Arroyo Grande will soon put three residential lots up for sale.

The Arroyo Grande City Council on Tuesday voted 4-0 to move ahead with the process to sell three city-owned properties located on Old Ranch Road. Council member Caren Ray was absent.

Revenue from a sale would help pay for construction of a new station at West Branch Street and Old Ranch Road, or to upgrade and expand or demolish and replace the current station on North Halcyon Road.

City Manager Steve Adams hopes the sale of three residential lots, which are each about 10,000 square feet, will generate $640,000, he wrote in a staff report to council members. That estimate is based on an appraisal and discussions with local real estate agents.

The city will now solicit applications from real estate agents and form a three-member selection committee, which will include the city’s community development director, a planning commissioner, and a City Council member.

The council unanimously appointed Ray to the committee, though council member Tim Brown said he would be willing to serve as a backup member if Ray (who was absent Tuesday) wasn’t able to serve on it.

City officials maintain the current station at 200 N. Halcyon Road is rundown and inadequate for the department staff.

A new station would allow the department to expand its dispatch center, add an emergency operations center, provide adequate space to store evidence and house computer equipment, and move a few detectives out of their current workspace — a free FEMA trailer acquired in 2003.