Mount Shasta council declares ‘The Landing’ surplus, moves to notify state under Surplus Lands Act

The Mount Shasta City Council voted Jan. 13 to declare three city-owned parcels known collectively as “The Landing” surplus and to submit the notice required under California’s Surplus Lands Act, a procedural step that begins a 60‑day availability window for affordable‑housing developers. The council also designated portions of the parcels as exempt from the act because recorded restrictions preclude housing on those specific areas.

City Planner Jeff Mitchell told the council declaring the parcels surplus is the “first thing” required by state law to qualify the site for housing, recreation or school uses and to trigger formal outreach to developers under rules enforced by the state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). “By this action, you’re going to designate those three landing parcels,” Mitchell said, noting that some areas already are encumbered by environmental covenants that will be recorded as legal restrictions.

The action sends the city’s findings to HCD and starts a 60‑day notice of availability; if developers express interest the city would enter a 90‑day good‑faith negotiation period. Mitchell estimated that much of the original 93.45 acres identified in staff materials will be reduced after site‑suitability analysis (wetlands, soils, slope and fire‑severity constraints), and said a realistic buildable area might be on the order of roughly 27 to 34 acres. Using planning‑stage density assumptions he outlined, that could translate to a very wide range of potential housing units, with required percentages of deed‑restricted units depending on whether final disposal falls inside or outside the Surplus Lands Act process.

The council resolution directs staff to prepare and submit the required notice and authorizes the city manager to take the steps needed to comply with the Surplus Lands Act. The resolution also declared the council’s action exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for the purpose of initiating the surplus‑land process.

Mitchell and councilmembers emphasized that further technical work — a formal suitability analysis, final mapping of covenants and environmental constraints — will follow before any sale or development is finalized. Mayor John Redmond and other councilmembers asked that staff ensure accuracy on wetlands mapping and on final acreages before submitting materials to the state.

Next steps identified by staff include completing the suitability analysis, recording the known environmental covenant, submitting the notice of availability to HCD and convening follow‑up conversations with interested developers and agencies. Mitchell said the city will refine the usable acreage and provide updated unit estimates as the technical work proceeds.