilkinson Private Ownership OS 9.00 One acre deducted for homesite Non Prime Unknown Unchanged; contract will continue for at least another 10 years. $1,061,039 $1,040,235 $1,024,590 16 351-05-046 Page Mill Rd 3885 Page Mill Rd William W. and Sharon T. Luciw Trustee Private Ownership OS 7.45 One acre deducted for homesite Non Prime Unknown Unchanged; contract will continue for at least another 10 years. $1,059,900 $1,039,105 $1,023,504 17 351-05-047 Page Mill Rd 3875 Page Mill Rd Richard D. Kniss Trustee & Et Al Private Ownership OS 10.00 No acerage deducted Non Prime Unknown Unchanged; contract will continue for at least another 10 years. $600 $571 $571 18 351-05-048 Page Mill Rd 3865 Page Mill Rd Grace Carland Trustee Private Ownership OS 9.00 One acre deducted for homesite Non Prime Unknown Unchanged; contract will continue for at least another 10 years. $36,609 $35,876 $35,345 Page 3 of 4 # of Parcels APN Street Name Full Address OwnerName Williamson Act Land Ownership Zoning Acerage after Deducting Homesite Exclusion Homesite Exclusion Land Class Contract Start Date Contract Status Assessed Land Value 20171 Assessed Land Value 20161 Assessed Land Value 20151 19 351-05-049 Page Mill Rd 3855 Page Mill Rd Patrick K. Suppes Private Ownership OS 10.00 No acerage deducted Non Prime Unknown Unchanged; contract will continue for at least another 10 years. $528,259 $517,901 $510,122 20 351-12-062 Skyline Blvd 5061 Skyline Blvd Rogers Noah Private Ownership OS 10.39 No acerage deducted Non Prime Unknown Unchanged; contract will continue for at least another 10 years. $662 $630 $630 21 351-12-063 Skyline Blvd 5065 Skyline Blvd Robert Schulte Trustee Et al Private Ownership OS 11.35 One acre deducted for homesite Non Prime Unknown Unchanged; contract will continue for at least another 10 years. $488,077 $478,507 $471,320 22 351-12-066 Skyline Blvd 2287 Skyline Blvd Robert Schulte Trustee Et al Private Ownership OS -0.76 No acerage deducted Non Prime Unknown Unchanged; contract will continue for at least another 10 years. $25 $24 $24 23 351-25-015 Page Mill Rd 4201 Page Mill Rd Bruce A Leak Private Ownership OS 10.31 One acre deducted for homesite Non Prime Unknown Unchanged; contract will continue for at least another 10 years. $1,623,362 $1,591,464 $1,567,594 Note 2 Note 3 Source : City of Palo Alto, Williamson Act Parcel Database 2017. 1Office of the Assessors, County of Santa Clara. Website : https://www.sccassessor.org/index.php/online-services/property-search/real-property The City of Palo Alto leases this land for public use; however, it is privately owned. Value not assessed because land is owned by public agency. # of Parcels APN Street Name Full Address OwnerName Williamson Act Land Ownership Acerage after Deducting Homesite Exclusion Zoning Williamson Act Land Type Williamson Act Contract Start Date Williamson Act Contract Non- Renewal File Date Williamson Act Contract End Date Site Description 1 351-04-031 Skyline Blvd No Address Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District 20.00 OS Non Prime 2/27/1979 12/13/2007 Contract Terminates 12/31/17 Open Space within Foothill Open Space Preserve 2 351-25-014 Skyline Blvd No Address Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District 10.72 OS Non Prime 2/26/1975 12/13/2007 Contract Terminates 12/31/17 Open Space within the Montebello Open Space Preserve 3 351-12-043 Skyline Blvd No Address Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District 8.72 OS Non Prime 2/28/1973 12/13/2007 Contract Terminates 12/31/17 Open Space within the Montebello Open Space Preserve 4 351-06-017 Skyline Blvd 1185 Skyline Blvd Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District 19.73 OS Non Prime 2/28/1973 12/13/2007 Contract Terminates 12/31/17 Open Space within the Montebello Open Space Preserve 5 351-12-006 Skyline Blvd 1405 Skyline Blvd Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District 138.59 OS Non Prime 2/26/1973 3/25/2014 Contract Terminates 12/31/24 Open Space within the Montebello Open Space Preserve 6 351-05-050 Page Mill Road 3849 Page Mill Rd Jeffrey A. and Mary L. Thomas Private Ownership 10 OS Non Prime 2/7/1977 3/17/2016 Contract Terminates 12/31/26 Open Space List of Parcels undergoing Non-Renewal Process since 2008 ATTACHMENT A Contd. Source: City of Palo Alto, Williamson Act Parcel Database 2017. Arastradero Lake Felt Lake Boronda Lake 351-04-031 351-25-014 351-12-043 351-06-017 351-12-006 351-05-050 HeritagePark FoothillsPark Los TrancosOpen SpacePreserve Monte Bello OpenSpace Preserve Upper StevensCreek CanyonCounty Park Skyline Ridge OpenSpace Preserve Long Ridge OpenSpace Preserve Russian RidgeOpen SpacePreserve Coal CreekOpen SpacePreserve JasperRidgeBiologicalPreserve Rancho San AntonioOpen Space Preserve BaylandsNaturePreserve Shoreline FoothillOpen SpacePreserve ArastraderoPreserve CameronPark WeisshaarPark MayflieldPark PeersPark ElPaloAltoPark LyttonPlaza CogswellPlaza ScottPark KelloggPark BolPark RinconadaPark BowdenPark JohnsonPark BoulwarePark TermanPark RoblesPark MonroePark MitchellPark D Jesus RamosPark HooverPark GreerPark ByxbeePark BowlingGreen HenrySealePark SarahWallisPark WerryPark JuanaBrionesPark EstherClarkPark WilliamsPark Stanford/Palo AltoCommunityPlaying Fields San Antonio Rd 280 B o ule v ard Alameda de las Pulgas S a nd Hi l l Ro a d 2 8 0 Junipe r o Serra Boulevard P age Mi l l Road A r a s t r a d e r o R o a d El Ca m i n o R e a l San Antonio Avenue C h a r l e s t o n R o a d G 5 M o n t e B e l l o R o a d Moody Road A l t a m on t Roa d Oregon Expressw ay Middlefi e l d R o ad U 1 0 1 A lm a Street A l p i n e R o a d Foothill Expre s s w a y H i g h w a y 2 8 0 Los Trancos Road Hillview East Bayshore W est Bayshore Fabian C El Cam El M o nte R oad Sand Hill Road Road MillPage Skyline Em barcadero Road StanfordUniversity Mountain View Los AltosLos Altos Hills Santa Clara County San Mateo County Portola Valley El CaminoPark This map is a product of the City of Palo Alto GIS This document is a graphic representation only of best available sources. Legend Williamson Act Parcels Under Contract for 2017 Parcels with Non Renewal Notices Appproved 0' 7000' Williamson Act Parcels 2017 CITY O F PALO A L TO I N C O R P O R ATE D C ALIFOR N IA P a l o A l t oT h e C i t y o f A P RIL 16 1894 The City of Palo Alto assumes no responsibility for any errors ©1989 to 2016 City of Palo Alto cmoitra, 2017-09-13 11:08:00Williamson Act Properties 2017 (\\cc-maps\Encompass\Admin\Personal\Planning.mdb)