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HomeMy WebLinkAbout100-11Policy 100-11 p. 1 D City of C 0, "J POLICY & PROCEDURE Subject: Index: Administration PROCEDURE FOR ACQUISITION OF Number: 100-11 REAL PROPERTY Effective Date: Supersedes: Page:Staff Contact: Approved By: 11/24/2015 100-11 1 of4 Gregg Zimmerman 1.0 PURPOSE: To establish a procedure for the acquisition of real property and the procedure for filing of conveyancing documents and assigning responsibility for maintenance. 2.0 ORGANIZATIONS AFFECTED: All departments/divisions. 3.0 REFERENCES: RCW 65.08 RCW 8.12 RCW 8.26 WAC 468-100 23 CFR, Part 635, Subpart C 49 CFR Part 24 Local Agency Guidelines(LAG) Manual Section 25.11 Right-of-Way Manual M 26-01 Administrative Settlement Guidelines 4.0 POLICY: 4.1 Each department is responsible for following the procedure for acquisition of real property when that department generates the request to acquire real property. 4.2 All real property conveyances shall be prepared or reviewed by the City Attorney(unless otherwise arranged with the attorney). Any legislation necessary to authorize the acquisition of real property shall be prepared by the City Attorney. 4.3 The original conveyancing document shall be given to the City Clerk for filing,or if closed through formal escrow,the original conveyancing document must be forwarded to the City Clerk upon receipt. Policy 100-11 p.2 4.4 Except for routine acquisitions of easements, right-of-way or title incident to a City public works project previously funded and approved by the City Council, all acquisitions for real property must first be approved by the City Council with a budget authorization in the appropriate amount. The budgeted amount shall include any amounts necessary for relocation assistance as required by state or federal law. 4.5 All right-of-way acquired for projects with FHWA funding shall be done in accordance with the state Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Act(Ch. 8.26 RCW) and state regulations(Ch.468-100 WAC) and applicable federal regulations. 4.5.1 The City of Renton hereby adopts the following procedures to implement the above statutes and Washington Administrative Code. Renton shall be responsible for the real property acquisition and relocation activities on projects administered by Renton. To fulfill the above requirements Renton will acquire right-of-way in accordance with the policies set forth in the Right-of-Way Manual M 26-01 and Local Agency Guidelines. 4.5.2 Renton does not have the expertise and personnel capabilities to accomplish the functions of(A) program administration, (B) appraisal, (C) appraisal review, (D) acquisition, (E) relocation,or(F) property management, and will employ the services of WSDOT, another agency with approved procedures, or qualified consultants. When Renton contracts with a qualified consultant for any of the necessary functions,the consultant shall work closely with the WSDOT Local Agency Coordinator(LAC) and Local Programs to ensure all requirements are met. When Renton proposes to have a staff person negotiate who is not experienced in negotiation for Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)funded projects,the LAC must be given a reasonable opportunity to review all offers and supporting data before they are presented to the property owners. 4.5.3 Administrative settlements that exceed Fair Market Value (FMV) as established through the appraisal process, and in accordance with LAG Manual Section 25.11, Administrative Settlement guidelines, shall be documented and thoroughly justified, and shall be set forth in writing. Administrative settlements shall be subject to the following levels of approval authority:the acquisition consultant or agent shall be authorized to offer up to $1,000 above the FMV or up to 10%above the FMV, not to exceed $1,000,for any given acquisition. The City of Renton Public Works Administrator shall have the authority to make administrative settlements of up to 35,000 above FMV or up to 50%above the FMV,whichever is less. Administrative settlements in excess of the foregoing shall require the approval of the Mayor. Renton may submit a procedure different from the above, and it will be reviewed and approved by WSDOT if it provides sufficient information to determine value. 4.5.4 Administrative settlements that exceed Fair Market Value (FMV)as established through the appraisal process, and in accordance with LAG Manual Section 25.11, Administrative Settlement guidelines, shall be documented and thoroughly justified, and shall be set forth in writing. Administrative settlements shall be subject to the following levels of approval authority:the acquisition consultant or agent shall be authorized to offer up to$1,000 above the FMV or up to 10%above the FMV, not to Policy 100-11 p.3 exceed $1,000,for any given acquisition. The City of Renton Public Works Administrator shall have the authority to make administrative settlements of up to 35,000 above FMV or up to 50%above the FMV,whichever is less. Administrative settlements in excess of the foregoing shall require the approval of the Mayor. 4.5.5 All projects shall be available for review by FHWA and WSDOT at any time and all project documents shall be retained and available for inspection during the plan development, right-of-way and construction stages,and for a three-year period following acceptance of the projects by WSDOT. 4.5.6 Approval of Renton's above procedures by WSDOT may be rescinded at any time Renton is found to be in non-compliance with the regulations. The rescission may be applied to all or part of the functions approved. 5.0 DEFINITIONS 5.1 The term "conveyance" includes every written instrument by which any estate or interest in real property is created,transferred, mortgaged,or assigned or by which the title to any real property may be affected. 5.2 Condemnation is the use by the government of its eminent domain powers. 5.3 Eminent domain is the government's power to take private property for public use. 5.4 The term "real property" includes lands, tenements and hereditaments and chattels real and mortgage liens thereon except a leasehold for a term not exceeding two years. 6.0 PROCEDURE 6.1 Except for routine acquisitions of easements, right-of-way or title incident to a City public works project previously funded and approved by the City Council, requests for authorization to acquire real property shall be made to the City Council prior to any substantive steps being taken to acquire the real property. 6.2 No authorization to proceed to acquire real property shall be acted upon until there is a budget established in the appropriate amount to acquire the real property. 6.3 In those instances in which legislation is necessary to authorize acquisition of real property, such as the use of the power of eminent domain (condemnation), such legislation shall be prepared by the City Attorney and approved by the City Council prior to any substantive steps being taken to acquire the real property. 6.4 The department initiating the request to acquire real property shall assess the relocation assistance requirements of the project established by state and federal law including that sum within any budget request for the acquisition, and may request assistance from the City Attorney's office and any experts necessary to gauge and negotiate the appropriate amount of relocation assistance. 6.5 In eminent domain cases, a copy of any order of use and possession shall be forwarded to the City Clerk for inclusion in the official City files. If payment of money is necessary to acquire the order of use and possession, a request for payment shall be made to the Administrative Services Department with payment being from the budget provided for that acquisition. Policy 100-11 p.4 6.6 Any original conveyance document shall be provided to the City Clerk for filing, or if the transaction is closed through formal escrow,the original conveyance will be forwarded to the City Clerk upon receipt by the City Attorney or any City department. When the transaction is closed through formal escrow, a copy of the conveyance showing recording numbers shall be provided to the City Clerk. 6.7 A copy of the property excise tax form to be filed with the original conveyance shall be forwarded to the City Clerk. If the original of the conveyance was not forwarded to the City Clerk, notice of the recording number shall be provided as soon as available. 6.8 The originating department shall determine the use to which the property is to be put and which department has maintenance responsibility for the property. If the originating department cannot determine this information,the originating department shall call a meeting at which these issues will be determined. If those issues have not been fully determined by this meeting,the originating department shall forward the issue to the Mayor for final disposition. This information shall be kept in the City Clerk's file holding the original conveyance and entered in any City data base covering City-owned properties. 6.9 The City Clerk shall be provided with information on restrictions on the use of the property, restrictions on sale, and other restrictions, such as open space, covenants, reversionary language, etc. by the City Attorney and/or the originating department. The City Clerk shall keep this information with the Clerk's file holding the original conveyance and entered in any City data base concerning City-owned properties.