The Naylor Act - A Case for Wardlow
I spent some time out at Wardlow
Field yesterday. It's the beginning of T-Ball season and all us coaches got
together for some basic-training with the Huntington Valley Little League
coaches to improve our coaching skills. I spent some time walking around
afterwards, just imagining life without Inspiration Field. Something the head
coach mentioned, repeated over and over in my mind as I strolled. It's not just
the game these kids play, but the life lessons they learn. It's not just some
exercise, but an education in personal and team challenge, cooperation, unified
effort, the struggling together. These are things you just don't get in a
classroom.
This refreshed my determination to fight even more with all I can muster to save this field. Not for me, but for my kids, and your kids, and the kids that have yet to be born. I ended up at the plaque that you see below, dedicated in 1998. It just about brought tears to my eyes to think what this field might become, and what we may soon lose. To that end, I reviewed my many notes and documents that I have been collecting since exactly one month ago when this all started. One thing popped out that I hadn't really paid too much attention to before, and that was a little known bit of legislation, called the Naylor Act.
The Naylor Act (California Education Code 17485-17500 ) requires school districts, who propose to sell land used for outdoor recreation to offer to lease or sell a portion of the land at a discount to either a city or county, whichever has jurisdiction. An agency having jurisdiction, could acquire up to 30% of the surplus property for 25% of the fair market value.
Based on this math, since there are three sites being readied for the chopping block by the Fountain Valley School District, the Naylor Act, in conjunction with either the City of Huntington Beach (the city of jurisdiction) or Orange County (the county of jurisdiction) would have an opportunity to purchase just under 1/3 of these three lots (30%) at a 25% discount of the fair market value.
Here is some of the language from the legislation to support the act: 17485 The Legislature is concerned that school playgrounds, playing fields, and recreational real property will be lost for those uses by the surrounding communities even if those communities in their planning process have assumed that the properties would be permanently available for recreational purposes. It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this article to allow school districts to recover their investment in surplus property while making it possible for other agencies of government to acquire the property and keep it available for playground, playing field or other outdoor recreational and open-space purposes.
Note here, the legislation says "even if those communities in their planning process have assumed that the properties would be permanently available for recreational purposes." This photo was taken at Wardlow Field (locally referred to as Inspiration Field):
This plaque was placed when Inspiration Field was dedicated in 1998 by community leaders and the Major League Baseball Players Trust. Clearly, they all felt that this field would remain permanently available for recreational purposes when they inscribed: "we dedicate this field to all the children past, present and future - who ever dreamed of setting their own records."
Now, that's the easy part. The hard part starts February 11, 2005. The Fountain Valley School District, the Board of Trustees and the Surplus Committee have already and most certainly decided they will let this field go. As near as we can tell, this is pretty much a foregone conclusion. Our battle must be for a specific field. Of the three, Wardlow field has the best chance for survival.
Section 17486 of the Education Code lays out some rules to determine if surplus property satisfies the test for coverage under the Naylor Act. Specifically, these are:
a) whether the whole or portion of a schoolsite consists of land which is used for playground, playing field or other outdoor recreational purposes. In this case, Wardlow get's a big fat CHECK!
b) that the land above has been in continuous use for 8 years for one or more of the purposes immediately preceding the date the board will determine to sell. So let's see, 2005 minus 1998 is seven years so we easily make it that far. Wardlow field has easily been in continuous use as a recreational field for long before that so that's another big fat CHECK!!
c) no other publicly available owned land in the vicinity of the schoolsite is adequate to meet the existing and foreseeable needs of the community. Let's see, I guess there the Edison power line easement a few blocks North of Wardlow, but then that's not publicly owned. So that's a final big fat CHECK!!
The subsequent sections of the code deal with exceptions and other rules of conveyance that I will not go to in detail here. A link the Naylor Act details is included at the beginning of this article. It's worth mentioning that the Act does provide some rules for retaining certain portions of property that might be obtained through the provisions of this Act. These are details that legal council should be left to determine.
The most important facet of the Act that warrants our focus of attention to section 17489. Specifically, this section discusses the rules of conveyance that might allow or disallow certain government agencies to purchase a surplus property.
The school district shall first offer to sell to the following public agencies in accordance with the following priorities (in order of their priority):
a) to any city within which the land may be situated (Huntington Beach)
b) to any park or recreation district within which the land may be situated (Huntington Beach)
c) to any regional park authority having jurisdiction
d) to any county within which the land may be situated
Here's the kicker: "An entity which proposes to purchase a schoolsite offered by a school district shall notify the district of its intention, in writing, within 60 days after receiving written notification from the district of its offer to sell." Unless I'm mistaken, the clock will begin ticking February 11, 2005. That's when SaveOurField.org will have to really hit its stride. The Fountain Valley District is too set in their plan to liquidate this "useless" real estate, selling their land-bank. Our plan must include every possible public agency that might be leveraged in order to purchase Wardlow Field before the clock runs out.
Please stay tuned to this web site for late breaking updates as the week progresses. Please contact all of your neighbors and friends who use this field for any purpose. Anyone in the area. As you stroll the field, pass out a copy of the flier. Or at least a slip of paper with "SaveOurField.org" on it.
Everyone MUST show up at the District Office meeting this Thursday! Tell everyone you know. Call everyone you know. Carpool!! Vanpool!! Buspool!! Whatever it takes. This will be our last chance to change their mind, we have to remind them that, as Arnold say: "While you sign the back of your checks, we sign the fronts." It's our money they wish to squander, please, don't let them.
Alan Gandall
President
SaveOurField.org
This refreshed my determination to fight even more with all I can muster to save this field. Not for me, but for my kids, and your kids, and the kids that have yet to be born. I ended up at the plaque that you see below, dedicated in 1998. It just about brought tears to my eyes to think what this field might become, and what we may soon lose. To that end, I reviewed my many notes and documents that I have been collecting since exactly one month ago when this all started. One thing popped out that I hadn't really paid too much attention to before, and that was a little known bit of legislation, called the Naylor Act.
The Naylor Act (California Education Code 17485-17500 ) requires school districts, who propose to sell land used for outdoor recreation to offer to lease or sell a portion of the land at a discount to either a city or county, whichever has jurisdiction. An agency having jurisdiction, could acquire up to 30% of the surplus property for 25% of the fair market value.
Based on this math, since there are three sites being readied for the chopping block by the Fountain Valley School District, the Naylor Act, in conjunction with either the City of Huntington Beach (the city of jurisdiction) or Orange County (the county of jurisdiction) would have an opportunity to purchase just under 1/3 of these three lots (30%) at a 25% discount of the fair market value.
Here is some of the language from the legislation to support the act: 17485 The Legislature is concerned that school playgrounds, playing fields, and recreational real property will be lost for those uses by the surrounding communities even if those communities in their planning process have assumed that the properties would be permanently available for recreational purposes. It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this article to allow school districts to recover their investment in surplus property while making it possible for other agencies of government to acquire the property and keep it available for playground, playing field or other outdoor recreational and open-space purposes.
Note here, the legislation says "even if those communities in their planning process have assumed that the properties would be permanently available for recreational purposes." This photo was taken at Wardlow Field (locally referred to as Inspiration Field):
This plaque was placed when Inspiration Field was dedicated in 1998 by community leaders and the Major League Baseball Players Trust. Clearly, they all felt that this field would remain permanently available for recreational purposes when they inscribed: "we dedicate this field to all the children past, present and future - who ever dreamed of setting their own records."
Now, that's the easy part. The hard part starts February 11, 2005. The Fountain Valley School District, the Board of Trustees and the Surplus Committee have already and most certainly decided they will let this field go. As near as we can tell, this is pretty much a foregone conclusion. Our battle must be for a specific field. Of the three, Wardlow field has the best chance for survival.
Section 17486 of the Education Code lays out some rules to determine if surplus property satisfies the test for coverage under the Naylor Act. Specifically, these are:
a) whether the whole or portion of a schoolsite consists of land which is used for playground, playing field or other outdoor recreational purposes. In this case, Wardlow get's a big fat CHECK!
b) that the land above has been in continuous use for 8 years for one or more of the purposes immediately preceding the date the board will determine to sell. So let's see, 2005 minus 1998 is seven years so we easily make it that far. Wardlow field has easily been in continuous use as a recreational field for long before that so that's another big fat CHECK!!
c) no other publicly available owned land in the vicinity of the schoolsite is adequate to meet the existing and foreseeable needs of the community. Let's see, I guess there the Edison power line easement a few blocks North of Wardlow, but then that's not publicly owned. So that's a final big fat CHECK!!
The subsequent sections of the code deal with exceptions and other rules of conveyance that I will not go to in detail here. A link the Naylor Act details is included at the beginning of this article. It's worth mentioning that the Act does provide some rules for retaining certain portions of property that might be obtained through the provisions of this Act. These are details that legal council should be left to determine.
The most important facet of the Act that warrants our focus of attention to section 17489. Specifically, this section discusses the rules of conveyance that might allow or disallow certain government agencies to purchase a surplus property.
The school district shall first offer to sell to the following public agencies in accordance with the following priorities (in order of their priority):
a) to any city within which the land may be situated (Huntington Beach)
b) to any park or recreation district within which the land may be situated (Huntington Beach)
c) to any regional park authority having jurisdiction
d) to any county within which the land may be situated
Here's the kicker: "An entity which proposes to purchase a schoolsite offered by a school district shall notify the district of its intention, in writing, within 60 days after receiving written notification from the district of its offer to sell." Unless I'm mistaken, the clock will begin ticking February 11, 2005. That's when SaveOurField.org will have to really hit its stride. The Fountain Valley District is too set in their plan to liquidate this "useless" real estate, selling their land-bank. Our plan must include every possible public agency that might be leveraged in order to purchase Wardlow Field before the clock runs out.
Please stay tuned to this web site for late breaking updates as the week progresses. Please contact all of your neighbors and friends who use this field for any purpose. Anyone in the area. As you stroll the field, pass out a copy of the flier. Or at least a slip of paper with "SaveOurField.org" on it.
Everyone MUST show up at the District Office meeting this Thursday! Tell everyone you know. Call everyone you know. Carpool!! Vanpool!! Buspool!! Whatever it takes. This will be our last chance to change their mind, we have to remind them that, as Arnold say: "While you sign the back of your checks, we sign the fronts." It's our money they wish to squander, please, don't let them.
Alan Gandall
President
SaveOurField.org
Posted: Sun - February 6, 2005 at 10:23 PM
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Published On: Nov 23, 2005 11:08 PM
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Published On: Nov 23, 2005 11:08 PM