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system. Unfortunately, Mr. Khan could not find an appraiser willing to determine the value of a small strip of undeveloped land within an established subdivision. (Such a small area of land has little or no value to anyone other than the adjacent land owner.) Mr. Khan did receive several estimates for the cost of removing and replacing the improvements that ranged from $55,375 to $76,528. Since Mr. Khan was not able to get an appraisal for the property, he went back through some old data from K B Homes, the developers of the subdivision. According to those records, when K B Homes sold the properties in 2004/05, they charged approximately $10,000 per 1,000 square feet as a bonus lot premium. The area of the parcel that the Khans want to acquire is approximately 3,300 square feet. Based on that analysis, the value of the property would be between $30,000 and $35,000. Since the cost of moving the storm drain system far exceeds the value of the property, the Khans believe the City should grant them the property at no charge as long as they pay for all required improvements. DISCUSSION This property was dedicated to the City as a buffer area at no cost to the City on the final map for Tract 7374, Canyon Oaks. This property is unimproved (other than the storm drain line) that requires annual weed abatement by the Homeowners' Association. If the storm drain system were relocated and the side yard fence moved to the new property line as proposed by the Khans, the property will become integrated with their side yard improvements. The Khans have indicated their willingness to open an escrow account and pay all the transaction expenses, including the hiring of a licensed Civil Engineer to prepare all necessary legal descriptions and plots for the property transfer, process a lot line adjustment map to merge the two properties into one, prepare improvement plans for the installation of the storm drain system, and prepare a grading plan for placing fill material on the site to bring the grade of the property up to the grade of this existing property. Additionally, the Khans have agreed to pay all City fees and to post a bond to ensure the storm drain system is installed per City standards. RECOMMENDATION The cost of relocation of the City storm drain system, filling the site and processing the legal documents to transfer and merge the property clearly outweighs the value of the small portion of Parcel C. This portion of Parcel C has been a maintenance problem for both the HOA and the Khans for weed control. Incorporating the property into the Khans' side yard by moving the existing fence will resolve the ongoing weed abatement issues at this location. Therefore, it is staffs recommendation that the property be declared surplus, be deeded to the Khans at no cost for the property itself, with the following conditions: The Khans will open an escrow account and pay all the transaction expenses involved in transferring the property to them. They will hire a licensed Civil Engineer to prepare all necessary legal descriptions and plots for the property transfer, process a lot line Page 3 of 4