City?of?Moorpark?v.?Moorpark?Unified?School?Dist.?(1991)?54?Cal.3d?921?,?1?Cal.Rptr.2d?896;?819?P.2d?854 [No.?S019591.?Dec?5,?1991.] CITY?OF?MOORPARK,?Plaintiff?and?Respondent,?v.?MOORPARK?UNIFIED?SCHOOL?DISTRICT?et?al.,?Defendants?and?Appellants. (Superior?Court?of?Ventura?County,?No.?106606,?Bruce?A.?Thompson,?Judge.) (Opinion?by?Lucas,?C.?J.,?expressing?the?unanimous?view?of?the?court.) COUNSEL Bergman?&?Wedner,?Gregory?M.?Bergman,?Richard?V.?Godino?and?Robert?M.?Mason?III?for?Defendants?and?Appellants.?[54?Cal.3d?923] Bowie,?Arneson,?Kadi?&?Dixon,?Carol?J.?Graham,?Wendy?H.?Wiles,?Ronald?D.?Wenkart,?Claire?Y.?Morey,?Geraldine?Jaffe?and?Val?R.?Fadely?as?Amici?Curiae?on?behalf?of?Defendants?and?Appellants. Cheryl?J.?Kane,?City?Attorney,?Burke,?Williams?&?Sorenson,?Lisa?E.?Kranitz?and?Peter?D.?Tremblay?for?Plaintiff?and?Respondent. Stephanie?Scher,?City?Attorney?(La?Canada-Flintridge),?Brown,?Winfield?&?Canzoneri?and?Virginia?R.?Pesola?as?Amici?Curiae?on?behalf?of?Plaintiff?and?Respondent. OPINION LUCAS,?C.?J. In?this?case?we?construe?for?the?first?time?the?Naylor?Act?(Ed.?Code,????39390-39404;fn.?1hereafter?the?Act),?which?governs?the?disposal?of?certain?kinds?of?surplus?school?property.?The?City?of?Moorpark?(hereafter?City)?petitioned?the?superior?court?for?a?writ?of?mandate?to?compel?the?Moorpark?Unified?School?District?(hereafter?District)?to?transfer?school?property,?pursuant?to?the?Act.?After?the?court?granted?the?petition,?District?appealed.?The?Court?of?Appeal,?affirming?the?superior?court,?concluded?that?the?Act's?provisions?regarding?surplus?school?property?displaced?the?common?law?of?contracts,?that?a?binding?contract?for?sale?had?been?made?under?the?Act,?and?that?District?acted?capriciously?when?it?purported?to?exempt?the?school?site?from?the?Act.?We?reverse?the?Court?of?Appeal's?decision. The?Act In?the?preamble?to?the?Act,?the?Legislature?expressed?its?concern?"that?school?playgrounds,?playing?fields?and?recreational?real?property?will?be?lost?for?such?uses?by?the?surrounding?communities?even?where?those?communities?in?their?planning?process?have?assumed?that?such?properties?would?be?permanently?available?for?recreational?purposes."?(??39390.)?The?Legislature?explicitly?stated?its?intention?"to?allow?school?districts?to?recover?their?investment?in?such?surplus?property?while?making?it?possible?for?other?agencies?of?government?to?acquire?the?property?and?keep?it?available?for?playground,?playing?field?or?other?outdoor?recreational?and?open-space?purposes."?(Ibid.)?The?net?effect?of?the?Act?is?to?make?surplus?school?property?available?to?local?communities?at?less?than?present?market?value,?[54?Cal.3d?924]?while?assuring?that?participating?school?districts?recover?at?least?the?cost?of?acquiring?the?property. The?Act?applies?when?a?school?district?determines?to?sell?or?lease?a?school?site,?if?three?conditions?are?met:?(1)?All?or?part?of?the?school?site?consists?of?land?used?for?school?playground,?playing?field,?or?other?outdoor?recreational?purposes,?and?open-space?land?particularly?suited?for?recreational?purposes;?(2)?the?land?has?been?used?for?at?least?one?of?the?foregoing?purposes?for?at?least?eight?years?immediately?preceding?the?decision?to?sell?or?lease?the?site;?and?(3)?the?public?entity?proposing?to?purchase?or?lease?the?land?determines?that?no?other?public?land?in?the?vicinity?of?the?site?is?adequate?to?meet?community?needs?for?playground,?playing?field?or?other?outdoor?recreational?and?open-space?purposes.?(??39391.) Before?a?public?agency?may?purchase?property?pursuant?to?the?Act,?it?must?adopt?a?plan?that?designates?the?areas?of?the?school?site?the?agency?does?and?does?not?desire.?(??39397.5.) Once?a?school?district?decides?to?sell?or?lease?a?school?site?containing?land?described?in?section?39391,?the?sale?or?lease?of?such?land?must?be?in?accordance?with?the?Act.?(??39393.)?A?district?may?retain?any?part?of?a?school?site?containing?buildings?along?with?adjacent?land?sufficient?to?avoid?reducing?the?value?of?the?part?of?the?school?site?containing?the?building?to?less?than?50?percent?of?fair?market?value.?(??39395.)?Before?a?district?sells?or?leases?a?school?site?containing?section?39391?land,?the?district?must?first?offer?to?sell?or?lease?the?portion?of?the?school?site?containing?section?39391?land,?excluding?retained?land,?to?a?variety?of?public?agencies?according?to?the?priority?established?by?the?Act.?(??39394.)?The?district?has?"discretion?to?determine?whether?the?offer?shall?be?an?offer?to?sell?or?an?offer?to?lease."?(Ibid.) The?Act?provides?that?the?sales?price?for?section?39391?land?shall?not?exceed?the?district's?cost?of?acquisition?with?certain?adjustments?for?inflation?and?improvements.?In?addition?to?this?maximum?price,?the?Act?establishes?a?price?floor?of?either?25?percent?of?fair?market?value?or?an?amount?related?to?bonded?indebtedness.?(??39396,?subd.?(a).)?Likewise,?the?Act?sets?a?maximum?annual?lease?rate.?(??39396,?subd.?(c).)?A?district?that?offers?a?portion?of?a?school?site?for?sale?may?do?so?at?fair?market?value,?provided?the?district?"offers?an?equivalent?size?alternative?portion?of?that?school?site?for?school?playground,?playing?field,?or?other?recreational?and?open-space?purposes."?(??39396,?subd.?(b).) Section?39402?provides?that?a?school?district?may,?as?an?alternative?to?a?sale?or?a?lease?pursuant?to?other?provisions?of?the?Act,?enter?into?other?[54?Cal.3d?925]?agreements?to?dispose?of?the?land,?such?as?a?lease?purchase.?If?the?lessee?or?grantee?has?zoning?powers,?the?alternative?agreement?may?require?the?entity?to?rezone?any?portion?of?the?school?site?retained?by?the?district.?(??39402.)…