TO: ADAM PIRRIE, CITY MANAGER
FROM: ALISHA PATTERSON, CITY ATTORNEY
DATE: OCTOBER 8, 2024
Reviewed by:
City Manager: AP
SUBJECT:
Title
REPORT ON THE ANTICIPATED REQUIREMENTS TO RELINQUISH BLAISDELL RANCH PRESERVE TO THE BLAISDELL RANCH HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION (FUNDING SOURCE: GENERAL FUND)
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SUMMARY
The Blaisdell Ranch Preserve is an approximately 7.3 acre neighborhood park located at the northeast corner of Grand Avenue and New Orleans Court in North Claremont in the Blaisdell Ranch Community. Since 1985, the City of Claremont has held a nonexclusive easement in the Blaisdell Ranch Preserve that allows the general public to have access to the Preserve during daylight hours between sunrise and sunset. Since 1985, the City has reimbursed the developer and, later, the Blaisdell Ranch Homeowners Association, for 25 percent of the costs associated with maintenance, repair, and improvements to the Preserve.
In recent years, members of the Blaisdell Ranch Community have expressed concerns about the use of the Preserve by the general public and its impacts to the surrounding residential community. As part of the City Council Priorities and 2024-26 Objectives, the City Council directed staff to explore options to relinquish ownership of the Blaisdell Ranch Preserve to the Blaisdell Ranch Homeowners Association.
This report outlines the requirements for the relinquishment of Blaisdell Ranch Preserve to the Blaisdell Ranch Homeowners Association.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommended Action
Staff recommends the City Council:
A. Receive and file this report on the anticipated requirements to relinquish the Blaisdell Ranch Preserve to the Blaisdell Ranch Homeowners Association; and
B. Provide direction on whether to explore this proposal further.
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ALTERNATIVES TO RECOMMENDATION
In addition to the recommendation, there are the following alternatives:
A. Request additional information from staff and/or the City Attorney.
B. Take no action.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
The City Attorney’s costs to research and prepare this report are estimated to be $6,000. The staff cost to prepare this report is estimated at $600 and is included in the operating budget of the Administrative Services Department.
If the City Council directs the City Attorney and staff to prepare the governmental and contractual approvals needed to relinquish the City’s interest in the Blaisdell Ranch Preserve to the Blaisdell Ranch Homeowner’s Association, the anticipated costs of this additional work are $15,000 in staff costs and $25,000 to $50,000 in legal fees (not including the costs of environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act [CEQA], which likely exceed $100,000 if relinquishment of the easement requires preparation of an environmental impact report).
ANALYSIS
Background on the Blaisdell Ranch Preserve
The approximately 7.3 acre property that would later become the Blaisdell Ranch Preserve was owned by James Arnold Blaisdell, the President of Pomona College from 1910 to 1935. President Blaisdell was also the visionary for the “Claremont Colleges,” a group that was officially created in 1925. President Blaisdell intended to build a home for his family on the property that would become the Preserve, but his wife became ill, and they moved to La Jolla.
Between 1983 and 1985, the City granted various approvals to the Hughes Development Corporation to develop the Blaisdell Ranch Community. These approvals included:
1. Conditional Use Permit #83-C001 to allow an increase in density for the Blaisdell Ranch Community to 1.3 dwelling units per acre, approved by Planning Commission Resolution 818 on February 1, 1983. This approval was conditioned on the City and the developer entering “an agreement providing the City’s equal participation in the maintenance of the park site guaranteeing public access to the park” (Attachment A).
2. Tentative Tract Map 34477, approved by City Council Resolution 83-157 on May 24, 1983, which required that “Before approval of a final map, the City Council shall approve a site development plan for the Blaisdell Preserve, which plan shall show the location and size of all trees, rock walls, rock bridges, pathways, irrigation, fencing, parking areas, and other improvements” and required that “The developer shall install all improvements shown on the site development plan” (Attachment B).
3. The Blaisdell Ranch General Development Plan, stamped by the Community Development Department on June 19, 1984. This Plan indicated that “A primary basis for the granting of a density bonus to 1.3 du/ac under the terms of Section 12IB.2 of the Residential Agricultural District is the preservation of a significant citrus grove and historic tree area in the center of the development” and that “Preservation and maintenance of the Preserve is assured by the Association’s covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs) as well as an Easement and Maintenance Agreement” (Attachment C).
4. The Easement and Maintenance Agreement, dated January 31, 1985, recorded February 20, 1985 granting the City a “non-exclusive easement in, to, over and across the Preserve Property” for “purposes of access, ingress, egress, use and enjoyment by the City and the general public” (Attachment D). This Agreement limits “use of the City’s easement by the general public” to “during daylight hours between sunrise and sunset” and “subject to this Agreement and to the rules and regulations of the City concerning operation and use of public parks, including without limitation, Chapter 9.43 of the Claremont Municipal Code.” The Agreement requires the City to reimburse the Blaisdell Ranch HOA for 25 percent of the costs associated with maintenance, repair, and improvements of the Preserve.
5. The Letter Agreement for Blaisdell Preserve, dated January 26, 2006, which specifies that “The HOA agrees to grant public access to the Preserve as stipulated in the Easement and Maintenance Agreement, dated January 31, 1985” (Attachment E).
Current Status of the Blaisdell Ranch Preserve
The Blaisdell Ranch Preserve is still subject to the requirements outlined above in the City’s approvals for Conditional Use Permit #83-C001, Tract Map 34477, the Blaisdell Ranch General Development Plan, and the Easement and Maintenance Agreement. Most of these documents require the Preserve to be open to the general public.
In addition, several parts of the City’s General Plan, adopted in November 2006, include the Blaisdell Ranch Preserve in the City’s inventory of public parks and specify that the Preserve is open to the public. For example, the “Open Space, Parkland, Conservation, and Air Quality Element” of the City’s General Plan currently designates the Blaisdell Ranch Preserve as a 7.3 acre “neighborhood park” (Chapter 5, Table 5-1, p. 5-14). Neighborhood parks are “the basic unit of the City's park system” and “range in size from one to ten acres and generally accommodate spaces for informal activities and active recreation” (Chapter 5, p. 5-17). The “Human Services, Recreation Programs, and Community Facilities Element” of the General Plan similarly identifies Blaisdell Ranch Preserve as a park and “historic site” that is “open to the public” (Chapter 7, Table 7-1, p. 7-5). The “Land Use Element” of the City’s General Plan specifies that “As part of an agreement between the Blaisdell Homeowners Association and the City, the preserve is available for public use and the City pays one- quarter of the maintenance costs for the preserve” (Chapter 2, pp. 2-51 - 2-52).
Relinquishing the Blaisdell Ranch Preserve to the Blaisdell Homeowners Association
Relinquishing the Blaisdell Ranch Preserve to the Blaisdell Homeowner’s Association would, at a minimum, require the following actions:
1. General Plan Amendment: The City Council would need to approve a number of amendments to the City’s General Plan to remove the Blaisdell Ranch Preserve from the City’s inventory of public parks and remove references to the Preserve being open to the public. This is a legislative approval that requires duly-noticed public hearings before the City’s Planning Commission (for a recommendation) and City Council (for approval). As a general rule, the City can only amend its General Plan four times in a calendar year. A General Plan Amendment is a discretionary action that would require compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”). In addition, the Planning Commission would need to review and report on whether the proposed relinquishment of the easement conforms to the City’s General Plan (as amended) under Section 64502 of the California Government Code.
2. Amendments to the Blaisdell Ranch Land Use Entitlements: The conditional use permit and tract map that approved development of the Blaisdell Ranch Community required public access to the Blaisdell Ranch Preserve. To relinquish the public access requirement, the City’s Planning Commission and/or City Council would need to approve amendments to these entitlements, and the associated planning documents (e.g., the Blaisdell Ranch General Development Plan).
3. Amendments to the Easement and Maintenance Agreement and Letter Agreement for the Blaisdell Preserve: The City Council and Blaisdell Ranch HOA would both need to approve an amendment to the 1985 Easement and Maintenance Agreement, which allows “use and enjoyment” of the Preserve by the “the general public” during daylight hours and the 2006 Letter Agreement for the Blaisdell Ranch Preserve, which specifies that “The HOA agrees to grant public access to the Preserve as stipulated in the Easement and Maintenance Agreement, dated January 31, 1985.”
The City Attorneys’ Office also anticipates relinquishment of the Blaisdell Ranch Preserve to the Blaisdell HOA would require the following actions:
1. The Blaisdell Ranch HOA would likely need to amend their CC&Rs.
2. The City and Blaisdell Ranch HOA would need to prepare a plan for transitioning maintenance and security responsibility for the Preserve to the HOA.
3. The City Council may need to approve a resolution vacating and/or terminating the park easement in accordance with California Government Code Section 7050 (termination of a dedication of real property for public purposes) and/or Government Code Sections 38400-38418 (Municipal Park Abandonment Law of 1939).
Next Steps
City staff requests direction from the City Council on whether to approach the Blaisdell Ranch HOA to begin the process of preparing the documents that, if approved by the City Council, would relinquish the Blaisdell Ranch Preserve to the Blaisdell Ranch HOA. Depending on the level of CEQA review required, the City Attorney’s Office anticipates this process would take twelve to eighteen months. The City and the Blaisdell HOA would need to discuss which party would bear the costs of relinquishment or whether the costs would be shared, and how the HOA would go about securing the Preserve if it was no longer open to the public (e.g., fencing and locked gates, private security, etc.).
RELATIONSHIP TO CITY PLANNING DOCUMENTS
Staff has evaluated the agenda item in relationship to the City’s strategic and visioning documents and finds that it applies to the following City Planning Documents: Council Priorities.
CEQA REVIEW
This item is not subject to environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS
The agenda and staff report for this item have been posted on the City website and distributed to interested parties. If you desire a copy, please contact the City Clerk’s Office.
Prepared and Submitted by:
Alisha Patterson
City Attorney
Attachments:
A - Resolution Granting Conditional Use Permit #83-C001
B - Resolution Approving Tentative Tract Map 34477
C - Blaisdell Ranch General Development Plan
D - Easement and Maintenance Agreement
E - Letter Agreement for Blaisdell Preserve