That the Successor Agency:
A. Authorize the Executive Director to accept an offer from the City of La Habra to purchase and transfer title of the 2.8-acre Agency owned parcel in La Habra, commonly known as a portion of the La Habra Marketplace Parking Lot, APN 018-381-64 (the "Property"), in the amount of $57,500;

B. Authorize the Executive Director to execute all documents necessary to transfer the Property to the City of La Habra, including the quitclaim deed;

C. Approve the transfer of $57,500 to the Orange County Auditor-Controller Redevelopment Property Tax Trust Fund, as required by state law; and,

D. APPROVE AND ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2023-__ ENTITLED: A RESOLUTION OF THE SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF THE CITY OF LA HABRA (SUCCESSOR AGENCY) APPROVING A QUITCLAIM DEED CONVEYING THE 2.8 ACRE PARCEL IN LA HABRA COMMONLY KNOWN AS A PORTION OF THE LA HABRA MARKETPLACE PARKING LOT (APN 018-381-64) FROM THE SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE CITY OF LA HABRA AND FORWARDING THE PROPOSED TRANSFER TO THE ORANGE COUNTYWIDE OVERSIGHT BOARD FOR APPROVAL.

The Successor Agency to the La Habra Redevelopment Agency ("SA") is required by state law to wind down the activities of the City's former Redevelopment Agency. Among those activities is submitting requests for payments for recognized obligations to both the Orange County Oversight Board ("OB") and the State of California Department of Finance, and to dispose of any properties owned by the former Redevelopment Agency. To date, there remains one parcel of land still owned by the former Redevelopment Agency, a 2.8-acre parking lot commonly known as a portion of the La Habra Marketplace Parking Lot, APN 018-381-64 ("Property").

On June 2, 2022, the OB directed the SA, via Resolution No. 22-026 (Attachment 2), to dispose of the property in compliance with the disposition requirements of agency-owned property under the state Surplus Land Act (SLA). The OB resolution included a finding to determine whether the property was exempt for the SLA, and to solicit proposals from interested parties regarding the sale of the parking lot, to include public notices and/or advertisements of the property and inform potential purchasers of the restrictive parking covenant.
  On July 25, 2022, staff began several months of conversations with the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) regarding the SLA and its potential applicability to this parcel of land. On April 6, 2023, staff received a final determination letter from HCD (Attachment 3) stating that the property met SLA's qualifications for "exempt surplus land."

On April 24, 2023, Best Best & Krieger LLP received an appraisal from Anderson & Brabant, Inc. for the Property.  The appraised value of the property is currently $30,000, and it specifically noted the deed restrictions on the Property. The appraisal is Exhibit C of the Draft Resolution (Attachment 1).

On July 25, 2023, the OB approved Resolution No. 23-021 (Attachment 4) directing the manner in which the SA should sell the Property. Exhibit A of the Resolution directed the SA to use a "reputable and properly licensed commercial property broker to help with the solicitation."

On September 18, 2023, the SA approved an Agreement with GM Properties, Inc. (Broker) to act as the listing agent for the Property, and on October 17, 2023, the broker listed the property for sale and requested bids be submitted no later than November 7, 2023.

By November 7, 2023, the Broker received three bids as follows:
 

Goldenwheat Properties, LLC	$27,500
LH Borrower, LLC	$25,000
Southwest Group Properties	$25,000

On November 14, 2023, SA staff spoke with the Broker and, since the offers were all similar in price and terms, the Broker recommended that the bidders be requested to submit a best and final offer, due by November 16, 2023. The Broker received the following offers (Attachments 5-7):
 

On November 20, 2023, the SA met in Closed Session to consider the offers received for the sale of the Property. Following this discussion, the SA requested staff to contact the City of La Habra (City) to determine if the City had any interest in purchasing the property. On December 4, 2023, the La Habra City Council met in Closed Session prior to its regularly scheduled meeting and requested staff to make an offer to purchase the property from the SA for $57,500. The City's purchase offer will also include the $2,875 cost of the broker fees, for a total cost to the City of $60,375. The City's offer is provided as Attachment 8 to this staff report. On December 4, 2023, the SA met in Closed Session to review the City's offer and then, during its regularly scheduled meeting, requested staff to complete negotiations.

In lieu of going through an escrow process, once the purchase and sale is approved by both the City and the SA, funds will be transferred from the City to the SA and the property will be transferred via the execution and recordation of a Quitclaim Deed. Once the Quitclaim Deed is executed, the document will be recorded and funds will be wired by the SA to the Orange County Auditor-Controller Redevelopment Property Tax Trust Fund, as required by state law.  It is estimated that the process to execute and record the quitclaim and transfer funds should take no longer than two weeks, once the OB approves the purchase and transfer of the property to the City.  Accepting the offer from the City would represent the highest amount offered for the purchase of this property and will provide the highest amount of proceeds for distribution to the taxing agencies, as required by state law.

The project was reviewed pursuant to the guidelines of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and determined to be exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) because the project does not pose a significant effect on the environment.  The conveyance of the property is exempt from the review under CEQA because the purchase of the property will not change its continued use as a parking lot and, therefore, will not have a significant impact on the environment.

The City has offered to purchase the Property for $57,500. If the SA approves this purchase offer and then confirms that the purchase and sale has been approved by the Oversight Board, City Finance Department staff will be able to complete all necessary fund transfers within two weeks. Finance Department staff will transfer the funds received by the SA from the City for the purchase of the property to the Orange County Auditor-Controller Redevelopment Property Tax Trust Fund, as required by state law. 

General Plan Goals and Policies:
Goal LU 2: Land Use Diversity and Choices for Residents. A mix of land uses that meets the diverse needs of La Habra’s residents, offers a variety of employment opportunities, and allows for the capture of regional population.
Policy LU 2.2:Places to Shop. Provide for, and encourage, the development of a broad range of uses in La Habra’s commercial centers and corridors that reduce the need to travel to adjoining communities, and which subsequently capture a greater share of local spending.
Goal 11: Diverse District and Corridors: Vital, active, prosperous, and well-designed commercial districts that provide a diversity of goods, services, and entertainment and contribute to a positive experience for visitors and community residents.
Policy LU 11.1: Diversity of Uses: Provide for and encourage the development of a broad range of uses in La Habra’s commercial centers and corridors that reduce the need to travel to adjoining communities, and capture a greater share of local spending.

City Council Goals and Objectives:
Goal 5:Development Activity and Business Assistance
Objective N: Monitor commercial property listings for potential acquisition and/or marketing to attract/retain businesses.