G. Real Estate Management

Transcription

1 G. Real Estate Management G.1) Introduction. When private landowners fail to pay real estate taxes on their property, the property forfeits to the State of Minnesota. Most management of tax-forfeited lands is entrusted to the respective County and regulated through State statute. The Itasca County Land Department performs real estate management activities on tax-forfeited lands (owned by the State of Minnesota) and direct county lands (owned directly by Itasca County), together referred to as County lands. Real estate activities include classification of County lands; sale of County lands, exchange of tax-forfeited lands; acquisition of natural resource lands; road, utility, and recreation trail easements across County lands; repurchase of tax-forfeited lands; and lease of County property. Real estate transaction processing is done largely through the Land Department s Real Estate Specialist and Real Estate Administrative Assistant, both housed in the Real Estate Office within Itasca County Courthouse. G.2) Land Classification. Minnesota State Law recognizes that the public s interest is best served by sale of some tax-forfeited lands and retention of other lands in public ownership. Minnesota Statute requires that tax-forfeited lands be classified as conservation or non-conservation lands. Each year Itasca County classifies newly forfeited parcels. Requests for reclassification are also reviewed. Under the current process, Itasca County s land classification committee recommends to the County Board a classification for each tract that is to be classified or re-classified. After reviewing the recommendations, the Itasca County Board sets the classifications. Although not required by State statute, Itasca County classifies its direct county lands as well to best serve Itasca County residents. The Land Classification Committee consists of the Itasca Board of Commissioners as voting members and the Land Commissioner as a non-voting ex-officio member. Prior to making classification recommendations, the Land Classification Committee solicits input from staff, and other agencies. Lands are classified as one of the following: Retain permanently (conservation): Retain provisionally (conservation): Exchange (conservation until exchanged): Dispose (non-conservation): These lands are not available for sale. These lands are retained until the necessary information is available to change their classification. These lands are retained for exchange for lands that meet the objectives of this policy. These lands are available for sale. 1. Classifications must be based upon the requirements stated in Minnesota statutes and criteria set forth in Minnesota Statute which states that: A. Classification shall consider: 1. Present use of adjacent lands 2. Productivity of soils ICLD - LMP Section II.G., page 1 of 7

2 3. Character of forest or other growth 4. Accessibility of lands to established roads, schools, and other public services 5. Their peculiar suitability or desirability for particular uses 6. Suitability of the forest resources on the land for multiple use, sustained yield management B. Classification must: 1. Encourage and foster a mode of land utilization that will facilitate the economical and adequate provision of transportation, roads, water supply, drainage, sanitation, education, and recreation. 2. Facilitate reduction of governmental expenditures. 3. Conserve and develop the natural resources 4. Foster and develop agriculture and other industries in the districts and places that best suit them. 2. To help determine land classifications, Itasca County uses the following goals from its interim land sale policy: A. Sustain a no net loss of tax-forfeited land dedicated as memorial forest. B. Retain and acquire long term permanent access to lakes or tax-forfeited land. C. Sell most urban property to encourage economic and residential development and to reduce liabilities common to owning urban land and buildings. D. Retain certain urban parcels with desirable features for natural areas or greenspace. E. Retain lands having known minerals or mineral potential and adjacent lands that would facilitate the actual mining operation. F. Retain lands having significant deposits of gravel. G. Pursue court ordered division of selected undivided interest lands. Ultimately, Itasca County wishes to create a land ownership pattern whereby natural resource lands tend to be consolidated as to land use and ownership in the case of large landowners, and encompass remote areas away from development. Conversely, residential and industrial development would be consolidated near public infrastructure and population centers. G.3) Repurchase of Newly Forfeited Lands. State Law allows prior owners to directly repurchase their forfeited property during the first year after forfeiture, subject to sufficient reasons allowed in statute, and at the discretion of the County Board. The cost of repurchase is the amount of the back taxes, penalties, interest, administration fees, and required closing costs. The Land Department generally encourages repurchase of newly forfeited lands that have significant improvements and lie within a residential area, especially when they are occupied at the time of forfeiture. G.4) Land Exchanges. State law allows exchange of tax-forfeited lands for private lands. Exchanges are limited to cases where the public would significantly benefit from the exchange. Examples of desirable private lands for Itasca County to acquire through exchange are vacant parcels located within a County memorial forest and adjoining other public lands. Remote lands best suited for natural resource management are especially desirable. Tax-forfeited lands ideal for exchange to private parties are parcels located in a residential area, surrounded by private lands, and near public services and population centers. State law prohibits exchange of tax-forfeited shoreland for private non-shoreland parcels. Appraised values of lands on each side of the exchange must be approximately equal. ICLD - LMP Section II.G., page 2 of 7

3 Itasca County typically identifies potential land exchanges through a request process. Private landowners that are interested in exchanging land with Itasca County are directed to the Land Department s Real Estate Office in the Itasca County Courthouse in Grand Rapids. There they are given an application form and land exchange information materials that explain Itasca County s land ownership goals, land exchange costs, and the land exchange process. On December 1 of each year, the Real Estate Specialist gathers all land exchange applications and prepares them for review by Itasca County s Land Classification Committee. After Classification Committee review, applicants are notified as to whether Itasca County is interested in pursuing their proposal. Land exchange proposals from successful applicants are processed as required by State statute. Processing includes title review of private lands, appraisal of both tax-forfeited and private lands, a public hearing, and final approval by the State Land Exchange Board. A typical land exchange takes 1-2 years from the time that the County Board approves the proposal. Itasca County completes about one land exchange per year. G.5) Land Sales. Minnesota statute allows Itasca County to sell tax-forfeited lands classified as nonconservation. Classifications are determined through Itasca County s land classification process (see Land Classification section). Lands classified as non-conservation may be sold as allowed in Minnesota Statute Chapter 282. Most parcels classified for sale are sold through public auction. Itasca County usually holds one land auction sale each year where parcels are sold through oral auction at the County Courthouse. Parcels that are too small to meet minimum size requirements for zoning may be sold directly to adjoining landowners. Other parcels may be conveyed directly to cities and townships for their use, or to MN DOT for road right of way. Direct county parcels no longer needed for public use, such as former county garages, may also be sold. Itasca County typically holds its regular land auction sale in mid to late October of each year. Land sale parcels are typically identified when reviewing new forfeitures and from land sale requests. Persons who wish to purchase a particular tract of tax-forfeited or direct county land may request that the parcel be put up for sale by contacting the Land Department s Real Estate Office in the County Courthouse. Itasca County reviews all requests once a year through its land classification process. G.6) Partial Interests. Some tax-forfeited lands are an undivided interest in a tract of land. These parcels are usually formed when a landowner conveys a parcel of land to more than one person without dividing the parcel. If one of the recipients fails to pay their taxes, that portion will forfeit. Undivided interest in parcels complicates management and parcel use because such decisions require unanimous approval of all owners. The Land Department s goal is to resolve taxforfeited undivided interests. This can be done though acquisition of the other interests in a parcel, sale of the tax-forfeited interest, or division of the parcel. G.7) Leases and Rental Property. The Land Department manages leases and rental property on County lands. Many shoreland and hunting cabin leases were established on County lands prior to 1980 to provide recreation opportunities to private individuals and generate revenue. Since then Itasca County has recognized the value of retaining undeveloped public shoreland and remote forested lands, ICLD - LMP Section II.G., page 3 of 7

4 and has discontinued creating such leases. Itasca County has also recognized that public lands are best used for public purposes rather than continuing to be leased to private individuals for recreation. Itasca County s current goal is to end it recreation leases. Most tax-forfeited shoreland cabin site leases were discontinued through sale of the leased property during 1999 through Remaining shoreland and hunting campsite leases do not allow addition of lessees or transfer of the lease. Under this policy all such recreation leases would not continue longer than the date of death of the last listed lessee. Itasca County s remaining recreation leases are one year campsite leases. Their renewal each year is at the discretion of the County Board. In 2001, management of recreation leases was made consistent with their one year term. Permanent improvements are no longer allowed. Dwellings must be camping trailers or similar easily removable structures. Accessory buildings are limited in size and must be built off site and moved in to demonstrate their portability. The document Guidelines For Improvements on Itasca County Campsite Leases is provided in Appendix A of this section. Itasca County s recreation leases do not lease a tract of land, but instead lease the right to camp and place structures at a specified location for a one year period. The public cannot be excluded from the campsite. Lease fees are a flat rate, plus an escalator based on square footage of improvements. Examples of other types of existing leases are agricultural leases, tower leases, leases to other public entities, and some club leases. Itasca County s general position is that lands used for private purposes should be sold rather than retained leased out by Itasca County. Exceptions are lands needed for a public purpose and located in areas where County control is important to prevent forest fragmentation and other land use conflicts. New leases have been limited to government agencies and organizations which provide widespread public benefit (e.g. communication tower leases). Commercial or other properties acquired through forfeiture or other means are sometimes leased until sold or otherwise disposed of. Examples include rental of condominium units and apartments. Itasca County s lease fee schedule is provided in Appendix B. Lease fees to private parties and utilities are set at market value. Lease fees to government agencies are set at a level to cover administrative costs. Fees are subject to change. G.8) Road and Trail Easements. The Land Department, through its Real Estate Specialist, processes road and trail easements and licenses across County lands. Itasca County issues road licenses or easements across County lands to access private lands when (a) no other reasonable route is available, and (b) such a license does not significantly reduce public benefits from affected County lands. A road license or easement is not required to use existing unrestricted roads in their current condition. They are required to construct new roads and/or maintain existing roads, or if one needs a written agreement for access. A comparison of road licenses to cross and easements is shown below: I. Road Licenses to Cross. A. Are issued only to the current landowner. B. Have a 10 year term. C. Can be transferred to a new owner. D. Can be renewed after expiration at the discretion of Itasca County E. Require the following fees: a. Requests must be accompanied by a non-refundable application fee of $100 plus ICLD - LMP Section II.G., page 4 of 7

5 $50 per ¼ mile. b. If the license is approved, licensee must pay: 1. An additional $100 administrative fee plus $50 per ¼ mile. 2. Market value for land under license.* 3. Site damages (timber, forest regeneration, etc.) 4. Recording fee. 5. Other negotiated costs, if applicable. * Land value must be paid only for new roads and roads previously not open to public highway vehicle traffic. On existing roads open to public highway vehicle traffic, land value must be paid only when the licensed width is increased to exceed 33 feet in width. In such cases, the land value must be paid only for the additional width. II. Easements. A. Are semi-permanent and attach to the property B. Require the following fees: a. Requests must be accompanied by a non-refundable application fee of $100 plus $50 per ¼ mile. b. If easement is approved, grantee must pay: 1. Easement survey costs. 2. Market value for land under easement 3. Site damages (timber, forest regeneration, etc.) 4. Recording fee. 5. Other negotiated costs, if applicable. Applicants may request either a license to cross or an easement. Itasca County will decide which format may be used based upon current policy and the circumstances of the requested route. The Land Department also acquires easements to access tax-forfeited lands. Past practice has been to do so only with willing landowners, with a few exceptions. Often such access is limited to management purposes only and does not allow public use. Increased demand for public use of public lands and increased blocking of traditionally used roads across private land may require Itasca County to pursue forced access when other alternatives are not possible. The need to secure permanent easements for recreation trails and to connect trail networks may also require more forced access in the future. When granting access across County lands, the Land Department looks for opportunities to exchange road licenses or easements with such applicants to gain access to County lands lying beyond the private land. The Land Department may require an exchange of road licenses or easements when other access alternatives are less desirable or not practical. G.9) Utility Easements. Itasca County issues utility easements across County lands when it is in the public s best interest, and does not conflict with public use of the land. The fees for such utility easements are as follows: A. Requests must be accompanied by a non-refundable application fee of $200 per lineal mile pro-rated to the length of the easement, but not less than $50. B. If the easement is approved by the County Board, grantee must also pay: 1. The land value of the right of way. 2. The timber value on the right of way. 3. Recording fee. ICLD - LMP Section II.G., page 5 of 7

6 4. Other negotiated costs, if applicable. Also required is a legal description and map that is acceptable to the County surveyor. Utility easements are generally granted to the utility company. G.10) Applicable Minnesota Statutes. Minnesota state law regulates activities on tax-forfeited and direct county lands to ensure quality control and benefits to the public. The County Land Department s real estate activities on tax-forfeited lands are regulated by the following Minnesota Statutes: A. Chapter 92: Land exchanges. B. Chapter 282: Classification, sale, repurchase, lease, easements. C. MN Statute : Regulates real estate activities on direct county lands. ICLD - LMP Section II.G., page 6 of 7

7 APPENDIX A GUIDELINES FOR IMPROVEMENTS ON ITASCA COUNTY CAMPSITE LEASES October 16, 2007 To help ensure that future structures and improvements on Itasca County s campsite leases are consistent with the expectations of an annual lease, Itasca County adopts the following requirements: 1. Structures cannot be constructed on the lease area. A. Residential structures on lease lots may comprise only of trailers, campers, or motor homes that can be easily moved onto the lot. These structures must be in good repair and be maintained in an easily removable condition. B. Secondary structures must be pre-constructed, portable buildings that are hauled to the lease lot and remain in an easily removable condition. Piecing together on site of portions or halves of structures is not allowed. Only a minimal number of accessory structures will be allowed on the lease (i.e. one storage shed, not to exceed 100 square feet, and one outhouse not to exceed 32 square feet.) 2. Pouring of concrete or improvements of similar permanence are not allowed. 3. New wells are not allowed. 4. Installation of electrical service is not allowed. 5. Other improvements inconsistent with the expectations of an annual lease are not allowed, except that Itasca County may allow: A. Improvements necessary for proper disposal of sewage. B. Improvements necessary for environmental protection. 6. Existing structures and improvements are grandfathered in until they are replaced or need substantial remodeling. Additions to existing structures will be handled on a case by case basis by the County Board of Commissioners. ICLD - LMP Section II.G., page 7 of 7