§ 74-80. Sale or other disposition of property.

(a)

Public review of inventory. The land bank agency shall maintain and make available for public review and inspection an inventory of all real property held by the land bank agency. This inventory shall be available on the land bank agency website and include at a minimum whether a parcel is available for sale, the address of the parcel if an address has been assigned, the parcel number, if no address has been assigned, and the year that a parcel entered the land bank agency's inventory. The land bank agency is encouraged to use photographs, location maps and other tools that will help the public identify the property, and may include links on its website to other sources for such information.

(b)

Policies for disposition. The land bank agency shall determine and set forth in policies and procedures of the board the general terms and conditions for consideration to be received by the land bank agency for the transfer of real property and interests in real property, which consideration may take the form of monetary payments and secured financial obligations, covenants, and conditions related to the present and future use of the property, contractual commitments of the transferee, and such other forms of consideration as determined by the board to be in the best interest of the land bank agency. Such policy shall include a provision that if a land bank agency owns more than five parcels of real property in a single city block and no written offer to purchase any of those properties has been submitted to the agency in the past 12 months, the land bank agency shall reduce its requested price for those properties and advertise the discount publicly; such publication may be on its website and printed lists available at its principal office.

(c)

Authority for disposition or pledge as collateral. Subject to the limitation set forth in section 74-71 and subsection (e) below, the land bank agency may convey, exchange, sell, transfer, lease, grant, release and demise, pledge and hypothecate any and all interests in, upon or to property of the land bank agency.

(d)

Authority to delegate. The board may delegate to officers and employees the authority to enter into and execute agreements, instruments of conveyance and all others related documents pertaining to the conveyance of property by the land bank agency.

(e)

Priority. Subject to subsection (f) of this section, the land bank agency shall determine a hierarchical priority ranking for the particular use of a parcel of real property conveyed by such land bank agency, and such priorities may, include, but are not limited to:

(1)

Opportunities for revitalization of deteriorating residential, retail and commercial neighborhoods;

(2)

Creation of safe, decent and affordable housing for existing and future residents;

(3)

Creation of retail and commercial areas on vacant or deteriorated properties within neighborhoods; public spaces and places for parks, green spaces and other public purposes;

(4)

Creation or expansion of side yards with unimproved vacant lots in neighborhoods densely constructed, for the benefit of abutting owner-occupied residences;

(5)

The assemblage of property for future development in a manner consistent with the purposes of the city's consolidated plans, particularly in low to moderate income area designated by the city as a target area for revitalization;

(6)

Space for use as urban agriculture, community gardens, or other similar uses consistent with healthy eating by residents, including restoring ground through alternative vegetative cover to build-back the soil for future use for food production;

(7)

Public spaces and places for parks, green spaces and other public purposes; and

(8)

Wildlife conservation areas.

Further, the land bank agency shall adopt a policy specifying for which categories of priority uses parcels need not be listed for sale, and may make such determination on any particular parcel. The foregoing priority uses contemplate that land that is in a nonrevenue-generating, nontax-producing status, may be returned to use in private ownership, contingent upon the recipient's covenants to develop or renovate the property consistent with their plan incorporated into and a part of their accepted offer, which can include additional conditions imposed by the land bank agency, and the recipient's obligations to pay: 1) outstanding real property taxes for any property owned by the recipient, or entities in common control with recipient, within the city, including but not limited to property acquired from the land bank agency, 2) all installments of special assessment for public improvements then due and owing, 3) any outstanding special assessments or liens imposed by the city for municipal services and/or property maintenance violations, and 4) any unsatisfied fines or fees for property maintenance violations or previously issued administrative citations as issued by the city (collectively referred to as "financial obligations"). The land bank agency may request a waiver by the city of financial obligations on a particular parcel if not extinguished pursuant to the Land Tax Collection Law, and the recipient's obligation shall not extend to such waived financial obligation. Payments upon an ancillary parcel, defined in section 74-87, shall be controlled by such section. Such covenants and obligations may be secured by a deed of trust or other collateral pledge, with the appropriateness of such pledge and length of that pledge, being a determination delegated to the land bank agency. The land bank agency's determination shall consider that the beneficiaries of its efforts are the city and the taxing authorities in accordance with section 74-72. The length of the secured pledge shall be for no more than a period of three years, provided the length will be automatically extended upon the then owner's failure to develop or renovate the property, pay property taxes or other financial obligations to the city or maintain the property, with such extension being for whatever period necessary to exercise the land bank agency's rights under such deed of trust or other pledge of collateral. The land bank agency is empowered to exercise any and all rights under any deed of trust or pledge of collateral as security.

The city hereby delegates to the board of commissioners governing such land bank agency to determine as to a particular property for which there are competing requests for acquisition with different priority uses which use best serves the residents of the city, first, and then the taxing authorities. But in all events, such priorities shall be consistent with and no more restrictive than municipal planning and zoning ordinances.

(f)

Offers.

(1)

What constitutes an offer. Subject to subsections (e) and (f) of this section, a land bank agency will consider all written offers equal to or greater than fair market value to purchase real property held by the land bank agency. A written offer must be made on the forms available for that purpose from the land bank agency. Further, the land bank agency may adopt policies and procedures as to what constitutes an offer. An offer must state the proposed use for the property, and the land bank agency may consider as a part of the acceptance of such offer whether the proposed use is in compliance with the existing zoning designation and land use regulations of such property and is a use consistent with the priority for that particular parcel. Any transfer for a use that would require a change in the zoning classification, may be conditioned upon the land bank agency's receipt of a written statement from the city registered neighborhood association that it is in support of such changed use. Further, an offer must include at a minimum: a) a certified statement from the proposed purchaser, signed by at least one duly authorized individual officer if an entity, that the proposed purchaser, or the holder of a controlling interest therein, does not have any outstanding delinquent real property taxes for any property owned within the city, is current on all installments of special assessment for public improvements then due and owing, does not have any outstanding special assessments or liens imposed by the city for municipal services and/or property maintenance violations, and does not have any pending property maintenance violations or any unsatisfied fines for previously issued administrative citations as issued by the city, b) a list of all owners, officers, members or partners of an entity which is the proposed purchaser, with their primary residences, and c) for any proposed purchaser that is an entity the offer must include a designation of local agent, with a valid city issued business license, with a principal place of business in the city, authorized to accept on behalf of such entity notices of code violations or other service of process, which designation shall be deemed to remain in full force and effect until written notice to the contrary is provided to the land bank agency, which shall be effective only if a subsequent local agent, similarly qualified, is named in such notice.

(2)

Fair market value. The land bank agency shall determine the fair market value by reasonable and cost-effective means, including, without limitation: 1) adopting the market value as determined by the Jackson County assessor, 2) establishing a set value for unimproved vacant residentially zoned property generally in the same area, based on tiers of square footage and on market conditions for that property, to facilitate the use of such properties for priority uses (4) or (6) of subsection (e) of this section, 3) relying upon land bank agency or city staff input, which may based on appraisals or valuations obtained for whatever municipal purpose, or 4) real estate broker's sale price summary of other comparable properties. An appraisal, done by a licensed or certified appraiser pursuant to RSMo Ch. 339, holding a city issued business license, submitted by the person or entity with their offer, will be considered by the land bank agency, but is not determinative as to what constitutes a fair market value.

(3)

Rejection of an offer. If a land bank agency rejects a written offer equal to or greater than fair market value, or does not respond to a written offer equal to or greater than fair market value within 60 days, the land bank agency's action shall be subject to judicial review under RSMo Ch. 536 or any other applicable provision of law unless the basis for the land bank agency's rejection is that is has accepted another offer equal to or greater than fair market value for that property. Venue shall be in the circuit court of the Jackson County.

( Ord. No. 120779, § 1, 9-20-12 )