CSHB 398(RES): "An Act relating to conveyance of certain land to municipalities."
00CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 398(RES) 01 "An Act relating to conveyance of certain land to municipalities." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 * Section 1. AS 38.05.035(b) is amended to read: 04 (b) The director may 05 (1) delegate the administrative duties, functions or powers imposed 06 upon the director to a responsible employee in the division; 07 (2) grant preference rights for the lease or purchase of state land 08 without competitive bid in order to correct errors or omissions of a state or federal 09 administrative agency when inequitable detriment would otherwise result to a diligent 10 claimant or applicant due to situations over which the claimant or applicant had no 11 control; the exercise of this discretionary power operates only to divest the state of its 12 title to or interests in land and may be exercised only 13 (A) with the express approval of the commissioner; and 14 (B) if the application for the preference right is filed with the
01 director within three years from 02 (i) the occurrence of the error or omission; 03 (ii) the date of acquisition by the state of the land; or 04 (iii) the date of a court decision or settlement nullifying 05 a disposal of state land; 06 (3) grant a preference right to a claimant who shows bona fide 07 improvement of state land or of federal land subsequently acquired by the state and 08 who has in good faith sought to obtain title to the land but who, through error or 09 omission of others occurring within the three years before (A) the application for the 10 preference right, (B) the date of acquisition by the state of the land, or (C) the date of 11 a court decision or settlement nullifying a disposal of state land, has been denied title 12 to it; upon a showing satisfactory to the commissioner, the claimant may lease or 13 purchase the land at the price set on the date of original entry on the land or, if a price 14 was not set at that time at a price determined by the director to fairly represent the 15 value of unimproved land at the time the claim was established, but in no event less 16 than the cost of administration including survey; the error or omission of a predecessor 17 in interest or an agent, administrator, or executor which has clearly prejudiced the 18 claimant may be the basis for granting a preference right; 19 (4) sell land by lottery for less than the appraised value when, in the 20 judgment of the director, past scarcity of land suitable for private ownership in any 21 particular area has resulted in unrealistic land values; 22 (5) when the director determines it is in the best interest of the state 23 and will avoid injustice to a person or the heirs or devisees of a person, dispose of 24 land, by direct negotiation to that person who presently uses and who used and made 25 improvements to that land before January 3, 1959, or to the heirs or devisees of the 26 person; the amount paid for the land shall be its fair market value on the date that the 27 person first entered the land, as determined by the director; a parcel of land disposed 28 of under this paragraph shall be of a size consistent with the person's prior use, but 29 may not exceed five acres; 30 (6) dispose of an interest in land limited to use for agricultural purposes 31 by lottery;
01 (7) convey to an adjoining landowner for its fair market value a 02 remnant of land that the director considers unmanageable or a parcel of land created 03 by a highway right-of-way alignment or realignment, or a parcel created by the 04 vacation of a state-owned right-of-way if 05 (A) the director determines that it is in the best interests of the 06 state; 07 (B) the parcel does not exceed the minimum lot size under an 08 applicable zoning code; and 09 (C) the director and the platting authority having land use 10 planning jurisdiction agree that conveyance of the parcel to the adjoining 11 landowner will result in boundaries that are convenient for the use of the land 12 by the landowner and compatible with municipal land use plans; 13 (8) for good cause extend for up to 90 days the time for rental or 14 installment payments by a lessee or purchaser of state land under this chapter if 15 reasonable penalties and interest set by the director are paid; 16 (9) quitclaim land or an interest in land to the federal government on 17 a determination that the land or the interest in land was wrongfully or erroneously 18 conveyed by the federal government to the state; 19 (10) negotiate the sale or lease of state land at fair market value to a 20 person who acquired by contract, purchase, or lease rights to improvements on the land 21 from another state agency or who leased the land from another state agency; 22 (11) quitclaim land or an interest in land, including submerged or 23 shore land, to a municipality to correct errors or omissions of the municipality 24 when inequitable detriment would result to a person due to that person's reliance 25 on the errors or omissions of the municipality; the quitclaim shall be made on the 26 terms and conditions the director considers appropriate except that, if the 27 municipality has a remaining entitlement to land under AS 29.65, the land or 28 interest quitclaimed under this paragraph is counted against the municipality's 29 remaining entitlement. 30 * Sec. 2. AS 38.05 is amended by adding a new section to read: 31 Sec. 38.05.825. CONVEYANCE OF TIDE AND SUBMERGED LAND TO
01 MUNICIPALITIES. (a) The commissioner shall convey to a municipality tide or 02 submerged land requested by the municipality that is occupied or suitable for 03 occupation and development if 04 (1) the use of the land would not unreasonably interfere with navigation 05 or public access; 06 (2) the municipality has applied to the commissioner for conveyance 07 of the land under this section; 08 (3) the land is classified for waterfront development or for another use 09 that is consistent or compatible with the use proposed by the municipality, or the 10 proposed use of the land by the municipality is consistent or compatible with a land 11 use plan adopted by the municipality, the department, or the Alaska Coastal Policy 12 Council; and 13 (4) the land is required for the accomplishment of a public or private 14 development approved by the municipality, is the subject of a lease from the state to 15 the municipality, or has been approved for lease to the municipality. 16 (b) The commissioner may not convey land under this section that has been 17 designated by the legislature unless the commissioner determines that the proposed use 18 is consistent or compatible with the purpose of the legislative designation. If land 19 designated by the legislature is conveyed, uses of the land after conveyance shall be 20 restricted to those uses determined by the commissioner to be consistent or compatible 21 with the purpose of the designation. 22 (c) Upon receipt of an application, the commissioner shall determine whether 23 the requested conveyance meets the requirements of this section and issue a written 24 decision regarding that determination. Upon a determination that the requirements 25 have been met, the commissioner shall approve the conveyance of the land to the 26 municipality. After conveyance to the municipality is approved, the municipality has 27 management authority of the land and may execute leases of the land. The cost of the 28 survey and all subdivision or other platting required for conveyance shall be borne by 29 the municipality. 30 (d) A conveyance under this section may contain only those restrictions 31 required by law, including AS 38.05.127. Land conveyed is subject to the public trust
01 doctrine that may be enforced by the state in a court of competent jurisdiction. The 02 municipality shall be required to ensure that reasonable access to public waters is 03 provided. Title to land conveyed under this section that is retained by the municipality 04 reverts to the state upon the dissolution of the municipality. 05 (e) This section does not enlarge or diminish the general grant land entitlement 06 of a municipality under AS 29.65, nor is a conveyance under this section counted 07 against the municipality's general grant land entitlement. 08 * Sec. 3. AS 38.05.035(b)(11) is repealed January 1, 1998.