Approve the acquisition of 25.853 acres of real property within Grasslands Regional Park, located at the southeast corner of County Roads 104 and 35, for $776,000; authorize staff to sign a related Letter Agreement with the United States General Services Administration and prepare related matters for Board consideration at a future meeting, including County acquisition of the adjacent 314-acre Davis Communications Site. (No general fund impact) (Pogledich/Pistochini)

The recommended actions will allow the County to acquire unrestricted title to the solar project site at Grasslands Regional Park--a longstanding unresolved issue--by extinguishing restrictions in a 1973 federal deed that require the land to be used solely for public park and recreational uses.  

The solar project site consists of about 25.8 acres of land in the northwest corner of Grasslands Regional Park. The County currently has restricted title to the Park (about 330 acres) through a quitclaim deed recorded in 1973. The 1973 property transfer--like the transfer of the Davis Communications Site, discussed below--occurred through the federal lands to parks program, which requires recipient local governments to use properties conveyed as public parks in perpetuity. The federal government holds reversionary rights to all such properties in the event of any violation by a local government.

Because the solar project effectively converted 25.8 acres to County infrastructure without any public recreational access, to avoid a potential reversion of the project site to the federal government, the County and National Park Service (through an arrangement negotiated with the Department of the Interior) agreed in 2012 that a fee title acquisition by the County would resolve the conversion of park land. As part of the arrangement, the County also committed to a "package deal" that included acquisition of the adjacent Davis Communications Site, which the County had taken all steps to acquire in 2008 (and has since managed under an arrangement with the National Park Service) other than recording the final deed. Both transactions were delayed when local environmental groups threatened to sue the County for failing to disclose that about half of the 25.8 acre solar project site included land designated as critical habitat by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the vernal pool tadpole shrimp and other endangered species. The litigation threat was resolved by a settlement negotiated over the course of several years, with attorneys' fees paid by the consulting firm responsible for the disclosure error. Despite the critical habitat designation, the project site does not contain habitat suitable for any of the species covered by the designation.

The County must pay the fair market value of the solar project site to extinguish all federal deed restrictions. In coordination with the U.S. General Services Agency, the County completed an appraisal earlier this year that established the fair market value at $776,000, reflecting its potential value as a rural homesite and orchard. The General Services Department and Office of the County Counsel concur that the appraisal utilized appropriate comparables and is otherwise sound.

The attached letter agreement enables the County to pay the acquisition cost in two installments, in August 2025 and 2026. The County may also pay the entire amount at once. This Office will coordinate with General Services and the Department of Financial Services to present a budget resolution on August 26, 2025 to appropriate funds (likely for the first installment only).

Actions regarding the Davis Communications Site--including acceptance of a transfer deed, approving conservation restrictions, and adopting a management plan--will be requested at a future Board meeting and are not part of this item. As briefly mentioned above, the County took all steps to acquire the property for a public park between 2004-2008. The final transfer deed was never recorded, but the County accepted "constructive possession" (i.e., all the rights and obligations of ownership) in 2008 and has managed the property at its sole cost continuously since. The property includes about 170 acres of vernal pools and adjacent upland areas, as well as about 140 acres of grasslands and remnant infrastructure (mainly, an old access road initially constructed by the Air Force). The property has unique potential as a public park due to the presence of vernal pools and it is also a key property for implementation of the Yolo County HCP/NCCP. The Yolo Habitat Conservancy will consider approving efforts to enroll the Davis Communications Site in the "reserve system" for the Yolo HCP/NCCP on July 21, 2025, which will require federal and state wildlife agency approval as well as future approval by the Board of Supervisors.

A budget resolution appropriating funds for at least the initial installment of the solar site will be presented on August 26. Additional actions relating to Davis Communication Site will be requested of the Board within the next year, depending upon the pace of federal approvals and related work.

General Services, Yolo Habitat Conservancy, and the National Park Service. 

Not applicable, as the County is acquiring land from the federal government.