"The County Fairgrounds is an underutilized asset that is falling into a state of disrepair," said Kutras. "Proceeding with a development team will enable us to begin to understand how best to use the land."

Cattelus Development Team was selected by an independent panel and chosen in part because of its expertise in working with community stakeholders and officials to shape a shared vision for the use of properties, the release stated.

"I am supporting this action because if we wait and do nothing, we will not know the full potential of the property," said Board Chair Supervisor Pete McHugh.

Tuesday's decision means that the County will now begin discussions in earnest and negotiations with the intent of reaching an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement (ENA) with Cattelus. The ENA will spell out the terms and conditions under which the County and Catellus will move forward on the development. The ENA also would officially start Catellus on the City of San Jose's public outreach and entitlement processes, such as zoning, permits, and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements that are associated with the development of residential and commercial land which, if ultimately approved by the Board of Supervisors and the City, would be annexed to the City.

"This is a long-term process with many opportunities for public participation starting with a workshop here in the Board Chambers on the evening of October 22nd," said Supervisor Liz Kniss.

The county, city and Catellus will cooperate in an extensive public outreach process over the next 18 months that will help define the specific project to be recommended for approval. The Board of Supervisors will have several decision points as the project moves forward.

"The fairgrounds is a large parcel of land," said Supervisor Don Gage. "We should be able to accommodate many of the current uses."

The next public workshop will be held at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 22, in the Board Chambers, 70 W. Hedding Street, San Jose.

Key milestones (* indicates board of supervisors approval or action)

-Joint session of the board of supervisors and city council - Sept. 15, 2008*

-Recommended approval of ENA - October 2008*

-Evening board of supervisors workshop(s) - Fall 2008

-Refinement of board vision for fairgrounds development - Fall 2008*

-Multi-lingual Web site created to post to county Web site for progress reports - Fall 2008

-Meeting with city to kick off public outreach and entitlement processes - Fall 2008

-Recommended approval of term sheet with Catellus - Fall 2008*

-Recommended approval of disposition and development agreement with Catellus - Winter 2008-09*

-Recommended approval for county to file development application(s) with city - early 2009 *

-Land use workshops with the community - Winter/Spring 2009

-Discussion of draft land use plan by board and city council - Spring 2009

-City entitlement process - 2008-2010 (Includes CEQA, General Plan Amendment, Zoning, Planning Permits, Building Permits)

-Recommended approval of various ground leases and/or purchase and sale agreements - 2010-11*

-First phase of development begins - late 2011