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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1721 - ORDINANCES - 10/3/2007' ORDINANCE NO. 1721 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING AND ADOPTING THE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY'S PROGRAM TO ACQUIRE COMMERCIAL REAL PROPERTY BY EMINENT DOMAIN IN THE MERGED AREA NO. 1 AND MERGED AREA NO. 2 REDEVELOPMENT PROJECTS. Citv Attornev's Summary This Ordinance describes the Community Redevelopment Agency of Palm Springs existing program for the acquisition of real property through eminent domain as provided in the adopted Redevelopment Plans of the Agency, including all limitations on the use of eminent domain contained in such Redevelopment Plans. WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Palm Springs, California ("City Council") adopted Ordinance No. 1623 and No. 1624 on February 19, 2003 and Ordinance No. 1656 on June 16, 2004, as amended, approving and adopting the Redevelopment Plan for the Merged Area No. 1 and Merged Area No. 2 Redevelopment Projects (the "Redevelopment Plan") and ' WHEREAS, the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Palm Springs ("Agency") has been designated as the official redevelopment agency in the City of Palm Springs to carry out functions and requirements of the Community Redevelopment Law of the State of California (Health and Safety Code Section 33000 et seq.) and to implement the Redevelopment Plan; and WHEREAS, Section 502 of the Redevelopment Plans contains Agency authority to acquire property by eminent domain; and WHEREAS, Section 33342.7 of the Health and Safety Code, which was added by Senate Bill 53 ("SB 53"), which took effect on January 1, 2007, requires a legislative body that adopted a redevelopment plan containing eminent domain authority before January 1, 2007, to adopt an ordinance on or before July 1, 2007, containing a description of the agency's program to acquire commercial property by eminent domain. NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Pursuant to Section 33342.7 of the Health and Safety Code, a description of the Agency's program to acquire commercial property by eminent domain is set forth in Exhibit A, attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference. The Agency's program to acquire commercial real property by eminent domain may be amended only by amending the Redevelopment Plan pursuant to Article 12 of the Community Redevelopment Law (commencing with Health and Safety Code Section 33450). Ordinance No. 1721 Page 2 1 SECTION 2. The City Clerk is hereby directed to send a certified copy of this Ordinance to the Agency. SECTION 3. If any part of this Ordinance is held to be invalid for any reason, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion of this Ordinance, and this City Council hereby declares that it would have passed the remainder of this Ordinance if such invalid portion thereof had been deleted. SECTION 4. The City Clerk will certify to the passage of this Ordinance by the City Council, and cause the same to be published once in The Desert Sun, a newspaper of general circulation, published and circulated in Palm Springs, and it will take effect thirty (30) days after its final passage. APPROVED, PASSED AND ADOPTED THIS 3RD day of October, 2007. )v RON ODEN. MAYOR ATTEST: J mes Thompson, City Clerk CERTIFICATION STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE ) ss. CITY OF PALM SPRINGS) I, JAMES THOMPSON, City Clerk of the City of Palm Springs, hereby certify that Ordinance No. 1721 is a full, true and correct copy, and was duly adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Palm Springs on the P day of October, 2007, by the following vote: AYES: Councilmember Foat, Councilmember McCulloch, Councilmember Mills, Mayor Pro Tern Pougnet, and Mayor Oden. NOES: None. ABSENT: None. ABSTAIN: None. 1 James Thompson, City Clerk City of Palm Springs, California Ordinance No. 1721 Page 3 Exhibit A Description of Program to Acquire Commercial real Property by Eminent Domain for the City of Palm Springs Redevelopment Plan The City Council of the City of Palm Springs, California ("City Council") adopted Ordinance 1623 on February 19, 2003, as amended approving and adopting the Redevelopment Plan for Merged Area No. 1 and Ordinance 1624 on February 19, 2003 as amended, approving and adopting the Redevelopment Plan for the Canyon and Baristo Farrell Constituent Ares of Merged Area No. 2 for the City of Palm Springs Redevelopment Project Area (the "Redevelopment Plan") - By separate action, the Agency initiated efforts to extend eminent domain in the Tahquitz-Andreas constituent area of Merged Area No. 2 in the summer of 2002, in order to explore the possibility of permitting the use of eminent domain not only on nonresidential property in that Constituent Area, but residential property as well, to avail the Agency greater flexibility in acquiring property in the future. Redevelopment Law required the Agency to form a project area committee, representing Tahquitz-Andreas constituent area community organizations, residents, business owners, and property owners, to consider and make a report and recommendation on the proposed Second Amendment. ' The Tahquitz-Andreas Project Area Committee (PAC) was formed by an election process required by Redevelopment Law and prescribed by the City Council's July 2002 Procedure for Formation and Election of a Project Area Committee as adopted by City Council Resolution No. 20424. After meeting several times and analyzing the arguments made for the wider authority, the PAC felt that residential property should remain free of eminent domain authority. Staff concurred with the PAC's recommendation, and the Second Amendment was adopted by the Council to exempt residentially occupied property from eminent domain as described above (Ordinance 1656, adopted June 16, 2004). This resulted in the same limitations on eminent domain as in the balance of the Agency's project areas. As provided in the Redevelopment Plan, it is in the public interest and is necessary in order to eliminate the conditions requiring redevelopment and in order to execute the Redevelopment Plan for the City of Palm Springs Community Redevelopment Agency ("Agency") to employ the power of eminent domain to acquire commercial property in the Project Area. This power is necessary because the Project Area suffers from blighting conditions, including without limitation: deterioration, stagnated or decreased property values, vacancy rates, low lease rates, asbestos and other blighting conditions. In approving the Redevelopment Plan, the City Council found and determined that the ' condemnation of commercial real property within the Project Area, as provided for in the Redevelopment Plan, is necessary to the execution of the Redevelopment Plan and adequate provisions have been made for the payment for any property that is acquired as provided by law. This finding was based upon: Ordinance No. 1721 Page 4 1. The need to ensure that the provisions of the Redevelopment Plan and the Agency's efforts to eliminate blight and redevelop the Project Area would be carried out and that the Project Area would be redeveloped in conformity with the Community Redevelopment Law and in the interests of the public peace, health, safety and welfare; 2. The need to prevent the recurrence of blight; 3. The fact that any condemnation or other acquisition of property by the Agency would be undertaken in accordance with all applicable laws including, without limitation, the Eminent Domain Law (California Code of Civil Procedure Section 1230.010 et seq.), the California Relocation Assistance Act (Government Code Section 7260 et seq.), and the Agency rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto, as applicable. When the Agency exercises its power of eminent domain, it shall be exercised within the following limitations: The Redevelopment Plan may be amended by means of the procedures established in Section 33354.6 and/or Sections 33450-33458 of the Community Redevelopment Law or by any other procedure hereafter established by law; however, the Redevelopment Plan may not be amended to provide for the acquisition by eminent domain on any ' property zoned for residential uses as of the date the ordinance adopting the second amendment to the Plan becomes effective. City of Palm Springs Redevelopment Plan (Merged Areas 1 and 2): Section 502-Property Acquisition Section 503 Acquisition of Real Propertv Except as specifically exempted herein, the Agency may acquire, but is not required to acquire, any real property located in the Project Area by any means authorized by law. It is in the public interest and is necessary in order to eliminate the conditions requiring redevelopment in order to execute this Plan for the power of eminent domain to be employed by the Agency to acquire real property in the Project Area which cannot be acquired by gift, devise, exchange, purchase, or any other lawful method. Eminent Domain proceedings, if used, must be commenced within twelve (12) years from the date the ordinance amending this Plan becomes effective (February 19, 2003 amendment, expires February 19, 2015; the June 16, 2004 amendment expires on June 16, 2016). ' The Agency shall not acquire real property on which an existing building is to be continued on its present site and in its present form and use without the consent of the owner unless: (a) such building requires structural alteration, improvement, modernization or rehabilitation; (b) the site, or lot on which the building is situated, requires modification in size, shape or use; or (c) it is necessary to impose upon such Ordinance No. 1721 Page 5 property any of the controls, limitations, restrictions and requirements of this Plan, and the owner fails or refuses to execute a participation agreement in accordance with the provisions of this Plan. The Agency is not authorized to acquire real property owned by public bodies which do not consent to such acquisition. The Agency is authorized, however, to acquire public property transferred to private ownership before redevelopment of the Project Area is completed, unless the Agency and the private owner enter into a participation agreement and the owner completes his responsibilities under the participation agreement. Section 503 Acquisition of Real Prooertv, Anv Other Interest in Real Propertv, or Anv Improvements in Real Propertv Generally, personal property shall not be acquired. However, where necessary in the execution of this Plan, the Agency is authorized to acquire personal property in the Project Area by any lawful means, including eminent domain.