Existing law vests the Department of Transportation with full possession and control of all state highways and all property and rights on property acquired for state highway purposes. Various provisions of existing law specifically provide for the acquisition, transfer, and use of property owned by the department.

This bill would, with respect to a parcel that the department transferred to the City of Lynwood, require the department, upon request from the city, to develop and enter into an agreement with the city to release and remove a deed restriction imposed on that parcel if the city agrees to transfer the deed restriction to another specified parcel and other certain other requirements are met. If the city and department enter into this agreement, the bill would require the city to submit reports to the Legislature, and specified committees of the Legislature, at prescribed intervals on the use of this authority to develop those parcels.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of Lynwood.

118.10.

(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Fernwood Avenue property” means the parcel owned by the City of Lynwood, located in the City of Lynwood between Fernwood Avenue and Imperial Highway, legally described and identified as Parcels 1 and 2 in the City of Lynwood Certificate of Compliance having Instrument Number 20250434105, and to be developed as affordable and market-rate housing.

(2) “Imperial Highway property” means the parcel located in, and owned by, the City of Lynwood, legally described in the California Department of Transportation Director’s Deed having Instrument Number 20170260321, and formerly identified as the California Department of Transportation Parcel Number DD 058166-01-01.

(b) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) In 2016, the department transferred the Imperial Highway property located at the corner of Imperial Highway and Fernwood Avenue in the City of Lynwood to the city.

(2) The deed that conveyed the Imperial Highway property to the City of Lynwood contains a department deed restriction that requires the Imperial Highway property to be used exclusively for public purposes for a period of 15 years from the recorded date of the deed.

(3) The City of Lynwood acquired the Imperial Highway property with the public purpose of developing much needed housing in the City of Lynwood. However, due to environmental conditions of the soil and the Imperial Highway property’s proximity to the Interstate 105 Freeway, it is ineligible for critical public funding, thus making the development of affordable and market-rate housing difficult.

(4) Allowing the transfer of the deed restriction from the Imperial Highway property to the Fernwood Avenue property furthers the department’s public purpose goal of putting public property for public uses and furthers the important goal of the City of Lynwood and the state of developing affordable and market-rate housing to meet housing demand for residents of the City of Lynwood and the state.

(c) The department shall, upon request from the City of Lynwood, develop and enter into an agreement with the city to release and remove the deed restriction imposed on the Imperial Highway property if all the following requirements are met:

(1) The City of Lynwood agrees to transfer the deed restriction to the Fernwood Avenue property.

(2) The Fernwood Avenue property is equal to or greater in size than the Imperial Highway property.

(3) (A) The Fernwood Avenue property is appraised at a value equal to, or greater than, the appraised value of the Imperial Highway property on a per-acre basis.

(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the appraised value of the Imperial Highway property shall be based on the appraised value of the parcel at the time of its acquisition from the department, and the appraised value of the Fernwood Avenue property shall be based on the appraised value of the parcel at the time of the transfer of the deed restriction.

(4) The deed restriction to be applied to the Fernwood Avenue property is 45 years, beginning on the date that the deed restriction is recorded.

(d) (1) If the City of Lynwood enters into an agreement with the department pursuant to subdivision (c), the City of Lynwood shall submit a report to the Legislature, including the Assembly and Senate Committees on Transportation, in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, on the use of this section to develop the Imperial Highway property and the Fernwood Avenue property.

(2) A report to be submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted within one year of the City of Lynwood and the department entering into the agreement and annually thereafter until the planned development projects are completed.

(3) Each report shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:

(A) Plans for the development of the properties, including types of development.

(B) The status of any pending projects on the properties.

(C) The number of affordable housing units, affordability level, and size of units.

(D) Any public financing or grants that were used to build the developments.

The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique nature of the Imperial Highway property located in the City of Lynwood in the County of Los Angeles and the state’s goal and commitment to affordable and market-rate housing.