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ANAHEIM, Calif. (April 25, 2022) — Anaheim’s City Council on Tuesday is expected to consider a proposed agreement with California that would resolve issues around the state Surplus Land Act, move forward the sale of the Angel Stadium of Anaheim site and bring with it the largest affordable housing investment in the city’s history.
The Council is expected to consider the agreement in a special public meeting added to Tuesday’s regularly scheduled meeting.
California and Anaheim announced the agreement Monday in a press conference with Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu and Attorney General Rob Bonta.
“We welcome this proposed agreement with our state partners,” Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu said. “It would move our stadium plan forward and bring with it the largest investment in affordable housing in our city’s history. On behalf of Anaheim, I extend our appreciation to California for working with us to find a path forward. I welcome the opportunity to consider this agreement with my City Council colleagues.”
Overview
With the agreement and a pending update to a purchase and sale agreement, cash payment in the $319.8 million stadium site sale would go from $150 million to $246 million.
The agreement sets aside $95.9 million ― in new cash paid by buyer SRB Management LLC ― for affordable housing across Anaheim to get underway within five years.
Anaheim would continue to receive roughly $150 million in cash from the sale. The $170 million balance will come as affordable housing, a city park and assumed maintenance obligations in the stadium area.
The agreement also calls for a minimum of $27.7 million in affordable housing on the stadium site with details pending in an updated disposition and development agreement.
Anaheim and California also commit to encourage additional affordable housing on the stadium site, with possible use of tax credits or state or federal funding.
In all, the stadium site sale provides a minimum $123.7 million in affordable housing across the city and on the stadium site in what would be the largest single investment in affordable housing in Anaheim’s history.
Anaheim affordable housing fund
The agreement would create an Anaheim affordable housing trust fund with $95.9 million in new cash proceeds from stadium site sale.
The $95.9 million would fund affordable housing across Anaheim, offsite from the stadium. The new affordable homes would get underway within five years.
The new affordable homes would be for extremely low, very low or low income households, as defined by federal and state guidelines.
Anaheim estimates the fund would create about 1,000 new affordable homes across the city, based on factors including property acquisition, construction, renovation and matching state and federal funds that may be received.
The funding would be the largest single affordable housing investment in Anaheim’s history, ahead of Hermosa Village, a 516-home affordable community in central Anaheim created by the renovation of apartments from 2004 to 2008.
In agreement with California, affordable homes offsite from the stadium would make them available sooner.
The original stadium site development plan called for 466 affordable apartments built onsite over 25 years.
The longer timeframe was based on the need to build parking structures to free up surface parking for development.
The funding would allow Anaheim to pursue development-ready affordable housing projects across the city sooner.
Stadium site affordable housing
The stadium site would see a minimum of $27.7 million worth of affordable apartments.
The number of affordable apartments funded by the $27.7 million is still to be determined, with a focus on maximizing the number of affordable homes onsite.
The agreement also calls for Anaheim and California to commit to encouraging additional onsite affordable apartments through tax credits, affordable housing bonds or local, state or federal funding.
Next steps
If approved by Anaheim’s City Council, the agreement would be submitted to an Orange County Superior Court judge for approval as a stipulated judgment with court oversight of the terms.
It would be effective upon court approval.
The agreement would resolve all disputes related to the stadium site sale and the Surplus Land Act, a 1968 state law updated in 2020 to cover the sale of government-owned property and prioritizing affordable housing.
Anaheim contends the stadium site, which is covered by a lease through 2038, is not surplus land and falls under a separate section of state law allowing for a sale as economic development, among other points.
HCD contends the stadium site sale needed to comply with the updated Surplus Land Act and issued a notice of violation on Dec. 8, 2021.
Both sides support the agreement as solution to bring more affordable housing to Anaheim.
City process
If the agreement is approved, the stadium site sale and development plan would continue through the final stages of city approvals.
The stadium site sale was first approved in December 2019, with an updated sale agreement as well as a development agreement approved in September and October of 2020.
A stadium site purchase and sale agreement and a disposition and development agreement would be updated to reflect the state agreement.
From May to July:
- Development tract maps and a revised disposition and development agreement could go before the Anaheim Planning Commission.
- A Revised purchase and sale agreement, revised disposition and development agreement and development tract maps could go before Anaheim City Council.
A sale could close in the second half of 2022.
You can read a fact sheet summary of the proposed agreement here.
The proposed agreement itself will be available later Monday with a special meeting agenda.
You can learn more about the city’s plan for the stadium site at Anaheim.net/BigA.
