Oceanside council debates possible land sale

By: BEN FRUMIN - Staff Writer | Thursday, July 14, 2005 11:59 PM PDT ∞

OCEANSIDE ---- The possible sale of a city-owned harbor property on which a 17-story condominium tower sits has sparked a flurry of correspondence this week from concerned residents to Oceanside officials, and criticism from at least two council members.

The proposed sale of the city-owned, 1.25-acre property at 1200 N. Harbor Drive, on which the 67-unit Marina Towers sits, was on the City Council's closed-session agenda Wednesday. Interim City Attorney Pam Walls reported after that session that the council had provided direction to the city staff.

State law allows closed-door discussions of property negotiations. City officials have said that any proposed sale would be the subject of a public hearing and vote before being finalized.

"It won't be done in secret," City Manager Steve Jepsen said at the July 6 council meeting.

But at least two council members said this week that they want discussion of the proposed sale immediately brought out in the open.

"It's to the city's benefit to be open and to bring it to the public," Councilwoman Shari Mackin said after Wednesday's closed session.

Councilman Rocky Chavez staked out a similar position Thursday, saying that he would like to see the proposal benefit from public input before the council hammers out details in closed session. Chavez said he doesn't want the council to simply go through the motions of holding a public vote after a year of closed-door discussions.

"We've already had the deal points and discussion," Chavez said. "People are coming to talk, but we've already made up our minds. What's the value of that?"

Some residents are already talking about the proposed sale, even though the council hasn't deliberated in an open meeting.

"I wish to be on record as being adamantly opposed to the sale of our public land in the Oceanside Harbor," wrote Carolyn Krammer, chairwoman of Citizens for the Preservation of Parks and Beaches, in an e-mail Tuesday. "For what purpose would it serve the city of Oceanside to sell off public land to private ownership?"

Krammer said in an interview that she would appeal to the California Coastal Commission any city-approved sale of the land.

Krammer and now-Councilwoman Mackin spearheaded an appeal a few years ago to that state panel that eventually harpooned developer Doug Manchester's proposal for a massive resort near the Oceanside pier.

Though Mackin declined to offer a concrete stance on the proposed sale of the Marina Towers land, she did say that "our coastal property is irreplaceable." Chavez said he has "never been supportive of (the sale). It's the wrong thing."

The ground lease between the city and the Marina Towers homeowners association ---- which expires December 2036 ---- was agreed to in the late 1960s or early 1970s, said Doug Eddow, the city's real estate manager.

The property was then a vacant lot, Eddow said, and it was the homeowners association that built the tower.

When the Marina Towers ground lease expires in 2036, the agreement calls for the building to become city property, Eddow said.

But the homeowners association is looking to change that arrangement. Eddow said that because the lease expires in 31 years, it's been tough for some condo owners to sell their units, as would-be buyers can't get a 30-year mortgage from lenders, who are wary of the expiration of the ground lease. That has prompted discussion of a potential sale, officials said.

The homeowners association will pay the city about $57,000 this year in lease payments, Eddow said.

Contact staff writer Ben Frumin at (760) 901-4067 or bfrumin@nctimes.com.