SR 06:100 - Laserfiche WebLink

Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council: BACKGROUND On October 1 1,2005, the City Council and Planning Commission conducted a joint workshop at which the potential development of the Staples Ranch, 124 vacant acres owned by Surplus Property Authority of Alameda County (hereafter County), was discussed at length. Part of that discussion focused on a proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City and the County that would outline the development entitlement process, schedule and responsibilities. Following the workshop, Council convened a special meeting at which it directed staff to prepare the proposed MOU and return the matter to Council for consideration. The attached MOU has been prepared for Council's consideration. DISCUSSION The County currently contemplates that the Staples Ranch would be developed with an auto mall site (36 acres), a senior continuing care facility ( 45 acres), a community park (17 acres) and 17 acres of other commercial uses. Portions of Stoneridge Drive would be constructed on the property but would not be connected except by an emergency vehicle access easement. As the project is proposed, the City's General Plan would not need to be amended but the Stoneridge Drive Specific Plan, approved in 1989, would need to be amended as to land use, circulation and financing. In order to annex the property to the City, the property would also need to be prezoned. The County may also choose to pursue other development related entitlements such as a development agreement, PUD development plan, subdivision map, etc. Fundamentally, the MOU does three things: Requires the City to specify to the auto mall site developer what the City's development fees will be; identifies the process that the City will follow to process the County's applications; and identifies the changes to the Specific Plan that the County intends to seek. A. Develooment Fees. Not surprisingly, the price that the purchaser of the auto mall site (the Hendrick Automotive Group) is willing to pay the County for a portion of the Staples Ranch site is related to the amount of development fees that the City will impose on development of that site. The MOU requires the City to inform Hendrick of what those fees will be. Hendrick, in turn, will inform the County whether it is or is not prepared to pay those fees. If Hendrick is, then the County will enter into a sales agreement with Hendrick. (Presumably, if Hendrick states that it is not prepared to pay the City's specified development fees, then the sale to Hendrick by the County does not come to fruition.) Because City staff has had extensive discussions with Hendrick SR:06:100 Page 2