State highways: property leases.

Existing law provides that the Department of Transportation has full possession and control of the state highway system, including associated property. Existing law authorizes the department to lease certain property, including the area above or below a state highway, and certain property held for future highway purposes to public agencies under specified terms and conditions, including specific provisions governing leases of airspace and other property in the City and County of San Francisco for purposes of an emergency shelter or feeding program, at a lease cost of $1 per month and payment of an administrative fee not to exceed $500 per year. Existing law also requires that a lease be offered on a right of first refusal by the department to the city and county or a political subdivision of the city and county and authorizes leases of property for park, recreational, or open-space purposes, subject to certain additional terms and conditions, including a requirement for the department to lease property located within a priority development area to the city and county for up to 10 parcels, at a specified below market value lease amount, and a requirement, applicable to all leases, for the lessee to be responsible for all associated maintenance costs. Existing law also requires that a lease authorize the lessee to subsidize its maintenance costs through a limited revenue generation model, with any revenues generated above the maintenance costs to be shared with the state, and requires the City and County of San Francisco or a political subdivision of the city and county, in consultation with the department, to follow all applicable health, environmental, safety, design, and engineering standards. This bill would similarly authorize the department to offer a lease on a right of first refusal basis of any airspace under a freeway, or real property acquired for highway purposes, located in a disadvantaged community, that is not excess property to the city or county in which the disadvantaged community is located for purposes of an emergency shelter or feeding program, or for park, recreational, or open-space purposes for a rental amount of $1 per month, subject to certain conditions. The bill would also authorize the department to lease up to 10 parcels in any city, or in the unincorporated area of any county, in which the disadvantaged community is located for park, recreational, or open-space purposes at an amount equal to 30% of the fair market lease value of the applicable parcel.