Posted on 11/15/2004 6:31:26 PM PST by calcowgirl
Cow Palace, prison among properties that could yield state billions
SACRAMENTO -- State-owned landmarks such as the Bay Area's Cow Palace and San Quentin Prison are among 50 properties Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger administration officials are deciding whether to sell in the wake of a quietly released report.
The estimated $5 billion in proceeds would be used to offset part of California's nagging, multibillion-dollar budget deficit, under a measure voters approved Nov. 2 that urges sales of surplus property.
The new analysis of state land was conducted as part of Schwarzenegger's ambitious intention to shuffle and streamline the state bureaucracy -- an effort dubbed the California Performance Review.
Though the report suggests officials consider each of the identified properties for sale, the authors said they were just making the initial move in sorting through the state's portfolio of more than 2,000 parcels, 2.5 million acres of land and nearly 200 million square feet of office and commercial space.
(snip)
Lawmakers who have sponsored legislation aimed at encouraging surplus-land sales before Schwarzenegger stepped in and took up the cause, said their targets included the Cow Palace.
"I disagree that it is surplus," said Leonard Stefanelli, vice president of the 1-A District Agricultural Association, the state agency of the California Department of Food and Agriculture's Division of Fairs and Expositions that owns and operates the Cow Palace. It has both "tangible and intangible value" and breaks even, therefore not requiring state subsidies, Stefanelli said.
San Quentin is also in use, housing more than 5,000 inmates, but was put on the list because of its location on San Francisco Bay in pricey Marin County and due to its aging condition. If sold, analysts said, the 275-acre property could bring in as much as $750 million.
(Excerpt) Read more at trivalleyherald.com ...
Proposition 60A should have included a provision that all appraisals would be made public. Gray Davis never did release the Ballona Wetlands appraisal, did he?
If there is a view lot near San Luis Obispo, I'm interested.
I think its one of those pay-for-play only deals. Did you give? ;-)
ping
nagging ? :-\
I grew up in westchester playa del rey hell i remember when
hughs still flew planes out of his airstrip when they had houses all around l.a.x. when you could still have a bb gun and shot little creatures and when you could see the water from anywhere in the marina
I remember it well. I lived in one of those Playa del Rey houses that is no longer there (on Rindge Ave), being torn down so they could expand LAX. And I remember when they finally finished building Marina del Rey. Now the PDR beach is a magnet for gangs. Ahhh... progress. :-)
I think the federal government should follow the Governor.
The US is the largest landowner in the wholeworld. Out constitution does not say anything about the government owning property.
Why don't the government sell some of its land holding to take care of the deficit?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.