Selling a city-owned parcel was delayed by the Ceres City Council last week because the city had failed to post a notification on a state website last year.
The lot in question is at the northwest corner of Arthur Way and Hollister Street. The vacant property is the former site of a city well which was removed and could be used for residential development. The city had a buyer waiting for a closed session negotiation. In October 2023 the Ceres City Council declared the property as surplus land and authorized the city manager to sell it. At the time the Surplus Land Act (SLA) required a city to negotiate first with those wanting to develop affordable housing and post the property on the state’s Housing and Community Development (HCD) website before going to others.
Apparently then Community Development Director Christopher Hoem failed to post a Notice of Availability (NOA) regarding the parcel on the Housing and Community Development’s (HCD) website. He instead sent out an email to 131 interested parties, such as people listed on HCD websites and known developers.
The one individual who made an offer on the property last week was not part of the 131.
Councilwoman Rosalinda Vierra said she knows of two or three people interested in buying the surplus property.
Vierra said she was alarmed that one of the individuals interested in buying the lot called the city a month ago and was told “no.”
“I have multiple emails from November asking why it wasn’t on the HCD website,” said Vierra. “By delaying and not doing what we needed to doesn’t mean we get to circumvent the law. So to me I think we still need to post it as required at the time that we voted and passed it.”
But a change in law further complicated the issue. Community Development Director Lea Simvoulakis noted that on February 3, 2024, HCD released new guidelines stating that a site that is less than a half-acre in size and not contiguous to land owned by a state or local agency can be declared “exempt” from the posting Because the Arthur Way parcel is 0.17 acres or 7,405.2 square feet in size, it now falls within the “exempt” category and does not need to be posted.
City Attorney Nubia Goldstein said the changes allow the city to sell the parcel without posting its availability on the state HCD website.
Rather than waiting another 90 days for a new posting, Simvoulakis said it behooved the city sell the parcel quicker than 90 days with interested parties. She also noted that the parcel is too small to be conducive to developing affordable apartments.
The council’s majority voted 4-1 against selling the parcel until it is placed on the HCD website. The lone “yes” vote was made by Vice Mayor Bret Silveira.
