Posted on Fri, Jul. 11, 2003
By Alan Lopez
STAFF WRITER
ALBANY - The city has struck out on a deal to buy land for sports fields next to the Interstate 80 and 580 freeways and is looking for a savior in Assemblywoman Loni Hancock.
The problem: A 41/2-acre parcel that used to be a freeway on-and-off ramp has been appraised by property owner Caltrans at about $6 million. The city says it's worth $360,000, a scant 6 percent of Caltrans' appraisal.
Hancock sponsored AB 929, a bill in the state legislature that would cut the cost of the land -- the so-called "Pierce Park" -- in half, though Caltrans says the sale would be unconstitutional.
City officials are frustrated by the slow progress of a land transfer they've been negotiating for years.
"The concern we now have is we feel that Caltrans is headed down a path in which they're trying to extract as much money as possible for this land as opposed to working with us -- given the city's limited funds -- working with us to allow us to buy this as a park," said City Administrator Beth Pollard.
In the mid-1990s, Caltrans slated a 1-acre portion of the property to become a "mini-park" with a sound wall to buffer freeway noise as part of mitigation required after modifying the Interstate 80-580 interchange.
The public wanted a bigger park for sports fields that could be purchased through a combination of lighting and landscaping taxes and the Measure F bond measure passed last November, Pollard said.
The city expected Caltrans to give up the entire property at a minimal cost. Caltrans agreed last year that it would prepare the site for use as a future park in exchange for the city paying for property appraisal.
Hancock's bill would force Caltrans to lease the property as a park to Albany for $1 a year for five years, with an option for the city to buy it at 50 percent of its appraised value.
City officials say they've saved Caltrans $900,000 for the cost of building a sound wall. Using the land as a park now would also give Caltrans the option of using it for transit in the future.
Caltrans says it has already credited the city $1.3 million in various project funds in exchange for the sound wall project, according to a senate transportation committee analysis. In addition, selling it at 50 percent of its market value would violate the state constitution and cause the state transportation fund to lose money.
"We're far apart, obviously," said city engineer Randy Leptien. "Their (Caltrans') policy is that it be appraised at a highest and best use and that use is probably residential. We think the highest and best use is a public park."
The assembly passed Hancock's bill, but on July 1, a Senate transportation committee tabled it and will revisit it in January, giving time for the city to reappraise the land.
"They (the senate subcommittee) basically wanted the agency to solve it locally," Leptien said. "I think we understand that but we're frustrated. We've been working on this for a number of years and it's been moving at a terribly slow pace."