State Surplus Land Act Notification Requirements

Effective January 1, 2020, Assembly Bill (AB) No.1486 amended the State Surplus Land Act (SLA) by prohibiting local agencies from commencing negotiations over the sale or lease of surplus property prior to sending notices about available, surplus local public land to designated entities (Eligible Entities), including: 

• HCD
• Any local public entity within the jurisdiction where the surplus local land is located.
• Developers who have notified HCD of their interest in developing affordable housing on surplus local land. 

Importantly, AB 1486 now requires a local agency to declare property as “surplus land” before taking any actions to dispose of such property, including issuance of a NOA or request for proposals (RFP). The declaration must be made by the legislative body of the local agency. 

Following the declaration of surplus, the City must provide a NOA to the Eligible Entities for specified uses, including affordable housing, parks and recreation, and schools. An Eligible Entity desiring to purchase or lease the surplus land for any of the purposes described above must notify the City in writing of its intent to purchase or lease the land within 60 days after receipt of the City’s notification of intent to dispose of the land. 

If the City receives notice of interest from any Eligible Entities, the SLA mandates a 90-day negotiation period with any designated entities that submit timely offers. If no notice of interest is received or negotiations do not result in a disposition, the City may proceed with disposing of the land. The SLA does not require the City to dispose of surplus land at less than fair market value. However, the SLA requires that, at a minimum, any subsequent development of 10 or more residential units on the site must designate at least 15 percent of units as affordable.

To receive notices for new NOAs, interested developers must notify the State's HCD of their interest in receiving notices by completing  the HCD's Developer Interest Survey. 

More Information

For more information regarding the SLA, please visit the State's Surplus Lands webpage.

Municipal Surplus Land Disposition Process

Following release of the NOA and 60-day noticing period, if no notice of interest is received or negotiations do not result in a disposition, the City may proceed with disposing of the land in accordance with Santa Rosa's disposition procedures and will be posted on our Property for Sale webpage. Criteria for requested projects will be developed with input from local residents, businesses, and other community-centered organizations based in Santa Rosa.