News

Monday, February 4, 2008

Update: Hidden Valley and Tatum Properties

The board of education gave direction at the December 4, 2007 board meeting regarding the Hidden Valley and Tatum properties. The board is primarily interested in what the properties can bring to the districts as a long-term revenue stream for the general fund. (General fund revenue is preferred since it is unrestricted and can be used to meet a wide range of district needs, including capital projects.) The board generally does not believe we should sell the properties outright unless the proceeds can be used to buy other income producing property.

The board’s direction for Hidden Valley was that we pursue options for developing the property for housing. The districts should pursue market rate development on leased land at Hidden Valley as it is not suitable for the development of workforce housing. The districts could also consider an exchange for the property for other income producing property and may, at some point, have a discussion with the city of Santa Barbara regarding swapping some of the Hidden Valley property if the swap would yield comparable financial benefits.

The board’s direction for the Tatum property was that we consider a hybrid of market rate and staff housing that generates revenue on leased land. The emphasis would be on revenue generation rather than staff housing.