Existing law prescribes requirements for the disposal of surplus land by a local agency. Existing law defines “surplus land” for these purposes to mean land owned in fee simple by any local agency for which the local agency’s governing body takes formal action in a regular public meeting declaring that the land is surplus and is not necessary for the agency’s use. Existing law provides that an agency is not required to follow certain requirements for the disposal of surplus land for “exempt surplus land,” as defined.

Under existing law, “exempt surplus land” includes surplus land that is subject to a valid legal restriction that is not imposed by the local agency and that makes housing prohibited, unless there is a feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the prohibition on the site, as specified. Existing law specifies that valid legal restrictions for these purposes include existing leases, or other contractual obligations or restrictions, if the terms were agreed to prior to September 30, 2019.

This bill would specify that the requirements of an option agreement are among the contractual obligations or restrictions described above.