Carriage Property Surplus
Summary
SCH Number
2023070359
Public Agency
City of Eureka
Document Title
Carriage Property Surplus
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
7/19/2023
Document Description
The City of Eureka has declared an approximately 0.16-acre (6,970-square-foot) vacant parcel as surplus land under the California Surplus Land Act. The City has received interest in developing the vacant parcel with a mixed-use development including the interested party’s business offices. The declaration will allow the City to complete the required Surplus Land Act process (described below), and negotiate a specific project. However, due to the requirements of the Surplus Land Act, the City must first notice the availability of the property for open space and affordable housing purposes, wait 60 days for responses, and negotiate in good faith for a minimum of 90 days with any entity interested in using the property for open-space and/or affordable housing purposes. Given the site is zoned Waterfront Commercial (CW) under the City’s certified Local Coastal Program, and housing is only allowed above the ground floor in the CW zone, any affordable housing would need to be part of a mixed-use project containing a permitted ground floor use, such as a coastal-dependent, coastal-related, visitor-serving, or public or commercial recreational use (which are all prioritized in the CW zone).
Contact Information
Name
Caitlin Castellano
Agency Name
City of Eureka Development Services - Planning
Job Title
Senior Planner
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Location
Coordinates
Cities
Eureka
Counties
Humboldt
Regions
Northern California
Cross Streets
Northwest corner of 1st and C Streets
Zip
95501
Total Acres
0.16
Parcel #
001-011-021
State Highways
101
Waterways
Humboldt Bay
Township
5N
Range
1W
Section
00
Base
Humboldt
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Other
Type, Section or Code
15061(b)(3)
Reasons for Exemption
Declaring City-owned property as Surplus Property is a “project” for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). However, pursuant to the CEQA Guidelines, §15061(b)(3), there is a general rule that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. Declaring the property as surplus property only sets forth the ability for the City to complete the Surplus Land Act requirements (to notice and negotiate with any entity interested in using the property for upper-floor affordable housing and/or open-space purposes) prior to the City having the opportunity to negotiate with a local entity for a mixed-use development or another project consistent with the CW zone.
At this time, because of the Surplus Land Act process, the City cannot know what project will ultimately be developed on the site, other than the fact that it will be a use or mix of uses allowed by the CW zone. The site could be developed with any CW-allowed uses now, and ever since the site was zoned and designated CW and C-WFC, at which time the site’s suitability for CW uses was analyzed by both the City and the Coastal Commission. The surplus process just opens up the land to being developed by someone other than the City. Because the project at this time is just the surplus of the land so that it can be sold or leased to an outside entity, there is no potential for a significant effect on the environment.
Furthermore, any future project at this location will require a discretionary permit triggering CEQA (i.e., a Coastal Development Permit and Design Review at a minimum, and a Use Permit should a conditional or minor use be proposed, such as housing), and environmental review will be required prior to any development or use of the site. Therefore, the current request to declare the land as Surplus Property qualifies for the Common-Sense exemption in §15061(b)(3) as described above.
County Clerk
Humboldt
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
Disclaimer: The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) accepts no responsibility for the content or accessibility of these documents. To obtain an attachment in a different format, please contact the lead agency at the contact information listed above. You may also contact the OPR via email at state.clearinghouse@opr.ca.gov or via phone at (916) 445-0613. For more information, please visit OPR’s Accessibility Site.