Cal Surplus Land · California Surplus Land Act compliance

Surplus Land Act paperwork and public inventory for California cities and counties

Every California city and county must inventory land it no longer needs for agency use and report it to HCD every year — Gov. Code §54220-54233, filed as “Table H” of the Housing Element Annual Progress Report, due April 1. When an agency actually disposes of surplus land, a separate set of notices, waiting periods and HCD filings applies. We handle both: the annual reporting service, and the one-time paperwork for a specific disposition.

The enforcement is real

The California Attorney General obtained a $96 million stipulated judgment against the City of Anaheim in 2022 over a Surplus Land Act violation tied to the Angel Stadium sale — 30% of the sale price, 50% on a repeat violation. HCD has since issued formal Notices of Violation to San Bernardino (2023), Moreno Valley (2023) and Ontario (2025). Our own read of HCD’s published Table H data found 17 jurisdictions, including Anaheim, with a blank or placeholder address on a filed surplus-land row — see the full filing-quality findings.

What we do, and what it costs

Annual compliance service

$1,950 setup + $3,600/year · year one all-in $5,550, renews at $3,600/year

We clean up and prepare your Table H filing each April 1, publish a public surplus-land inventory for your agency, and flag parcels headed toward disposal so the disposition clock never catches your staff by surprise. Your staff and counsel review everything we draft before it goes to HCD or goes public — we prepare documents, we do not give legal advice.

Per-disposition packet

$2,500 per parcel, one-time

When your agency is actually disposing of a specific parcel, we draft the resolution, the Notice of Availability and HCD developer-list mailing, track the 60/90-day response clock, and draft the HCD pre-sale report. Your council adopts and sends it; your city attorney reviews it; we do the drafting.

Both prices sit under the informal-purchasing threshold most agencies use, but purchasing rules vary by agency — tell us which purchasing route yours needs and we will fit the engagement to it. Card, ACH, purchase order, or annual invoice all work.

Also: who’s posting the preapproved ADU plans state law requires?

Separately from the Surplus Land Act, California’s AB 1332 (Carrillo), Chapter 759, Statutes of 2023 required every local agency to run a preapproval program for accessory dwelling unit plans and post them online. We track statewide compliance and build agencies’ program pages on the same terms ($1,950 setup + $3,600/year, year one all-in $5,550). See the statewide tracker and the catalog of plans already posted, which any agency can adopt under § 65852.27(a)(5).

Who this is for

Community-development, real-property and planning staff at California cities and counties — especially agencies where one person carries the whole Surplus Land Act file alongside everything else they do. Write to ryan@civicdataworks.com and tell us what you’re working on; we will tell you plainly whether we can help and what it costs.

Built and run by Ryan Heger, Simple Apps, LLC.