Politics & Government
Former Lemon Grove Maintenance Property to Become Park
The county will sell the three-acre La Mesa property once used as the Lemon Grove Maintenance Station. It was then used only as a temporary construction staging area, county officials said.
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors Tuesday unanimously approved the sale of three acres of surplus land, formerly used as a maintenance station then a construction staging area, to the city of La Mesa for future use as a park.
Supervisor Dianne Jacob said selling the parcel at Waite Drive and Murray Hill Road in La Mesa was good news for both the county and La Mesa.
"The city and the county both agreed a long time ago that we'd like for this small piece of property to be able to be utilized as a park, so the city has wanted it for a long time," Jacob said. "Hopefully now the youth and the adults in the community will be as excited as I am to finally see the sale go through, and for the city of La Mesa to be able to build a park there for the people in the area."
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The county acquired the property in 1915 for the Department of Public Works to use as the Lemon Grove Maintenance Station, which was closed 17 years ago. It was then used only as a temporary construction staging area, county officials said.
Underground storage tanks were removed and soil contamination was discovered when the road station closed, but cleanup work was completed and the site was monitored semi-annually. The county Department of Environmental Health completed the site review and closed its case file in December 2011, according to the county.
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An independent appraisal recently assessed the property's current market value at $650,000, and earlier this month, the La Mesa City Council approved the purchase for a neighborhood park.
The sale's net proceeds will go toward the Department of Public Works Road Fund, county officials said.