Before a city, county or district in Kern County sells or long-term leases land it no longer needs, state law usually makes it offer the land for affordable housing first. Here is how the process works, what is exempt and how long it takes.
The Surplus Land Act California rules, Government Code section 54220 and following, require cities, counties and other local agencies to offer land they no longer need to affordable housing developers and certain public agencies before selling it or leasing it long term to anyone else. AB 1486 (2019) strengthened enforcement, and SB 747 and AB 480 (2023) added exemptions. For Kern County buyers, the law can add months to a public land deal.
The Surplus Land Act at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Law | Surplus Land Act, California Government Code 54220 to 54234 |
| Key amendments | AB 1486 (2019) strengthened enforcement and transparency; SB 747 and AB 480 (2023) revised exemptions, with lease exemptions effective Jan. 1, 2024 |
| Applies to | Cities, counties, special districts and other local agencies disposing of land by sale or long-term lease |
| Oversight | California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) |
| Core process | Declare land surplus or exempt surplus; send a notice of availability; 60 days for responses; at least 90 days of good-faith negotiation with bidders offering 25% affordable units; report to HCD 30 days before disposition |
| Penalty | 30% of the sale price or appraised value for a first violation; 50% for later violations |
| Common exemptions | Leases of 15 years or less; small parcels up to half an acre; transfers to other agencies for their use; certain airport land |
| Kern examples | Bakersfield’s 7821 Wible Road (2022) and Kern County’s East California Avenue parcel (2023), both reviewed by HCD |
| Status | In force; HCD continues to review exempt and surplus declarations |
Key takeaways
- Under the act, a local agency must send a notice of availability, give interested entities 60 days to respond and then negotiate in good faith for 90 days before selling surplus land on the open market.
- A first violation can cost an agency 30% of the sale price or appraised value, and later violations 50%, according to a 2024 Assembly committee analysis.
- SB 747 and AB 480 (2023) exempted leases of 15 years or less signed after Jan. 1, 2024, along with small parcels of up to half an acre and airport land where Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules bar housing.
- HCD concurred on Dec. 9, 2022 that Bakersfield’s 7821 Wible Road parcel was exempt surplus land for affordable housing. On March 1, 2023, it concurred that a Kern County parcel transferring to the city for a park was exempt.
What is the Surplus Land Act in California?
The Surplus Land Act treats unneeded public land as a resource for affordable housing, parks and schools. When a local agency decides to dispose of land it no longer needs, it must first offer the land to affordable housing developers and certain public entities. Proposals with the most affordable housing get priority, according to the Assembly Local Government Committee’s 2024 analysis of SB 1439.
For a private buyer, the law matters in two ways. It can delay a purchase of city or county land by several months, and it can make a deal void or expensive for the agency if the steps are skipped.
The law applies to sales and to many leases. It does not apply when an agency buys property. When the City of Bakersfield agreed to purchase the downtown Truxtun Tower in 2026, it was the buyer, so the act’s disposal rules were not the issue. Our coverage of the city’s Truxtun Tower purchase has the deal details.
How does the Surplus Land Act process work?
The process runs in a fixed order, from a board declaration through an open-market sale. The table summarizes the steps in the HCD Surplus Land Act fact sheet (April 2026 version) and the committee analysis. HCD updated its Surplus Land Act Guidelines in 2024.
| Step | What happens | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Declaration | Governing body declares the land surplus or exempt surplus by resolution with findings | One agenda cycle |
| 2. Notice of availability | Written notice to affordable housing developers and public agencies on HCD’s lists | Sent once |
| 3. Response period | Interested entities may respond | 60 days |
| 4. Negotiation | Good-faith negotiation with entities proposing at least 25% affordable units; priority to the most affordable units, then the deepest affordability | At least 90 days |
| 5. HCD review | Disposition summary, including negotiations and affordability covenants, sent to HCD | At least 30 days before disposition |
| 6. Open market | If no agreement, the agency may sell to others; if 10 or more homes are later built, 15% must be affordable | After steps 3 and 4 |
For exempt surplus land, the agency skips the notice and negotiation steps but must still adopt findings and send its declaration to HCD. Both Kern examples below show HCD issuing a written concurrence before the agency proceeded.
What land is exempt from the Surplus Land Act?
Most commercial and industrial buyers find their path in the exemptions. After SB 747 and AB 480 in 2023, the main categories relevant to Kern County include the following, as summarized by the California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED):
- Short leases. Leases of 15 years or less, including renewal options, entered after Jan. 1, 2024.
- Leases without development. Leases where no demolition or development occurs, regardless of term.
- Small parcels. Parcels of up to half an acre that are not contiguous to public open space or affordable housing.
- Airport land. Airport property where residential use is prohibited by FAA order.
- Transfers to other public agencies. Such as Kern County’s transfer of a Bakersfield parcel to the city for park use.
- Affordable housing and large mixed-use projects. Including dispositions for affordable housing and mixed-use projects of 300 or more units on sites of up to 10 acres with 25% lower-income units.
- Expanded agency use. Broadband and wireless facilities, port logistics property and buffer sites for waste disposal facilities now count as agency use.
SB 747 also stopped penalties for nonsubstantive violations, such as clerical errors, that do not affect housing availability, priority or the land disposition. Each exemption has detailed conditions that depend on which subsection of Government Code 54221 the agency relies on.
How has the Surplus Land Act played out in Kern County?
Two HCD concurrence letters show the act at work in Bakersfield. The letters record the 2022 and 2023 declarations but not what followed, such as bid results for Wible Road or completion of the park transfer. Recent county actions in Shafter and at Meadows Field are described below.
Bakersfield: 7821 Wible Road
The Bakersfield City Council adopted Resolution No. 097-2022 declaring 7821 Wible Road (APN 515-040-21) exempt surplus land for the development of affordable housing. In a Dec. 9, 2022 letter, HCD concurred and noted that the city would put the property out to an open competitive bid and invite the required entities to participate.
Kern County: East California Avenue
Kern County’s Resolution No. 2022-175 declared the property at 999 E. California Ave. and 1016 S. Owens St. in Bakersfield (APN 018-010-04) exempt surplus land, because the county planned to transfer it to the City of Bakersfield for park and recreational purposes. HCD concurred in a March 1, 2023 letter.
Shafter Cotton Research Station and Meadows Field
In 2026 the county moved to transfer the roughly 80-acre Shafter Cotton Research Station, which it called surplus real property, to the Cal State Bakersfield Foundation. Supervisors adopted a resolution of intent July 14 and approved the transfer Aug. 11, according to the county’s July 14 meeting recap and its CEQA notice of exemption. Neither document mentions the Surplus Land Act. See our report on the Shafter transfer.
At Meadows Field, the Board of Supervisors’ Sept. 29, 2026 agenda included consent to assign two existing fixed-base operator ground leases to a new operator. Assignments of existing airport leases differ from new dispositions, and the airport exemption may also apply, but the agenda did not discuss the act. Our article on the Meadows Field lease assignments covers the transaction.
What does the Surplus Land Act mean for buyers and developers?
For most private buyers, the first question is whether the agency has already declared the land surplus or exempt surplus. If it has not, expect at least one public meeting before anything can happen. Then comes the 60-day notice period and, if a housing developer or public agency responds, up to 90 days of negotiation before the agency can deal with you.
Industrial and commercial users often have the best odds with exempt categories. A ground lease of 15 years or less, a small remnant parcel or airport land with FAA limits on housing can move faster than a fee sale of a large parcel. Larger sites that could hold housing are the ones most likely to draw interest from affordable housing developers. Zoning matters too: our guide to AB 2011 commercial-to-residential rules shows where housing is allowed on commercial land.
The stakes are real for agencies. The committee analysis cites HCD data showing that Surplus Land Act transactions since 2021 produced more than 17,150 housing units, including more than 10,750 affordable to lower-income households, as of June 2024. Agencies that skip steps face penalties of 30% of the sale price or appraised value for a first violation, so expect a careful, slower process.
The Legislature amends the act often, and exemption conditions change with it. A surplus declaration is also a public agenda item, so Kern County, Bakersfield and other city and district agendas are the earliest sign that public land may come to market.
Surplus Land Act checklist for Kern County buyers
- Ask the agency whether the parcel has been declared surplus or exempt surplus, and get the resolution.
- If exempt, ask which subsection of Government Code 54221 applies and whether HCD has concurred.
- If not exempt, build the 60-day notice and 90-day negotiation periods into your timeline.
- Consider whether a lease of 15 years or less, including options, meets your needs.
- Make your purchase agreement contingent on Surplus Land Act compliance and any HCD review. Our overview of the commercial escrow process explains contingencies.
- Check zoning, since housing interest from developers is more likely on sites where homes are allowed.
- Have counsel review the agency’s findings before closing, because a violation can cloud the deal.
How long does it take to buy a 5-acre county parcel? An illustrative timeline
Expect roughly six to eight months for a non-exempt parcel, compared with a few weeks if the land were exempt. This example is our own arithmetic, not an HCD figure. Assume a Bakersfield business wants to buy a 5-acre county-owned lot zoned for light industrial use that the county has not yet declared surplus. All durations are illustrative.
Allow about one month to get a surplus declaration on a Board of Supervisors agenda. The notice of availability then opens a 60-day response period. If an affordable housing developer responds, the county must negotiate in good faith for up to 90 days. Add time for HCD review and the county’s own sale process. If no one responds, the timeline shortens by up to 90 days. An exempt deal, such as a lease of 15 years or less, skips the notice and negotiation steps.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Surplus Land Act in California?
It is a state law, Government Code 54220 and following, that requires local agencies to offer land they no longer need to affordable housing developers and certain public agencies. The requirement applies before a sale or long-term lease to others. Agencies send a notice of availability, allow 60 days for responses and negotiate for 90 days, with priority to the proposal offering the most affordable housing.
Does the Surplus Land Act apply to leases?
Sometimes. Under SB 747 and AB 480, leases of 15 years or less, including renewal options, entered after Jan. 1, 2024 are exempt. Leases with no demolition or development are exempt regardless of term. A longer lease involving development can still trigger the act.
How long does it take to buy surplus land from a city or county?
For land that is not exempt, plan on several months. Once the governing body declares the land surplus, interested entities have 60 days to respond. If one does, up to 90 days of negotiation follow. Board scheduling and HCD review add time, so six months or more is a reasonable planning assumption.
What happens if an agency violates the Surplus Land Act?
The agency can face a penalty of 30% of the final sale price or appraised fair market value for a first violation and 50% for later ones, according to the 2024 Assembly committee analysis. SB 747 stopped penalties for nonsubstantive violations, such as clerical errors, that do not affect housing availability or the disposition.
What is exempt surplus land?
It is surplus property that fits a category listed in Government Code 54221, so the agency can skip the notice and negotiation steps. Examples include short leases, small parcels, transfers to other public agencies and certain affordable housing dispositions. The agency must still adopt findings at a public meeting, and HCD may review the declaration, as it did for Bakersfield and Kern County parcels.
Is airport land exempt from the Surplus Land Act?
Some is. The 2023 amendments exempt airport property where FAA orders prohibit residential uses. Whether a particular parcel at Meadows Field or another Kern airport qualifies depends on its FAA restrictions and the lease terms.
Has Bakersfield used the Surplus Land Act?
Yes. Resolution No. 097-2022 declared 7821 Wible Road exempt surplus land, and HCD concurred on Dec. 9, 2022. Kern County also obtained HCD concurrence on March 1, 2023 for a parcel it transferred to the city for park use under Resolution No. 2022-175.
Interested in a parcel owned by a city, county or district in Kern County? Kern CRE can help you understand the timeline and the agency’s process. Call Kern CRE at 855-KERN-CRE (855-537-6273) or contact us. Get Kern County CRE news monthly: subscribe to the Kern CRE report.
Sources
- California State Assembly, Committee on Local Government, SB 1439 (Ashby) bill analysis, hearing of June 19, 2024 (existing law summary of the Surplus Land Act), June 2024.
- California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED), 2023 Key Surplus Land Act Legislative Analysis: SB 747 and AB 480, Sept. 13, 2023.
- Review of City of Bakersfield Resolution No. 097-2022 (7821 Wible Road) exempt surplus land declaration, California Department of Housing and Community Development, Dec. 9, 2022.
- Review of County of Kern Resolution No. 2022-175 (999 E. California Avenue and 1016 S. Owens Street) exempt surplus land declaration, California Department of Housing and Community Development, March 1, 2023.
- Board of Supervisors Meeting Recap for July 14, 2026, County of Kern, July 14, 2026.
- Transfer Surplus Real Property to California State University Bakersfield (CSUB) Foundation, Notice of Exemption (SCH 2026080483), CEQAnet (State Clearinghouse), Aug. 14, 2026.
- Agenda, Sept. 29, 2026 (consent items CA 8 and CA 9, Airports), Kern County Board of Supervisors, Sept. 29, 2026.
- Surplus Land Act fact sheet, California Department of Housing and Community Development, April 2026.
- SB 747 (2023-2024) bill information, California Legislative Information.
- AB 480 (2023-2024) bill information, California Legislative Information.
About this article
Kern CRE prepared this article with help from AI research and writing tools. An editor reviewed the draft, checked its facts against the sources linked above and edited it for accuracy and clarity. It is general information about California law, not legal, tax, investment or financial advice; talk with a qualified professional about your situation. Surplus Land Act compliance is the agency’s responsibility, but buyers should have counsel review the agency’s findings before closing.