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11/30/2005: "Neighbor Appeals Boundary Line Modification"

(Deborah Nash-Strasser prepares to testify before the SJC Hearing Examiner)

When the BOCC approved the purchase of property this year for the use of Public Works, they allowed the seller of the property to move property lines to condense 6 of the 5 acre lots into one 10 acre area, retain the newly formed 6 lots, and then sell the remaining one lot of 27 acres to the County. The resulting BLM (Boundary Line Modification) was approved by the CD&PD (Community Development & Planning Department) last August, has now been appealed by local resident and neighbor, Deborah Nash-Strasser.

The Kellsey South property was purchased by the BOCC as a site for Public Works to develop. What, exactly, is planned to be placed on the property by PW is not certain, but the BOCC resolution passed to acquire the property listed a new "Solid Waste or Recyclable Materials" site for a Transfer Station (commonly called a "dump", in recognition that is what one does at a transfer station), and the Appraisal Report noted the use would be "for relocation of their (PW) service shops".

As a part of the sale agreement, the County agreed to move the property lines of the seven contiguous parcels that made up the 37.13 acres, creating one 27.1 acre that the County would purchase for 1.8 million dollars, and six smaller parcels raging in size form 1.51 acres to 2.01 acres that the County would not own, but would be retained by the seller, David McCauley, dba: Kellsey South, LLC.

This allowed the seller of the property to retain six buildable lots that could be used for residential use, or for industrial/commercial development. The seller also retained water rights from a pond on the County property, and was granted a right of first refusal "for re-purchase of Seller Property"

The main concern expressed by the appeal is the impact that the newly configured six lots will have on the neighborhood, now that the lots are grouped near the rural Lampard road that serves the residential neighborhood where Nash-Strasser family lives. In her appeal she stated, among a number of other related concerns that: "Lampard Road is a small, lightly used road, and the granting of the BLM has moved the access to the six lots from the main road, to "our small rural road".

According to the Staff report to the Hearing Examiner, the appeal is also concerned that the "initial intent of the comprehensive plan designation of Rural Genera/5 was for one single-family residence per 5 acres, not one county Public Works facility on wt acres and 6 single-family residences on the remaining 10 acres." The Staff recommendation was to uphold the approval of the BLM, since the density units after the change in the boundary lines has remained the same as before the lines were moved.