ANAHEIM, Calif.—The Anaheim City Council is expected to consider a settlement on April 26 with the state to allocate nearly $124 million for new, affordable housing.
The agreement would allow the sale of Angel Stadium to move forward with Angels baseball team owner Arte Moreno’s business partnership.
The deal would require Anaheim to deposit about $96 million from the stadium sale into a local housing trust fund for new, affordable housing construction to be used in the next five years.
The city would also commit to allowing nearly $28 million for the construction of up to 466 rental units on land at the stadium for very low-and low-income households.
In all, the settlement would result in 1,000 new, affordable homes, the attorney general’s office said April 25, in a statement.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta urged the City of Anaheim to approve the proposed agreement to settle an alleged Surplus Land Act violation brought against the city regarding the sale of the 150-acre stadium property.
The state’s Department of Housing and Community Development claimed the city violated the act that requires sellers first offer to sell land to developers and set aside at least 80 percent for housing, with 40 percent for affordable housing units, among other zoning and public notification requirements.
The city disputed the violation and does not accept fault in the settlement.
Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu said the city council welcomed the proposed agreement.
“On behalf of Anaheim, I extend our appreciation to California for working with us to find a path forward,” Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu said in a separate statement. “I welcome the opportunity to consider this agreement with my City Council colleagues.”
The stadium’s sell price would remain the same under the settlement, according to the city.
However, Moreno’s company, SRB Management, would make a cash payment of $246 million for the $320 million property.
As part of the sale, the city would receive $148.7 million with $95.9 million in new cash for the city’s affordable housing fund, $46.2 million for a 7-acre park, $27.7 million for affordable apartments at the stadium site, and $1.2 million for maintenance around the Stadium Gateway offices overseen by the city.
The settlement is part of a wider state effort to address California’s housing crisis, according to the attorney general’s office.
“California is facing a housing crisis of epic proportions and it’s going to take all of us, working together to solve it,” Bonta said in a press release.
The settlement would allow escrow to close on the stadium property which includes a surrounding parking lot and a concert venue. The sale could close before the end of the year, according to the city.
The sale was first approved in December 2019 and updated in 2020 along with a development agreement.
If approved, the settlement creates the largest single investment in affordable housing in Anaheim’s history, the city said.
