The Lompoc City Council has again extended its negotiation deadline with Pale Blue Dot for the proposed transfer of city-owned land for a space-themed entertainment and education center.
“The City and Pale Blue Dot are currently in the middle of negotiating a (Disposition and Development Agreement), and have made good progress,” according to a staff report by City Attorney Jeff Malawy.
The DDA agreement governs the potential development and eventual sale of 82 acres of city-owned property including and adjacent to Ken Adam Park, Malawy said.
Since 2019, the city has agreed to negotiate exclusively with Pale Blue Dot providing it meet certain requirements including: raise $750,000 in seed money, $500,000 of which had to be in cash; provide a concept and feasibility study from economic and business standpoints; and provide an experience design plan.
As proposed, the center would include theme park attractions, offices and a hotel. Pale Blue Dot CEO Steven Franck said it would bring 65,000 area school-age children for STEM field trips as well as 5,000 to 10,000 for overnight space-related camps. In addition, Franck said the development would bring 400 jobs to support the $40 million business which could also boost stays in area overnight accommodations.
Franck estimates the project would support an increase of $4 million to $6 million in transient occupancy tax.
“We think we’ve got a pretty unique idea. It’s uniquely positioned here because we can see Vandenberg’s launches," Franck said.
Franck said the land was granted to the city in 1993 for development of a space-focused museum. The land already has various deed restrictions which the project has been designed around.
But council members on Tuesday continued expressing reservations about the project.
“It’s a very, very hard decision to make whether 83 acres of land that belongs to the residents of Lompoc should be contracted or deeded over to a developer to a project that could potentially not be feasible. … I get the idea. I get the imagination. I get the vision. What I’m not getting is the financial figures,” said Council Member Gilda Cordova.
In other action, the council authorized the expenditure of $203,300 for installation of 38 Flock camera license plate readers throughout the city in partnership with Santa Barbara County Housing Authority. The agreement includes the initial two-year contract with Flock, and calls for automatic renewals at the rate of $95,000 for each subsequent two-year contract.
The Housing Authority will reimburse the city for the expenditure.
According to a staff report by Lompoc Police Department Capt. Allen Chisholm provided at the March 21 council meeting, the solar-powered readers operate around the clock photographing the backs of vehicles as they drive by camera locations. The cameras do not and cannot be used as facial recognition.
Images may be shared with other law enforcement agencies such as Santa Maria Police Department which also utilizes the system. Such agencies may search the data and upload alerts for vehicles. Alerts sometimes include: stolen vehicles, stolen license plates, wanted subject vehicles, missing persons’ vehicles, and abducted persons’ vehicles.
The council also declared nearly 300 properties within city limits “public nuisances by virtue of weed growth or by the accumulation of rubbish, refuse and dirt.” The city set May 16 as the public hearing date to hear objections to the proposed weed removal which, if performed by the city, could potentially be billed to property owners.
In addition, the council voted 3-2 to appoint Ron Fink to serve on the Planning Commission through December 2024. Council members Victor Vega and Dirk Starbuck cast the dissenting votes.
And the council approved spending plans for $506,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds it is set to received. The lion’s share would go to ongoing accessibility improvements to city parks.
Other expenditures include $15,000 to the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County to support a fair housing program; $20,000 to Catholic Charities; $17,163 to city recreation community programs; $23,730 to Good Samaritan Shelter; and $15,000 to North County Rape Crisis & Child Protection Center.
