Space Base California took one huge step forward following multiple actions by the Lompoc City Council on Tuesday night, but the ambitious project has many huge hurdles to clear, and years, before becoming reality.

Pale Blue Dot Ventures LLC has proposed creating a space-themed entertainment and education facility in Lompoc where the City Council narrowly approved a development and disposition agreement by a 3-2 vote. 

The project has been proposed for an 82-acre site now home to Ken Adam Park, near the Allan Hancock College Lompoc Valley Center.

A proposal to convert a public park into a for-project project will require voter approval, leading to a separate decision to place a measure on the Nov. 5 ballot.

The actions Tuesday night came five years after the city and Pale Blue Dot entered into an exclusive negotiating agreement, with the organization meeting several requirements in that pact.

While one faction of the Lompoc Valley remains excited about the project, others have expressed skepticism whether the ambitious project can succeed.

Councilmember Jeremy Ball said he doesn’t discount the risk associated with the project, but sees the potential for attracting tourists.

“I personally feel that we’ve mitigated some of the risk,” Ball said. “I will respectfully disagree with some of you who don’t want to see this here, but that’s OK too. We can disagree on that.”

He views the project as beneficial for the city’s economic growth, he added.

“This is a big opportunity and it does come with risk,” he said, adding he may have a Pollyanna view.  “I’m hopeful, but I do feel like the city has mitigated its risks on this and that’s why I’m in full support of it.”

Saying she has been “savagely attacked” by community members for asking questions previously, Councilmember Gilda Cordova noted her role on the panel requires conducting due diligence and fiduciary responsibility before handing over city-owned land to a private developer. 

“I do not believe that Pale Blue Dot or anybody for that matter could go in the real world and negotiate a land lease without disclosing their ownership structure, without disclosing their financial statements for 55 years, without saying in the event you fall short who do we come after,” she said. 

While the land might revert to the city due to restrictions placed when the military initially handed it over to the Lompoc, Cordova said the land could be full of liens if the venture flopped.

The council voted 3-2 to approve the development and disposition agreement with Ball plus Councilmembers Dirk Starbuck and Victor Vega in favor. Cordova and Mayor Jenelle Osborne voted against the pact. 

Project Still Has Long Way to Go

Before the vote, City Attorney Jeff Malawy spelled out terms of the nine new thresholds before construction can start and the land can be purchased from the city.

“Until they complete these nine items…the city is going to continue operating Ken Adam Park exactly like it operates right now,” Malawy said. 

Milestones include completing an environmental impact report, getting voters’ approval for the park land’s new use, submitting applications to the city Planning Department, getting approvals from the Planning Commission and City Council, submitting an initial financing plan and providing written commitments for all construction financing. 

“When you add up all of these time periods…it basically is six to seven years that Pale Blue Dot has to get all of that done after this agreement is executed,” Malawy said, adding the option to purchase the land could come after meeting the milestones.

Construction must begin within 1 year after meeting the nine milestones and be completed 5 years after starting.

During the lease period, which could span 55 years, Pale Blue Dot will pay the city $20,000 annually, with an option to purchase the land for $1.15 million within five years or $3 million between 5-10 years, according to some of the terms in the lengthy document.

Steven Franck, founder and chief executive officer of Pale Blue Dot, said the $135 million  project would add 350 new jobs, create a $40 million business and generate $4 million to $6 million to city tax proceeds while attracting 300,000 to 335,000 visitors each year. 

“It will really change the profile of the city,” Franck said.

So far they’ve raised $1.3 million for the project estimated at $135 million. 

November Ballot Measure in the Works

The council also voted 4-1 to place a measure on the Nov. 5 ballot so voters can decide whether to discontinue the public park. The mayor was the lone opponent.

Specifically, voters will answer yes or no to the question “Shall the measure, known as the KEN ADAM PARK MEASURE, which would discontinue the public park use of the 82-acre parcel containing Ken Adam Park in order to allow other educational and recreational uses or other open space uses, or both, to be considered for establishment on the parcel, including a possible sale to Pale Blue Dot Ventures Inc. for a proposed space-themed educational and recreational development, be adopted?”

In addition to the City Council measure, Pale Blue Dot Ventures has circulated a petition to place a similar measure on the ballot. If both proposals proceed, the council could hold a meeting in June to decide whether to drop the city measure, the city attorney said.

Election officials will assign a letter name to the measure or measures later this summer.