City of Los Alamitos

Laurel Park Acquisition
March, 2006 Fact Sheet Provided by the City of Los Alamitos 3191 Katella Ave. Los Alamitos, CA 90720

History of Laurel Park

The 4.25 acre Laurel Park site ( 10862 Bloomfield St. ) was first developed by the City of Los Alamitos in 1975 in cooperation with the Los Alamitos Elementary School District . The property is located adjacent to Los Alamitos Elementary School on the north, and the Community Congregational Church and Laurel Park Manor (Senior Housing) on the east. Amenities of the park property include: lighted softball and soccer field, four lighted tennis courts, picnic area, restroom and parking area.

A ten (10) year Agreement (February 4, 1974 - February 4, 1984) between the City and Los Alamitos Elementary School District enabled the City to use and develop the property for community recreational purposes in accordance with Education Code Section 16659. All costs of maintaining the property and any improvements were required to be at City expense.

In 1982, the City was able to secure additional State Park Bond Funds to improve the park, which required the City to enter into a twenty (20) year agreement (1982-2002), with the newly unified Los Alamitos Unified School District (LAUSD).

The end of the twenty (20) year Agreement in 2002 started the current round of negotiations between the City and the Los Alamitos Unified School District with the intent of the City to insure that the property was maintained as a park site.

Financial Considerations

Since 1975, the City has invested over $1.2 million dollars in the development and maintenance of the Laurel Park site. The cost to duplicate the park improvements in 2005 dollars exceeds $1.5 million

In April, 2005 the City & School District agreed to jointly fund a survey and appraisal of the Laurel Park site. The appraisal was completed in June of 2005 which established the fair market value of the 4.25 acre site at $6,000,000.

As negotiations continued, the City and LAUSD ultimately agreed that the intent of the Naylor Act (Education Code Section 17485 et. seq.) would apply to the sale of the Laurel Park property which enabled the price to be discounted from $6,000,000 to a value of $4,650,000. The Naylor Act was passed by the State Legislature as a result of the Legislatures concern that school playgrounds, playing fields, and recreational real property would be lost for those uses if communities were required to pay the fair market value of the property.

In November 2005, the City Council awarded a financial advisor contract to the firm of Fieldman, Rolapp & Associates to assist with financing the acquisition of the Laurel Park property.

Recognizing the need to preserve open space, and protect the City’s investment in Laurel Park, the City Council in 1997 approved transferring $750,000 from the City’s General Fund to a special Park Acquisition Fund. These funds are being combined with City Park Development funds as a down payment on the $4.65 million dollar purchase price. The balance of the $3 million dollar cost will be financed by the City over a thirty year period. The annual payment is estimated to be $220,000. The purchase of Laurel Park is in concert with the City’s Strategic Plan that emphasizes the maintenance and preservation of open space for Community use.

City of Los Alamitos

3191 Katella Avenue
Los Alamitos, Ca 90720

To leave a telephone message, please call: (562) 431-3538

To send a facsimile: (562) 493-1255