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Lake County approves $950,000 purchase of school district parcels for workforce housing
Summary
The Lake County Board of Commissioners approved a purchase-and-sale agreement to buy two parcels from the Lake County School District for workforce and affordable housing, using a $950,000 general-fund spend-down. The deal includes a planned minor subdivision and a utility easement; surveys and brownfields checks remain to be completed.
Lake County commissioners approved a purchase-and-sale agreement on Jan. 7 to buy two parcels from the Lake County School District for workforce and affordable housing, authorizing a general-fund spend-down of $950,000.
County staff said the purchase covers two sites described as the “west third” parcels on West 3rd and Marshall (formerly Oro) and a strip of land adjacent to the elementary school and Harrison Ballfields. The county will acquire the northern half of that strip while the school district retains the southern half; a minor subdivision will be required to effect the split.
The county and board of education agreed in principle on the transaction, and commissioners moved and approved the purchase-and-sale agreement during the meeting. The recorded vote was in the affirmative and the motion passed.
County staff said a survey is required before closing because winter snow prevents accurate work on the west-third parcels. Staff also told the board the county will need to pursue a brownfields review for the West 3rd site, as it did for nearby affordable-housing parcels, and that title and mapping clarifications remain part of closing steps.
The purchase is intended to support a future master plan for affordable and workforce housing that county planners described as linking the West 3rd site with ongoing work across from the parcel. The agreement also includes a dedicated utility easement on the Harrison strip; staff said the easement is limited to utilities and not surface improvements that would interfere with school operations such as snow removal or storage.
The board asked staff and the district attorney’s office to continue title and survey work; staff said the school district has approved the version of the agreement in the board packet and that the purchase clock (for survey and closing contingencies) will begin after the county signs.
The item advances the county’s effort to secure land for workforce housing without a development decision attached; the county will return to planning, subdivision and potential PUD/master-plan steps once property control and surveys are complete.
No timeline for construction or a development plan was adopted at the meeting. Commissioners directed staff to continue the pre-acquisition tasks described above and to proceed with closing steps once surveys and title matters are resolved.
