TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Ryan J. Alsop, County Executive Officer
REPORT BY: Becky Craig, Assistant County Executive Officer
SUBJECT: Purchase Skyline Wilderness Park Property
RECOMMENDATION
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Adopt a Resolution of Intent to purchase approximately 874 acres of land commonly known as the Skyline Wilderness Park property from the State of California. (Fiscal Impact: $7.2 million; Capital Improvement Fund; Budgeted; Discretionary)
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BACKGROUND
The County maintains a fifty-year ground lease with the Napa State Hospital ("NSH") for Skyline Wilderness Park ("Skyline" or "Park"). The lease provides residents and visitors access to this regional park until February 2030. The County indicated its interest to purchase the Park and State legislation allowed for this exploration with SB 20 in 2019 championed by Senator Dodd. Approximately eighty acres operated as Camp Coombs was excluded from the authorization. The County contacted the California Department of General Services ("DGS") periodically to initiate sale discussions with the most recent one commencing in late 2021.
DGS hired consultants to prepare an appraisal and phase one environmental report in 2022. The County dedicated fund reserves for future acquisition in late 2022 and hired a surveyor in 2023 to prepare the legal description. DGS drafted the Purchase Sale Agreement ("PSA") in spring 2024.
NSH discontinued operations of Camp Coombs and deemed the land surplus. Senator Dodd again successfully championed the County's interest with SB 958 in 2024 to authorize sale of the excluded acreage. Determining the legal description for a second PSA is in process.
The attached PSA transfers ownership of Skyline Wilderness Park from the State to the County sans Camp Coombs, including water rights and responsibilities. The County will assume Camille Creek monitoring per a mitigation plan and dam monitoring on man-made lakes, both previous obligations of NSH. Staff anticipate annual monitoring expenses ...
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