Muristek
The Carpinteria City Council today will consider whether to continue, amend or terminate the lease between the city and Uppo’s Garden, LLC, whose director, Marla Daily, helped organize the group seeking to pass Measure T.
The council will meet at City Hall, 5775 Carpinteria Ave., at 5:30 p.m.
Measure T opponents maintain that Ms. Daily has a personal conflict of interest in
the measure’s approval because it would have prevented the developers of the proposed Surfliner Inn from taking control of the parcel of land she now leases for a hobby garden and using it instead for public parking and part of a walking trail.
As it stands, Measure T is on its way to being defeated, as Vote No on Measure T leads the Vote Yes group by 79 votes. 2,532 or 50.79 % to 2,453 or 49.21 %. The county still needs to certify the results to make them official.
If the measure is formally rejected, the city could terminate Ms. Daily’s lease and include the parcel in a lease with the developers who want to build a two-story boutique hotel on a downtown parking lot but still need the city’s approval.
Today’s review of the lease was scheduled at the request of Councilmembers Roy Lee and Gregg Carty “for the purpose of allowing the council the opportunity to continue, modify or terminate it,” staff said. Either side can terminate the lease for no or any reason with 30 days notice.
The parcel in question is a portion of a piece of property located at 399 Linden Ave. on the south side of the railroad tracks. The public parking lot north of the tracks is the site where the proposed Surfliner Inn would be built.
The city halted its review of the proposed hotel once Measure T qualified for the Nov. 8 ballot. If the measure loses, the Surfliner Inn review will continue.
Staffers are asking the council today for direction on how to proceed in the event Measure T does, in fact, lose.
Ms. Daily, dba Uppo’s Garden, LLC, had a lease with Union Pacific Railroad before the city bought the property in December 2013. She signed a month-to-month lease with the city on May 6, 2014, and took control of the parcel six days later. She originally paid $150/month but now pays $172.84/month.
“As a term of the lease, tenant expressly acknowledges and agrees that landlord is renting the premises to tenant on an interim basis while the city determines a long-term use for the property,” staff told the council in its report. The parcel at stake includes 15,750 square feet, measuring 45 feet wide by 350 feet long.
Staff noted that Ms. Daily has made some improvements since she took over the parcel, and also has licensed another tenant, Richard Batchelder, to use a portion of the leased area. Mr. Batchelder is an adjacent property owner.
In January, the council directed staff to “prioritize work to implement a capital improvement project for a trail connection through the property from Linden Avenue to Holly Avenue.” In July, the Carpinteria Planning Commission granted a permit for the trail to be constructed across the property, which is scheduled for the winter of 2023.
The property is also subject to a potential lease between the city and 499 Linden Managers, LLC., the developers behind the Surfliner Inn, “which calls for the developer to make certain public parking and trail improvements on the property.”
In addition, “in recent weeks, the owners of three properties located south of the property have made inquiries to city staff about the possibility of entering into a lease with the city similar to the lease between the city and tenant,” staff said.
An amendment to Ms. Daily’s lease may modify any provision of the lease, such as reducing the leased area so as to allow others to also use it, staff said. “This possibly has the advantage of modestly increasing the city’s rental income.”
Staffers told councilmembers they have three options:
They could receive the report, hear public testimony and take no action at all, “in which case the lease between the city and tenant would continue on a month-to-month basis.”
Or, they could direct staff to make any desired changes to the current lease, “in which case staff would prepare any changes for presentation to the tenant.
“If tenant accepts the modified terms, an amended lease would be presented to council for action. If tenant declines any of the amended terms, staff would report that to the City Council for its further consideration.”
Or, finally, councilmembers could direct staff to prepare to terminate the lease.
If they choose option #3 and her lease is terminated, Ms. Daily will be required to surrender the premises, including removing all her belongings, and restore the leased area in good order, condition and repair.
email: nhartstein@newspress.com
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