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Committee advances 99-year ground lease for Sunnyside Environmental Center to council
Summary
The Community Planning Committee on July 1 advanced a resolution to permit a 99-year ground lease for the Sunnyside Environmental Center to Partners for Environmental Stewardship.
The Lancaster City Community Planning Committee on July 1 voted to forward Administration Resolution 50-20-25 to the full council. The resolution would authorize an agreement to enter into, and subsequently execute, a 99-year ground lease with Partners for Environmental Stewardship for nearly nine acres designated for the Sunnyside Environmental Center.
City counsel summarized the transaction and supporting documents and said the agreement is presented in two parts: an agreement to enter into the ground lease while Partners for Environmental Stewardship completes design and site due diligence, followed by the 99-year ground lease once parties are ready to proceed. Counsel said the lease is “as‑is” and places operating and maintenance costs with the partner; the city will retain fee title to the land. The documents include build standards, annual reporting requirements on programming and five‑year program updates to ensure ongoing alignment with the preserve and the city’s comprehensive plan.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about easements and a potential water line across the site. Counsel and staff said the documents reserve the city’s ability to install a waterline where needed to serve future municipal needs, subject to routing that minimizes interference with the building; the partner’s building and program commitments are protected under the lease terms. Counsel said no environmental testing has yet been completed and that design and land development work could take 18 months or longer; Partners for Environmental Stewardship and the High Foundation have started programmatic work in anticipation of the lease but no lease has been signed.
A councilor moved to place Resolution 50-20-25 on the full council agenda for the August 12 meeting; the committee recorded an affirmative voice vote. The committee chair encouraged councilors to review the executive summary and legal memorandum and to submit questions to staff prior to the full council meeting.
