Surplus City property for sale... or is it?

Just quickly...

If you want to know what happens to surplus City property, here are some basics:

In the City, the "owner" (the department that claims use of the parcel/structure) of the land (be it the LAFD, Library Dept, Public Works, etc.) has the first right to use it for another facility, office space, storage, etc. if they relocate the existing use to another site. If that department deems it surplus, it is then offered to other departments. The other department would then "purchase" the site by using funds allocated to them and transfer those funds back to the original “owner” of the site. Now, these purchases are all theoretical, as the City still owns the land; but what this does do is allow for different sources of funds (i.e. bond funds) to be used to "acquire" property.

In recent years, there has been a policy to give first priority of surplus land to CRA, the housing department, and other agencies to create affordable housing. (Those agencies can then convey the land to developers - sometimes for less.)

Now, if no department in the city wants/can use the property, it is declared surplus and sent to auction. This doesn't happen all that often, as the City Council usually finds pet uses for the properties as community centers, non-profits, etc. A good example is the Canoga Park Community Center, which is the old fire station (whereas Engine Co. 28 downtown is a surplus property example).

[from my comments based on this CurbedLA post.]