The Resident

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City could sell or lease pieces of neighborhood land

ByStephen Baxter

A handful of small, city-owned properties in the Almaden Valley, Willow Glen and the Rose Garden area could be offered for sale in the coming months as city leaders try to shed surplus land.

On April 7 and June 16, the San Jose City Council designated 40 properties, most about a half acre or less, as surplus. City officials had combed thousands of paper deeds to produce an initial public land inventory, and it sent notices to neighbors near a few dozen properties and held small meetings in the spring about the city's intentions.

"In a lot of cases there were community members interested in buying the land, or it's some open space they'd gotten used to," said Phil Prince, San Jose deputy director of public works.

"Hopefully we can negotiate deals that work for the city and the neighbors, and we can generate some revenue for the city," Prince said.

One of the surplus properties is a vacant lot at 1015 S. Bascom Ave. near Willow Glen, which had been considered as a site for a new Bascom library. The library is now planned to be built across the street, and several neighbors attended a May meeting with city officials. Some residents expressed interest in building a park.

Accessibility is an issue there, Prince said, but more importantly, the land was purchased with library bond money that must be returned to the fund and spent on libraries.

On the south side of the Bird Avenue Bridge near the Caltrain tracks, another half-acre has been declared surplus and could be sold. There is no vehicle access, but there is a path up a steep hill covered in ivy that leads to a flat, fenced-off property. The land could be sold or leased or retained for other purposes.

Because many of the sites are not independently developable, city officials are negotiating potential sales with adjacent landowners.

People have expressed interest in buying surplus land at 460 Park Ave. and 510 Park Ave., and 0.29 acres on the northwest corner of N. Autumn and W. Julian streets.

Two pieces of land by the bridge at W. San Carlos Street had been considered for surplus status, but city officials decided to retain them in anticipation of rebuilding the bridge. Money has not yet been set aside for the bridge project, Prince said.

New Almaden's old Fire Station 28 at Almaden Road and Mountain Drive is another property on the surplus list, and it could be sold by public auction. The building is in fair condition, but as with many of the properties, the city is looking to release its liability and maintenance costs.