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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPOL-026-23 Municipal Land - Sales, Leasing, Permits COUNTY OF NEWELL - POLICY HANDBOOK POLICY NO: POL-026-23 TITLE: MUNICIPAL LAND – SALES, LEASING, PERMITS ADOPTED: September 21, 2023 (C-303/23) SUPERCEDES NO: 2012-PAD-064 PAGE NO: 1 of 3 POLICY PURPOSE: The purpose of this policy is to provide consistent guidelines and outline the process for the sale of County-owned property, or tax recovery property to which the County has acquired the title, or is able to acquire the title, through the tax recovery process. _______ POLICY GUIDELINES: Property owned by the County of Newell may be sold at the discretion of County Council. Offers to purchase County property must be provided in writing by the potential purchaser. Council will consider offers to purchase property as offers are received. Municipally owned land shall be categorized as follows: 1. Tax Recovery Property 2. Municipal Reserve 3. Environmental Reserve 4. Other County-owned Property Tax Recovery Property A tax recovery property is one that has been acquired by the County for non-payment of taxes through the process outlined in the Municipal Government Act (Division 8). Disposal of a property acquired through tax recovery shall be in accordance with Section 425(1) of the Municipal Government Act and this policy. Municipal Reserve (MR) A Municipal Reserve parcel may also be known as Reserve or Community Reserve and is indicated by MR on a map or subdivision plan. Designation of MR land is regulated under Section 665 of the Municipal Government Act. Municipal Reserve is land that is provided to the municipality as part of a subdivision development and may only be used for public parks, public recreation areas, school authority purposes, or as a buffer between areas of land that are used for different purposes. MR parcels may be sold by following the requirements of Sections 674 and 675 of the Municipal Government Act. All proceeds arising from the sale of the property may only be used for one or more of the following purposes:  A public park  A public recreation area  For school authority purposes POL-026-23 MUNICIPAL LAND – SALES, LEASING, PERMITS Page 2 of 3 Environmental Reserve (ER) An Environmental Reserve parcel is indicated by ER on a map or subdivision plan. Designation of ER land is regulated under Section 664 of the Municipal Government Act. Environmental Reserve is land that is required to be set aside from development because it is deemed to be environmentally significant. Land provided for ER may include wetlands or natural drainage courses, areas that are subject to flooding or are unstable, or land for a buffer strip along the shore of a lake, river, stream or other body of water. Environmental Reserve lands cannot be provided as part of the Municipal Reserve dedication. Under Section 671(1) of the Municipal Government Act, ER parcels may not be sold, but must remain in a natural state or be used as a public park. However, an ER parcel may be leased for a term of not more than 3 years, in accordance with Section 676(1) of the Municipal Government Act. Other County-owned Property Any other County-owned property that does not fall under one of the above categories may be sold at Council’s discretion in accordance with this policy. Identifying Land for Disposal or Lease Administration shall complete a review of County Owned property on a cycle that coincides with the Municipal Election process. The results of that process will be presented to County Council. The outcome of the review may identify property that is deemed surplus to the future needs of the County and disposed of in accordance with this policy. Alternatively, the review process may result in land being identified as property that should be retained but could be offered for lease or made available for short term non-exclusive use through the issuance of a permit. Terms of Sale Land deemed suitable for disposal may be: 1. offered for sale through an open public tender process with a reserve bid, 2. openly advertised as being available for purchase at a set price, or 3. sold through an unsolicited offer to purchase where the value is determined through a negotiated agreement. The selling price of the property or the reserve bid amount for property offered for sale by tender or open to offers to purchase, shall be determined using a calculation that objectively estimates the fair market value of the property. Values may be provided by the County Assessor, or by an accredited Appraiser. If both are used, the lower price shall be used as fair market value. Subject to Section 70 of the MGA, property owned by the County may not be sold for less than fair market value. The sale of County property may be subject to any terms and conditions that Council directs, including a requirement that the purchaser enter into a development agreement for servicing or other property related matters. POL-026-23 MUNICIPAL LAND – SALES, LEASING, PERMITS Page 3 of 3 Offers must be submitted in writing. All offers to purchase are subject to final approval by County Council. Payment in full must be received before transfer of title to the purchaser, unless other terms have been approved by Council. TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR LEASE OF COUNTY OWNED PROPERTY (excluding road allowances) Unless otherwise directed by Council, the County shall use an open competitive process for establishing lease rates and granting leases. The length of the initial lease term will be set in advance of inviting tenders for leasing. Up to two (2) lease extensions may be granted before an open public tender process must be carried out for the issuance of a new lease. In situations where the open competitive process fails to generate a lease tender and the County receives a subsequent expression of interest, the lease rate that applies shall be those established in the County of Newell Schedule of Fees Bylaw, or other negotiated lease rate which has been reviewed with and approved by Council. Leases are to be paid in advance of the lease holder occupying the property. PERMITS In some circumstances, interest may be received from parties who wish to enter into a short term (less than one year) permit agreement. Permits of this nature may be issued by Administration and are subject to the payment of fees set in the County of Newell Schedule of Fees Bylaw.