OPINION: City rigged hiring site purchase price

I hate to see the government waste money on boondoggle projects. Recent actions by the city of Laguna Beach present a perfect example of how taxpayer dollars can be wasted.

The good citizens of Laguna Beach should be up in arms over the actions of their city officials. I am referring to the city’s waste of taxpayers’ monies supporting the operation of a Day Labor Site which caters mainly to illegal immigrants. Using tax funds to support a hiring area for illegal immigrants is bad enough, but the city’s recent actions to “rig” the purchase price of the property where the Day Labor Site is located is outrageous.

The Laguna Beach Day Labor Site property is owned by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). When Caltrans declared the property to be excess and not useful for transportation purposes, the decision was made to sell the property. Caltrans had the property appraised, and it was determined that its value was $1.26 million. This appraisal was based on the potential for the property to be used for commercial purposes. Using the sale procedures it was required to follow, Caltrans put the property up for auction with a starting bid of $950,000, 75% of the property’s value.

Struggling with a $14 billion budget deficit, the state of California is currently faced with an unprecedented fiscal emergency. The opportunity to quickly sell surplus property and generate additional revenues for essential programs is vital to solving the budget deficit crisis. However, when the city discovered Caltrans was planning to sell the property, it threatened to rezone the property as open space. If the city did that, then no commercial development of the property would be allowed. The only practical use of the property would be its use as a Day Labor Site.

Because of the city’s threat to rezone the property, Caltrans was forced to pull the property off the market and obtain a new appraisal. The new appraisal determined the value of the property was greatly depreciated because of the threatened zone change. The land originally put on the market with a starting bid of $950,000 is now being offered for sale by Caltrans for a meager $18,000. To make matters worse, the cost charged to Caltrans for the new appraisal was $18,000.

At the end of the day, the state will walk away with absolutely nothing if the sale of the property moves ahead. It is wrong for the city to use discriminatory zoning in order to devalue state property. If allowed to do so, the city will deprive the state of desperately needed funds.

I have asked Caltrans to reconsider its decision to sell the property for $18,000. This price is shockingly low for a property which was recently appraised as having a value of $1.26 million. Why not just hold onto the property until it can be sold and used for its highest and best use? I intend to do whatever I can in the Legislature to make sure that the state receives a fair price for this property.

The residents of Laguna Beach need to feel secure that their tax dollars are not being wasted. The city’s shameful and discriminatory threat to rezone this property must not be permitted.

TOM HARMAN represents California’s 35th Senatorial district, which includes Laguna Beach.