CHP gets OK to move headquarters
By Daniel Macht of Capitol Weekly
May 30th, 2007
A bill to make it easier for the California Highway Patrol to relocate its headquarters to West Sacramento cleared the State Senate by unanimous consent, Tuesday, and is headed to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk for signature.
The bill, AB 443, is authored by Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Yolo, at the behest of the CHP. If signed, it will allow the CHP to relocate its Broadway headquarters and four administrative offices under one roof within 20 miles from Sacramento proper, at an undetermined site. In a 2002 study, the Department of General Services Real Estate Division identified four out of six proposed locations in West Sacramento as relocation alternatives for CHP's headquarters.
Fran Clader, a spokeswoman for CHP, said the next step is for the Department of General Services to prepare a request for a formal proposal. "We haven't gotten down to negotiation, lease … or building yet," Clader said.
Current law restricts the CHP, which absorbed the role of California State Police in 1995, from moving out of Sacramento. The law was written in 1959, to stop the CHP's commissioner at the time from taking flight to Los Angeles.
But Wolk said the agency hasn't been able to find a suitable location these days within Sacramento city limits. "West Sacramento is actually closer to downtown than many of the suburbs," Wolk said. She added that the CHP already has their academy located on the other side of the Tower Bridge, and that she consulted with Senator Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, on the legislation.
The California State Teachers Retirement System is set to move into its new West Sacramento facility soon, said Val Toppenberg, redevelopment director for West Sacramento. The new CalSTRS building is the latest example -- since the 400,000 square foot Ziggurat building that houses the Department of General Services' offices, and the CHP's academy -- of large state agencies moving to West Sacramento. Toppenberg said that he is working with developers to support them in bringing more state offices to West Sacramento.
Clader said moving to a new headquarters will affect 900 employees, some of whom have had to make due working in small conference and storage rooms.
The protective services division of CHP -- which provides protection for the governor, state buildings and some constitutional officers -- will remain on 9th Street, Clader said. But she said the state stands to benefit by having the CHP's administrative officers, enforcement services, information services, and the office of air operations all in one building.
"The consolidation will help with communication," Clader said. "It will enhance efficiency, save money, and improve coordination and response during emergencies."
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