To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Public Infrastructure
Staff Name and Phone Number: Johannes J. Hoevertsz, 707-565-2550
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Fourth
Title:
Title
Declaration of Exempt Surplus Land (Various Parcels) and Notice of Intent to Convey to Town of Windsor
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Adopt a Resolution declaring certain County owned parcels of land to be exempt surplus property and no longer necessary for County purposes or use;
B) Authorize the Clerk of the Board to publish a Notice of Intent to convey the subject surplus parcels (Assessor’s Parcel No.’s: APN’s 161-380-066, 161-380-067, 161-162-039, 161-170-039, 163-012-019, 164-040-002, 164-140-002) to the Town of Windsor, for no monetary consideration.
(Fourth District)
end
Executive Summary:
The Town of Windsor is interested in acquiring several properties (APN’s 161-380-066, 161-380-067, 161-162-039, 161-170-039, 163-012-019, 164-040-002, 164-140-002) from the County. The properties, located throughout Windsor, are not currently in use and no plans exist to use them for any purpose.
Disposing the properties to the Town of Windsor will relieve the County of responsibility for said lands and allow the Town to better manage the parcels at the Town’s cost.
Discussion:
Background.
The Town of Windsor contacted Sonoma County Public Infrastructure (SPI) to inquire about the Town potentially acquiring seven (7) County-owned remnant parcels. The parcels are located within the Town of Windsor municipal boundaries and are described as Assessor’s Parcel No.’s: 161-380-066, 161-380-067, 161-162-039, 161-170-039, 163-012-019, 164-040-002, 164-140-002 (collectively the “Properties”). The Town indicated the Properties could be used by the Town in connection with its road right of way, creek conservation and management, and other public purposes.
Exempt Surplus.
In order to convey the properties to the Town, the properties must be declared “exempt surplus lands” and a Notice of Intent to convey the properties must be published in the local paper.
The Properties are land owned in fee simple by the County. Most of the Properties are remnant parcels with little independent utility to the County. The Properties are not currently used by the County nor does the County have any plans to use the Properties. Accordingly, none of the Properties are required for County work, operations, or use and are therefore appropriate to declare as surplus. The Town has indicated it plans to use the Properties consistent with existing governmental and public purposes, such as for open space, creek maintenance, and road right of way.
The Properties are appropriate to declare as exempt surplus pursuant to several exemptions under the State’s Surplus Land Act (Government Code Section 54220 et seq.), which provides that surplus land may be declared “exempt” by the local agency under a variety of circumstances, including as follows:
Small Parcels (Small Lot Exemption). Surplus land that is less than one-half acre in area (and not contiguous to land owned by a state or local agency that is used for open-space or low- and moderate-income housing purposes) may be declared “exempt surplus land” under Government Code Section 54221(f)(1)(B). The Properties described as APNs 161-380-066, 161-380-067, 163-012-019, and 164-040-002, are each less than one-half an acre in area and none of them are contiguous to land used for open space or low- or moderate-income housing. Therefore, these parcels may be declared as “exempt” surplus land. Additionally, the aforementioned parcels are also appropriate to declare as “exempt surplus land” as they are to be conveyed to the Town of Windsor, a public agency, and may be declared as “exempt” surplus property within the meaning of Government Code Section 54221(f)(1)(D) as well.
Local Agency to Agency Transfers (Conveyance for Local Agency’s Use). Surplus land that a local agency is transferring to another local, state, or federal agency for the transferee agency’s use may be declared “exempt surplus land” under Government Code Section 54221(f)(1)(D). The Properties described as APNs 161-162-039, 161-170-039, and 164-040-002, are to be conveyed to the Town of Windsor, a public agency, for the Town’s public purpose uses, including creek maintenance, open space, and road right of way. Therefore, these parcels may be declared as “exempt” surplus property.
The Properties are further appropriate to declare as surplus as none of the characteristics set forth in Government Code section 54221(f)(2) apply to the Properties.
A map showing the subject parcels is attached to the staff report as Attachment 4. The following table summarizes the subject parcels and their specific dispositions:
|
Address |
Parcel |
Size |
Proposed Use (per Town as shown on its General Plan Land Use Diagram) |
SLA Exemption(s) |
|
0 Arata Lane |
161-380-067 |
5,415 sq ft (0.12 acres) |
Very Low Density Residential |
54221(f)(1)(B) [Under .5 acre] |
|
0 Arata Lane |
161-380-066 |
1,101 sq ft (0.03 acres) |
Very Low Density Residential |
54221(f)(1)(B) [Under .5 acre] |
|
0 Lakewood Drive |
161-162-039 |
35,945 sq ft (0.83 acres) |
Open Space |
54221(f)(1)(D) [Public agency use] |
|
0 Lakewood Drive |
161-170-039 |
27,694 sq ft (0.64 acres) |
Open Space |
54221(f)(1)(D) [Public agency use] |
|
0 Old Redwood Hwy |
164-040-002 |
2,457 sq ft (0.06 acres) |
Boulevard Mixed Use |
54221(f)(1)(B) [Under .5 acre] |
|
0 Old Redwood Hwy |
163-012-019 |
2,644 sq ft (0.06 acres) |
Very Low Density Residential |
54221(f)(1)(B) [Under .5 acre] |
|
0 Windsor Road |
164-140-002 |
72,561 sq ft (1.67 acres) |
Open Space |
54221(f)(1)(D) [Public agency use] |
On June 16 2025, SPI notified the California Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD) regarding the proposed action to declare the subject properties “exempt surplus land” to be conveyed to the Town of Windsor. HCD staff have preliminarily agreed that the Properties qualify as “exempt surplus land” under several exemptions under the Surplus Land Act.
Under State law and HCD regulations, the County is required to submit the adopted Resolution to HCD prior to conveying the Properties, for HCD final determination as to compliance with the Surplus Land Act.
Assuming State HCD concurrence with the “exempt surplus land” declaration and concurrence from the Town’s planning agency that the Properties to be acquired by the Town are consistent with Town’s adopted General Plan pursuant to Govt. Code Section 65402, Public Infrastructure recommends that the Properties be conveyed to the Town of Windsor pursuant to a Conveyance Agreement that contains the following terms:
|
Grantor: |
County of Sonoma |
|
Grantee: |
Town of Windsor |
|
Property Being Transferred: |
APN’s: 161-380-067, 161-380-066, 161-162-039, 161-170-039, 164-040-002,163-012-019, 164-140-002 |
|
Purchase Price: |
No monetary consideration |
|
Due Diligence: |
Town of Windsor to pay for all costs associated with its own due diligence, investigation and any escrow or title fees |
|
No Contingencies for Grantee: |
Town’s acquisition is not subject to any contingency for inspections, finance or appraisal of the Properties |
|
Board Approval Required: |
Agreement is subject to and conditioned on final approval by a vote of the County Board of Supervisors at a public meeting |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Deed: |
Quitclaim Deed |
|
Closing Period: |
Promptly after satisfaction with conditions to closing including general plan compliance, approval of HCD, approval of agreement by Town of Windsor |
After the required Notice publication period, this matter will return to your Board for approval of the proposed Conveyance Agreement with the Town of Windsor and for other actions related to the conveyance.
Procedural Authority.
Government Code Section 25365 allows the board of supervisors, by four-fifths vote, to grant, convey, quitclaim assign, or otherwise transfer county property to other public agencies upon mutually-agreed terms, after notice of intended action has been published in the newspaper for at least one week prior. Conveyances under Section 25365 are not required to comply with any other Government Code requirements for disposition of county property and may be undertaken as to any property that is not required for county use.
Strategic Plan:
N/A
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
None.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY25-26 Adopted |
FY26-27 Projected |
FY27-28 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$10,000 |
|
|
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$10,000 |
|
|
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
$10,000 |
|
|
|
State/Federal |
|
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
|
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
General Fund Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$10,000 |
|
|
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Appropriations associated with internal costs to process the disposition of these properties including county counsel fees, any CEQA related expenditures, SPI staff time, and incidental expenses (which combined are not expected to exceed $10,000) are available in the SPI Real Estate Division’s Fiscal Year 2025-26 Adopted Budget (10005-21020300). By transferring these properties to the Town of Windsor, the County is reducing long term costs associated with ownership, maintenance and third party liability exposure.
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None.
Attachments:
1 - Agreement to Sell and Convey
2 - Notice of Intent
3 - Resolution
4 - Location Map of County Owned Parcels
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None.