SECTIONS 54235-54238.7

54235.  The Legislature reaffirms its finding that the dispositionof surplus property owned by public agencies should be utilized tofurther state policies. The Legislature reaffirms its finding that there exists within theurban and rural areas of the state a serious shortage of decent,safe, and sanitary housing which persons and families of low ormoderate income can afford, and consequently a pressing and urgentneed for the preservation and expansion of the low- andmoderate-income housing supply. The Legislature further reaffirms itsfinding that highway and other state activities have contributed tothe severe shortage of such housing. The Legislature reaffirms thatthe provision of decent housing for all Californians is a state goalof the highest priority. The Legislature finds and declares thatactions of state agencies including the sales of surplus residentialproperties which result in the loss of decent and affordable housingfor persons and families of low or moderate income is contrary tostate housing, urban development, and environmental policies and is asignificant environmental effect, within the meaning of Article XIXof the California Constitution, which will be mitigated by the saleof surplus residential property pursuant to the provisions of thisarticle. The Legislature further finds and declares that the displacementof large numbers of persons as a result of the sale of surplusresidential property owned by agencies of the state is a significantenvironmental effect, within the meaning of Article XIX of theCalifornia Constitution which will be mitigated by sale of suchproperties pursuant to the provisions of this article. The Legislature further finds and declares that the sale ofsurplus residential property pursuant to the provisions of thisarticle will directly serve an important public purpose. Wherefore,the Legislature intends by this article to preserve, upgrade andexpand the supply of housing available to persons and families of lowor moderate income. The Legislature further intends by this articleto mitigate the environmental effects, within the meaning of ArticleXIX, of the California Constitution, caused by highway activities.54236.  (a) As used in this article, the term "offer" means tosolicit proposals prior to sale in a manner calculated to achieve asale under the conditions specified, and to hold the offer open for areasonable period of time, which shall be no more than one year,unless the time is extended by the selling agency at its discretion,for a period to be specified by the selling agency. (b) As used in this article, the term "affordable price" means, inthe case of a purchaser, other than a lower income household, theprice for residential property for which the purchaser's monthlypayments will not exceed that portion of the purchasing household'sadjusted income as determined in accordance with the regulations ofthe United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, issuedpursuant to Section 235 of the National Housing Act; and, in thecase of a purchaser that is a lower income household, the price forresidential property for which the purchaser's monthly payments willnot exceed that portion of the purchasing household's adjusted incomeas determined in accordance with the regulations of the UnitedStates Department of Housing and Urban Development issued pursuant toSection 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937. (c) As used in this article, the term "single-family residence"means a real property improvement used, or intended to be used, as adwelling unit for one family. (d) As used in this article, the term "surplus residentialproperty" means land and structures owned by any agency of the statethat is determined to be no longer necessary for the agency's use,and that is developed as single-family or multifamily housing, exceptproperty being held by the agency for the purpose of exchange. Surplus residential properties shall only include land andstructures that, at the time of purchase by the state, the state hadintended to remove the residences thereon and to use the land forstate purposes. (e) As used in this article, the term "displacement" includes, butis not limited to, persons who will have to move from surplusresidential property that they occupy when it is sold by a stateagency because they are unable to afford to pay the price that thestate agency is asking for the residential property. (f) As used in this article, the term "fair market value" shallmean fair market value as of the date the offer of sale is made bythe selling agency pursuant to the provisions of this article. Thisdefinition shall not apply to terms of sale that are described asmitigation measures in an environmental study prepared pursuant tothe Public Resources Code if the study was initiated before thismeasure was enacted. (g) As used in this article, the term "affordable rent" means, inthe case of an occupant person or family, other than a person orfamily of low or moderate income, rent for residential property thatis not more than 25 percent of the occupant household's gross monthlyincome, and in the case of an occupant person or family of low ormoderate income, rent for residential property that is not more thanthe percentage of the adjusted income of the occupant person orfamily as permitted under regulations of the United States Departmentof Housing and Urban Development issued pursuant to Section 8 of theUnited States Housing Act of 1937, but not in excess of the marketrental value for comparable property. (h) As used in this article, the term "area median income" meansmedian household income, adjusted for family size as determined inaccordance with the regulations of the United States Department ofHousing and Urban Development issued pursuant to Section 235 of theNational Housing Act, as amended (P.L. 90-448), for the StandardMetropolitan Statistical Area (S.M.S.A.), in which surplusresidential property to be disposed of pursuant to this article islocated, or the county in which the property is located, if it isoutside an S.M.S.A. (i) As used in this article, the term "persons and families of lowor moderate income" means persons and families who meet both of thefollowing conditions: (1)  Meet the definition of persons and families of low ormoderate income set forth in Section 50093 of the Health and SafetyCode. (2) Have not had an ownership interest in real property in thelast three years. (j) As used in this article, the term "lower income households"means lower income households as defined in Section 50079.5 of theHealth and Safety Code.54237.  (a) Notwithstanding Section 11011.1, any agency of the statedisposing of surplus residential property shall do so in accordancewith the following priorities and procedures: (1) First, all single family residences presently occupied bytheir former owners shall be offered to those former owners at theappraised fair market value. (2) Second, all single-family residences shall be offered,pursuant to this article, to their present occupants who haveoccupied the property two years or more and who are persons andfamilies of low or moderate income. (3) Third, all single-family residences shall be offered, pursuantto this article, to their present occupants who have occupied theproperty five years or more and whose household income does notexceed 150 percent of the area median income. (4) Fourth, a single-family residence shall not be offered,pursuant to this article, to present occupants who are not the formerowners of the property if the present occupants have had anownership interest in real property in the last three years. (b) Single-family residences offered to their present occupantspursuant to paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (a) shall beoffered to those present occupants at an affordable price, whichprice shall not be less than the price paid by the agency fororiginal acquisition, unless the acquisition price was greater thanthe current fair market value, and shall not be greater than fairmarket value. When single-family residences are offered to presentoccupants at a price that is less than fair market value, the sellingagency shall impose terms, conditions, and restrictions to assurethat the housing will remain available to persons and families of lowor moderate income and households with incomes no greater than theincomes of the present occupants in proportion to the area medianincome. The Department of Housing and Community Development shallprovide to the selling agency recommendations of standards andcriteria for these prices, terms, conditions and restrictions. Theselling agency shall provide repairs required by lenders andgovernment housing assistance programs, or, at the option of theagency, provide the present occupants with a replacement dwellingpursuant to Section 54237.5. (c) If single-family residences are offered to their presentoccupants pursuant to paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (a), theoccupants shall certify their income and assets to the sellingagency. When single-family residences are offered to presentoccupants at a price that is less than fair market value, the sellingagency may verify the certifications, in accordance with proceduresutilized for verification of incomes of purchasers and occupants ofhousing financed by the California Housing Finance Agency and withregulations adopted for the verification of assets by the UnitedStates Department of Housing and Urban Development. The income andasset limitations and term of residency requirements of paragraphs(2) and (3) of subdivision (a) shall not apply to sales that aredescribed as mitigation measures in an environmental study preparedpursuant to the Public Resources Code, if the study was initiatedbefore this measure was enacted. (d) All other surplus residential properties and all propertiesdescribed in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subdivision (a) that arenot purchased by the former owners or the present occupants shall bethen offered to housing-related private and public entities at areasonable price, which is best suited to economically feasible useof the property as decent, safe, and sanitary housing at affordablerents and affordable prices for persons and families of low ormoderate income, on the condition that the purchasing entity shallcause the property to be rehabilitated and developed as limitedequity cooperative housing with first right of occupancy to presentoccupants, except that where the development of cooperative orcooperatives is not feasible, the purchasing agency shall cause theproperty to be used for low and moderate income rental orowner-occupied housing, with first right of occupancy to the presenttenants. The price of the property in no case shall be less than theprice paid by the agency for original acquisition unless theacquisition price was greater than current fair market value andshall not be greater than fair market value. Subject to theforegoing, it shall be set at the level necessary to provide housingat affordable rents and affordable prices for present tenants andpersons and families of low or moderate income. When residentialproperty is offered at a price that is less than fair market value,the selling agency shall impose terms, conditions, and restrictionsas will assure that the housing will remain available to persons andfamilies of low or moderate income. The Department of Housing andCommunity Development shall provide to the selling agencyrecommendations of standards and criteria for prices, terms,conditions, and restrictions. (e) Any surplus residential properties not sold pursuant tosubdivisions (a) to (d), inclusive, shall then be sold at fair marketvalue, with priority given first to purchasers who are presentoccupants and then to purchasers who will be owner occupants.54237.5.  Notwithstanding the requirement to provide repairs insubdivision (b) of Section 54237, the selling agency may, at itsoption, provide the present occupants with a replacement dwelling ifall of the following conditions exist: (a) Providing a replacement dwelling is less expensive thanproviding the repairs required by subdivision (b) of Section 54237. (b) The replacement dwelling is determined to have all of thefollowing characteristics: (1) Is decent, safe, and sanitary. (2) Is suitable to the occupancy needs of the household asprovided under regulations of the United States Department of Housingand Urban Development issued pursuant to Section 8 of the UnitedStates Housing Act of 1937. (3) Is open to all persons regardless of race, color, religion,sex, or national origin and consistent with requirements of Title 8of the Civil Rights Act of 1978. (4) Is in an area not generally less desirable than the dwellingto be acquired in regard to public utilities and public andcommercial facilities. (5) Is reasonably accessible to the displaced person's place ofemployment. (6) Is in an equal or better neighborhood. (7) Is affordable, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 54236,to the displaced person. (c) The offer is made at an affordable price that is not less thanthe price paid by the agency for original acquisition of the unitnow occupied by the displaced person or the replacement unit,whichever is less, and is not more than market value. (d) The replacement dwelling is a newly constructed or a vacantresidential unit. No resident shall be displaced pursuant to Section7260 for the purpose of creating a replacement unit.54238.  In the event a purchaser of surplus residential propertydoes not comply with terms, conditions, and restrictions imposedpursuant to Section 54237 of this article, to assure that suchhousing will remain available to persons and families of low ormoderate income, the state agencies which sold the property mayrequire that the purchasers pay the state the difference between theactual price paid by the purchaser for the property and the fairmarket value of such property, at the time of the agency'sdetermination of noncompliance, plus 6 percent interest on suchamount for the period of time the land has been held by thepurchaser. This section does not limit the right to seek injunctiverelief to enforce the provisions of this article.54238.3.  (a) This article shall apply only to surplus residentialproperties which were acquired for a state project, for which atleast 20 dwelling units were acquired and owned by the state onJanuary 1, 1980, or on the date the properties were declared to besurplus, whichever date occurs later. For the purpose of thissection, a freeway route and its interchanges shall be considered onestate project. Except for State Highway Route 7 in Los AngelesCounty, this article shall not apply to freeway routes rescinded onor after January 1, 1984. (b) Any person who is displaced from any dwelling located on suchresidential property that is also located within the right-of-way ofa freeway route or its interchanges for which the property wasdeclared surplus on or after January 1, 1984, and who occupied thatdwelling for at least 90 days prior to the date the property wasdeclared surplus, shall be eligible to receive the relocationadvisory assistance provided by Section 7261, the relocation benefitsprovided by paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) or subdivision (b) ofSection 7262, the payments authorized by subdivision (b) or (c) ofSection 7264, and the right for review of decision as provided bySection 7266 if the person is forced to relocate from the dwelling,as a direct result of the state agency's disposal of the excess realproperty, within 90 days of the recordation of the deed from thestate agency to a new owner. (c) Whenever a state surplus residential property disposalproject, as described in subdivision (b), includes 50 or moredwelling units, a Relocation Liaison shall be appointed by theSecretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. Theterm of the appointment shall be of sufficient duration for theRelocation Liaison to fulfill the assignment, not to exceed 180 days,and shall begin on the date that the property is declared to besurplus. The Relocation Liaison shall have the following assignedduties and responsibilities: (1) Meet with the eligible persons and explain to them thebenefits defined in subdivision (b). (2) In conjunction with the state agency, assist in obtainingreplacement housing for eligible persons. (3) Assist eligible persons in completing and processing claimsfor benefits. The state agency which is disposing of the surplus residentialproperty shall be responsible for underwriting all reasonable costsas determined by the secretary associated with the operation of theRelocation Liaison's office necessary to perform all duties assignedto it.54238.4.  This article is intended to benefit persons and familiessubject to displacement and persons and families of low or moderateincome. The article shall be liberally construed to permit suchpersons or families to enforce the rights, duties, and benefitscreated by the article.54238.5.  Failure to comply with the provisions of this articleshall not invalidate the transfer, sale, or conveyance to a bona fidepurchaser for value or an encumbrancer for value.54238.6.  If a provision of this article or the application thereofto any person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shallnot affect other provisions or applications of this article whichcan be given effect without the invalid provision or applicationthereof, and to this end the provisions of this article areseverable.54238.7.  Except those properties the Department of Transportationhas in escrow as of August 15, 1997, to sell, the Department ofTransportation shall not dispose of any surplus property in the Cityof South Pasadena prior to January 31, 1998.