HomeMy WebLinkAbout12.02.2002• •
COUNCIL WORK SESSION
December 2, 2002
3:00 p.m.
Council Chambers
Members present: Berry, Welper, Greenwood, Clark, Jordan, Hurley, Getty.
Moved by Jordan, seconded by Hurley that the Agenda, as proposed, be approved. Ayes: Seven.
Motion carried.
Noel Anderson, Assistant City Planner, reviewed the current policy for sale and conveyance of
city -owned land. In September 2001, the policy was discussed and the consensus was that the
city needed to set a policy for the price of land. The discussion included:
1. Use the assessed value of the land. If none is assigned, use the price per square foot
of abutting property (land value only).
2. If they buyer does not agree with the price have the land appraised.
3. If an easement would need to be retained on the property, the price per square foot of
easement could be lowered without an appraisal.
4. The offer amount would be lowered for development purpose by figuring the taxes to
be paid on the land for a proposed development. The goal would be to repay the
difference within five years.
At that time, it was decided to abide by the policy but also look at each request on a case -by case
basis as a wide variety of circumstances and development deserve different evaluations. The
Planning, Programming and Zoning Commission decided to not consider sale price in their
recommendations, but only to review each case or land use analysis.
Councilperson Jordan stated he feels the city needs to be more aggressive with incentives, and
that we are so hung up on appraised value. The city needs to sell these properties and get them
on the tax roll. Councilperson Jordan stated he feels we are sending the wrong message to
builders. Councilperson Getty stated he agrees with Councilperson Jordan, but the city needs to
know what the buyers are going to do with the property.
Councilperson Hurley stated if we look at the sale of property on a case -by -case basis, do we
really have a policy. Councilperson Hurley stated he feels we need to discuss what is the goal of
the policy, does the city want to own land, be speculators or get the property back on the tax roll.
The council reviewed the following staff recommendation:
1. That the price per square foot determination, based on the average price per square
foot of assessed land value of abutting property, be the selling price unless the
applicant pays to have an appraisal performed to show otherwise.
2. That the Council will stand by this policy unless the vacation request is directly tied
to a redevelopment project and that such project will repay the difference in the
selling price and determined price upon its completion within a five year period.
Councilperson Clark stated he agrees with Councilperson Jordan that the city should not be in the
real estate business. The city should identify every piece of city -owned property, go through the
bidding process, and award the sale of the property to the highest bidder, along with the
stipulation that the buyer must develop the property within 24 months.
Don Temeyer, City Planner, stated that the toughest part of economic development is acquiring
land for the business to develop. The city has to be careful not to just sell its land, but we need to
make sure the buyer is going to develop the property. Mr. Temeyer stated that most of the
parcels the city owns are not buildable.
Councilperson Berry asked why non-profit organization are required to pay the full assessed
value, and Mr. Temeyer responded that non -profits are not required to pay taxes so the city tries
to recoup that loss through the sale of the land.
Council Work Session
December 2, 2002
Page 2
Councilperson Hurley asked if there is anywhere in the Iowa Code that says cities cannot give
land to non -profits. Mr. Temeyer responded that cities are required to identify the public purpose
for the sale.
Councilperson Welper stated that when the city buys property we have the property appraised
and pay the appraised value and asked why wouldn't we ask for the appraised value when selling
city property.
Another work session will be held on December 9, 2002 to further discuss the policy.
With no further business before the council, it was moved by Jordan, seconded by Clark that the
meeting be adjourned at 3:31 p.m. Ayes: Seven. Motion carried.
Nancy Eckert
City Clerk
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