ARNOLD MAY SELL HISTORIC PLACES HOMES TO RISE BY COLISEUM?

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO - State-owned land in Exposition Park around the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was identified Thursday as one of 50 properties that could be sold or redeveloped to generate $4 billion in revenue under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to reorganize state government.

The report was issued just two days after voters passed Proposition 60A, a ballot measure that requires proceeds from sales of most surplus state property to accelerate the repayment of the billions of dollars in state deficit-reduction bonds that were approved in March.

It also listed the Ventura County Fairgrounds and open space in Malibu as part of a potential sell-off that would spark major controversies across the state. And the California Performance Review report suggests that, if the Coliseum land were rezoned, it could be developed into residential property, fetching the state $400 million. The report authors stopped short of recommending the sale, but said the issue deserves further study.

``That is one of those (properties) that, if you were to take its highest and best use, you can see what the value would be,'' California Performance Review spokesman Russ Heimerich said. ``Should the Science Center (continue to) own that? Should it be sold off? Those are questions that need to be asked. That doesn't mean the answer is a foregone conclusion, but it's worth re-evaluating.''

The Coliseum and the Sports Arena are on about 30 acres of the 152-acre California Science Center site at Exposition Park.

Coliseum officials say their site has federal historic landmark protection and couldn't be torn down. And even if it could, they argued, it makes more economic sense for the state to bring in an NFL team and generate parking and tax revenue that would exceed the benefits of selling the land.

``We're on the National Register of Historic Places, and that's that,'' said Coliseum general manager Pat Lynch. ``It's a moot point to debate the issue.''

The Coliseum Commission is negotiating with the state to renew the property's 49-year lease, while at the same time actively working to persuade the NFL to locate a football team there.

The report authors note that the land is zoned as open space, but suggest that its greatest value could be obtained through rezoning it for residential use, which they admit ``would be a complicated and lengthy process.''

``There have not been any sales of large parcels similar to this in a long time,'' the report's authors wrote. ``This parcel would probably have to be sold in sections due to the high dollar amount of its total value. This would be an unprecedented property sale.''

Schwarzenegger requested the report in May under an executive order that asked for a list of ``potentially high-value urban properties, owned by the state of California, which may be underutilized or which may not reflect a highest and best use, and which may warrant realignment or disposal.''

In some instances, the report found state offices or institutions sitting on choice land that could be sold, with state functions relocated to less valuable property. An example cited in the report is San Quentin prison on 275 acres of waterfront land in Marin County with views of San Francisco Bay. That property could fetch up to $750 million if rezoned and developed, according to the report.

Another property on the list is the Ventura County Fairgrounds - Seaside Park.

``The coastal location of this (Ventura) property makes this an absolutely premier site,'' the report authors wrote. The Ventura County Fair could be consolidated with the Santa Barbara County Fair, they suggested.

They wrote that the best use of the property would be for a resort hotel- convention center and luxury high-density condominium homes - all with ocean or mountain views, or both.

The state's list of surplus properties also includes fairgrounds properties in Del Mar and Napa County, a 400-acre portion of the California Institute for Men in Chino and a 165-acre portion of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, according to The Associated Press.

Harrison Sheppard, [phone]

harrison.sheppard(at)dailynews.com