To: Board of Supervisors
From: Warren Lai, Public Works Director/Chief Engineer
Report Title: Purchase and Sale Agreement between County and Marilu Elliot, Successor Trustee for sale of real property in the Pleasant Hill area.
Recommendation: Recommendation of the County Administrator
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. ADOPT a resolution declaring approximately 0.544 acres of unimproved real property owned by the County in Pleasant Hill near 199 Mayhew Way and adjacent to the Iron Horse Corridor, identified as a portion of APN 148-360-027-4 to be “exempt surplus land,” as defined in Government Code section 54221(f)(1)(E), and no longer required for County purposes, in accordance with the Surplus Land Act.
2. AUTHORIZE the Public Works Director, or designee, to execute a Purchase and Sale Agreement on behalf of the County with Marilu Elliot, Successor Trustee of The Helix Trust UTA, dated December 15, 1992 (Grantee), to convey the Property for a sales price of $200,079, in accordance with Government Code section 25363.
3. DETERMINE that the sale of the Property is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to Article 19, Section 15312 of the CEQA Guidelines because this activity constitutes the sale of surplus government property that is not located in an area of statewide, regional, or areawide concern identified in Section 15206(b)(4).
4. DIRECT the Director of the Department of Conservation and Development, or designee, to cause a Notice of Exemption (NOE) to be filed with the County Clerk and the State Clearinghouse.
5. AUTHORIZE the Public Works Director, or designee, to arrange for payment of a $50 fee to the County Clerk for filing the NOE.
6. AUTHORIZE the Chair of the Board of Supervisors to execute a Grant Deed in a form approved by County Counsel to convey the Property to the Grantee.
7. ACCEPT a Quitclaim Deed from Grantee terminating a Grant of Easement for ingress and egress purposes previously recorded as instrument no. 2010-0020972-00 on February 1, 2010, in the County’s Clerk Recorder’s Office.
8. DIRECT the Real Estate Division of the Public Works Department to cause the Grant Deed, certificate of acceptance, with this staff report, to be deposited into escrow with WFG National Title Insurance Company, Escrow No. 25-226263 for recording in the Office of the County Clerk-Recorder.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The County will receive $200,079 from the sale of the Property. Funds will be deposited into the Hookston Remediation Escrow Account.
BACKGROUND:
In 1989, the County acquired the Property for the purpose of extending the Iron Horse Trail, a trail used for public recreation. Following the County’s acquisition, chlorinated solvents were discovered in the groundwater beneath the Property. As a result of this discovery, in 1992, the County and other plaintiffs sued Union Pacific (then Southern Pacific Transportation Corporation) and other defendants, alleging violations of environmental laws and related claims. In November 1997, all parties entered into a settlement agreement under which they agreed to share the costs of remediating the contaminated site. Under the settlement agreement, the County is responsible for 25% of remediation costs, that is paid by the Redevelopment Trust Fund, not the County’s General Fund.
In 2010, the County encumbered the Property by granting a perpetual access easement (Easement) across the Property to the adjacent property for ingress and egress purposes only. Grantee, the owner of the adjacent property, wishes to purchase the Property for a sales price of $200,078.64. As part of the transaction, the Grantee will quitclaim the Easement to the County, thereby terminating the Easement upon completion of the purchase.
The Property, as well as land owned by Grantee, the adjacent property owner, is the subject of ongoing remediation efforts under an order adopted by the Regional Water Quality Control Board on September 29, 2023 (the Order). The remediation plan calls for the excavation and removal of impacted soil. The remediation plan, supported by environmental engineers and approved by the Water Board, is intended to accelerate the cleanup effort and shorten the time until the site is released from Water Board oversight. On December 9, 2025, this Board approved the execution of a Demolition Reimbursement Agreement and Building Removal Compensation Agreement to effectuate the remediation efforts.
Conveyance of the Property has no impact on the Order or the settlement agreement discussed above because the Grantee is already subject to the Order and a party to the settlement agreement.
Surplus Land Act
The Surplus Land Act (SLA) is a statute that local agencies must follow when disposing of surplus land. The SLA requires local agencies disposing of their surplus property to prioritize affordable housing development, open space and school use. As amended by Assembly Bill 1486, which became effective January 1, 2020, the SLA requires local agencies to declare surplus land to be either “exempt surplus land,” or “surplus land,” prior to taking any action to dispose of the land.
Staff recommends that the Board declare the Property to be “exempt surplus land,” as defined in Government Code section 54221(f)(1)(E). Under this subsection, land is exempt surplus land if it is burdened with an easement and is conveyed to an owner of an adjacent property. This Property is burdened with the Easement described above and is being conveyed to Grantee, the owner of an adjacent property.
CEQA
The current recommended action, the sale of the Property, effectuates a change in the owner of title to the Property only. Therefore, staff recommends that the Board determine that the sale is exempt from CEQA pursuant to Article 19, Section 15312 of the CEQA Guidelines as it consists of the sale of surplus government property that is not located in an area of statewide, regional, or areawide concern identified in Section 15206(b)(4).
A notice of this Board’s intention to consider this property sale at today’s meeting was duly published in the Contra Costa Times, in compliance with Government Code section 25363.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If the Purchase and Sale Agreement and the related actions are not approved, the County cannot convey the Property.