State highways: excess property.

Existing law provides that the Department of Transportation has full possession and control of state highways and associated property. Existing law governs the disposal of excess property not needed for highway purposes upon terms, standards, and conditions established by the California Transportation Commission. This bill, notwithstanding any other provision of law, for purposes of adding certain rental housing units to a proposed residential development project adjacent to a maintenance facility of the department, if a portion of the department's property is immediately contiguous to the development project and is not independently developable, would encourage the department to find that portion of the property to be excess and to sell that portion of the property at fair market value to the owner of the contiguous property, at the owner's request, under certain conditions. The bill would require the determination of fair market value to be determined by an appraiser jointly agreed upon by the department and the contiguous property owner, based on the property's highest and best use. The bill would specify the obligations of the purchaser of the property with respect to the type and amount of residential rental units to be constructed on the acquired property and consistency of the construction with the general plan of the jurisdiction in which the property is located. The bill would require the purchaser of the property to agree to pay for the reconstruction of any existing buildings located on the property being acquired from the department, with the cost of construction to be deducted from the fair market value of the property being acquired. The bill would require the commission to certify compliance with all of the conditions imposed by the bill before the sale of property is finalized. The bill would require the department and the commission to complete any transaction authorized by the bill by January 1, 2020.