Deukmejian Kills Plan to Sell Land

In a setback for Hawthorne officials and residents, Gov. George Deukmejian has cut from the state’s $49.3-billion budget a provision requiring the California Department of Transportation to sell the city two parcels of property for $200,000.

Caltrans, which claims that the properties are worth at least $3.3 million, opposes the sale.

Provisions of the sale were set forth in a bill approved in June. The bill, by Assemblyman Richard E. Floyd (D-Hawthorne), is to go before the state Senate Transportation Committee on Tuesday.

The requirement that Caltrans sell the properties for $200,000 was contained in the proposed state budget submitted to the governor in late June. In a memo listing his cuts from the proposed budget, Deukmejian said Friday that sale of the properties at below-market value would not be in the state’s interest.

Residents of the affluent Holly Glen area of Hawthorne have urged the city to acquire for parkland the 4.7-acre parcel known as the “Glasgow Strip.” The narrow, mile-long property alongside the San Diego Freeway has been used as a dumping ground and become an eyesore and safety hazard, the Holly Glen Taxpayers Assn. says.