CSSB 56(RES): "An Act allowing the Department of Natural Resources to quitclaim land or interests in land, including submerged or shore land, to a municipality to correct errors or omissions of the municipality when inequitable detriment would result to a person due to that person's reliance upon the errors or omissions of the municipality; relating to conveyance of certain tide and submerged land to municipalities; and providing for an effective date."
00CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 56(RES) 01 "An Act allowing the Department of Natural Resources to quitclaim land or 02 interests in land, including submerged or shore land, to a municipality to correct 03 errors or omissions of the municipality when inequitable detriment would result 04 to a person due to that person's reliance upon the errors or omissions of the 05 municipality; relating to conveyance of certain tide and submerged land to 06 municipalities; and providing for an effective date." 07 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 08 * Section 1. AS 38.05.035(b) is amended to read: 09 (b) The director may 10 (1) delegate the administrative duties, functions or powers imposed 11 upon the director to a responsible employee in the division; 12 (2) grant preference rights for the lease or purchase of state land 13 without competitive bid in order to correct errors or omissions of a state or federal 14 administrative agency when inequitable detriment would otherwise result to a diligent
01 claimant or applicant due to situations over which the claimant or applicant had no 02 control; the exercise of this discretionary power operates only to divest the state of its 03 title to or interests in land and may be exercised only 04 (A) with the express approval of the commissioner; and 05 (B) if the application for the preference right is filed with the 06 director within three years from 07 (i) the occurrence of the error or omission; 08 (ii) the date of acquisition by the state of the land; or 09 (iii) the date of a court decision or settlement nullifying 10 a disposal of state land; 11 (3) grant a preference right to a claimant who shows bona fide 12 improvement of state land or of federal land subsequently acquired by the state and 13 who has in good faith sought to obtain title to the land but who, through error or 14 omission of others occurring within the three years before (A) the application for the 15 preference right, (B) the date of acquisition by the state of the land, or (C) the date of 16 a court decision or settlement nullifying a disposal of state land, has been denied title 17 to it; upon a showing satisfactory to the commissioner, the claimant may lease or 18 purchase the land at the price set on the date of original entry on the land or, if a price 19 was not set at that time at a price determined by the director to fairly represent the 20 value of unimproved land at the time the claim was established, but in no event less 21 than the cost of administration including survey; the error or omission of a predecessor 22 in interest or an agent, administrator, or executor which has clearly prejudiced the 23 claimant may be the basis for granting a preference right; 24 (4) sell land by lottery for less than the appraised value when, in the 25 judgment of the director, past scarcity of land suitable for private ownership in any 26 particular area has resulted in unrealistic land values; 27 (5) when the director determines it is in the best interest of the state 28 and will avoid injustice to a person or the heirs or devisees of a person, dispose of 29 land, by direct negotiation to that person who presently uses and who used and made 30 improvements to that land before January 3, 1959, or to the heirs or devisees of the 31 person; the amount paid for the land shall be its fair market value on the date that the
01 person first entered the land, as determined by the director; a parcel of land disposed 02 of under this paragraph shall be of a size consistent with the person's prior use, but 03 may not exceed five acres; 04 (6) dispose of an interest in land limited to use for agricultural purposes 05 by lottery; 06 (7) convey to an adjoining landowner for its fair market value a 07 remnant of land that the director considers unmanageable or a parcel of land created 08 by a highway right-of-way alignment or realignment, or a parcel created by the 09 vacation of a state-owned right-of-way if 10 (A) the director determines that it is in the best interests of the 11 state; 12 (B) the parcel does not exceed the minimum lot size under an 13 applicable zoning code; and 14 (C) the director and the platting authority having land use 15 planning jurisdiction agree that conveyance of the parcel to the adjoining 16 landowner will result in boundaries that are convenient for the use of the land 17 by the landowner and compatible with municipal land use plans; 18 (8) for good cause extend for up to 90 days the time for rental or 19 installment payments by a lessee or purchaser of state land under this chapter if 20 reasonable penalties and interest set by the director are paid; 21 (9) quitclaim land or an interest in land to the federal government on 22 a determination that the land or the interest in land was wrongfully or erroneously 23 conveyed by the federal government to the state; 24 (10) negotiate the sale or lease of state land at fair market value to a 25 person who acquired by contract, purchase, or lease rights to improvements on the land 26 from another state agency or who leased the land from another state agency; 27 (11) quitclaim land or an interest in land, including submerged or 28 shore land, to a municipality to correct errors or omissions of the municipality 29 when inequitable detriment would result to a person due to that person's reliance 30 on the errors or omissions of the municipality, the quitclaim shall be made on 31 such terms and conditions as the director considers appropriate except that, if the
01 municipality has a remaining entitlement to land under AS 29.65, the land or 02 interest quitclaimed is counted against the municipality's remaining entitlement. 03 * Sec. 2. AS 38.05 is amended by adding a new section to read: 04 Sec. 38.05.825. CONVEYANCE OF TIDE AND SUBMERGED LAND TO 05 MUNICIPALITIES. (a) The commissioner shall convey to a municipality tide or 06 submerged land requested by the municipality that is occupied or suitable for 07 occupation and development if the 08 (1) use of the land would not unreasonably interfere with navigation 09 or public access; 10 (2) municipality has applied to the commissioner for conveyance of the 11 land under this section; 12 (3) land is classified for waterfront development or for another use that 13 is consistent or compatible with the use proposed by the municipality, or the proposed 14 use of the land is consistent or compatible with a land use plan adopted by the 15 municipality, the department, or the Alaska Coastal Policy Council; and 16 (4) land 17 (A) is required for the accomplishment of a public or private 18 development approved by the municipality; 19 (B) is the subject of a lease from the state to the municipality; 20 or 21 (C) has been approved for lease to the municipality. 22 (b) The commissioner may not convey land under this section that has been 23 designated by statute unless the commissioner determines that the proposed use is 24 consistent or compatible with the purpose of the statutory designation. If land 25 designated by statute is conveyed, uses of the land after conveyance are restricted to 26 those uses determined by the commissioner to be consistent or compatible with the 27 purpose of the designation. 28 (c) Upon receipt of an application, the commissioner shall determine whether 29 the requested conveyance meets the requirements of this section and issue a written 30 decision regarding that determination. Upon a determination that the requirements 31 have been met, the commissioner shall approve the conveyance of the land to the
01 municipality. After conveyance to the municipality is approved, the municipality has 02 management authority of the land and may convey the land by lease or sale. The cost 03 of the survey and all subdivision or other platting required for conveyance shall be 04 borne by the municipality. 05 (d) A conveyance under this section may contain only those restrictions 06 required by law, including AS 38.05.127 and (b) of this section. Land conveyed is 07 subject to the public trust doctrine that may be enforced by the state in a court of 08 competent jurisdiction. The municipality shall be required to ensure that reasonable 09 access to public waters is provided. Title to land conveyed under this section that is 10 retained by the municipality reverts to the state upon the dissolution of the 11 municipality. 12 (e) This section does not enlarge or diminish the general grant land entitlement 13 of a municipality under AS 29.65, nor is a conveyance under this section counted 14 against the municipality's general grant land entitlement. 15 * Sec. 3. This Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).