Legislature(1995 - 1996)
04/12/1995 01:40 PM Senate CRA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SB 79 ADJUSTMENTS FOR DEFECTIVE SURVEY
SENATOR TORGERSON introduced SB 79 as the first order of business.
SENATOR STEVE RIEGER, prime sponsor of SB 79, said the legislation
was requested by the Municipality of Anchorage and was prompted by
situations in the state where old surveys are so far off that the
standard judicial remedies for clearing up title aren't practical.
SB 79 creates an alternative mechanism for surveys which are
labeled "manifestly defective."
Senator Rieger explained the procedure in SB 79 allows a resurvey
and a replat to be submitted to a judge. The judge reviews the
information, including the objections from people who may object to
the replat, and then can decree an equitable replat of the area.
Because this expands judicial power, there are a number of
protections that are built into the legislation. One protection is
that the area involved pays the cost; there has to be a special
assessment district formed to pay for the resurvey, replat, legal
costs, etc. Also, the municipality has to adopt a resolution
supporting the procedure.
Senator Rieger said in working with the Society of Land Surveyors
and the municipal attorney on the legislation, there has been
concern expressed because this is breaking new ground. The
provision has been put into temporary law and it will apply for
three years so that, in a way, it doesn't sunset if it turns out
that there are problems that come up as a result of it.
Number 075
SENATOR R. PHILLIPS asked what the difference was between last
year's legislation that failed to pass the legislature and SB 79.
SENATOR RIEGER responded that the bill was totally rewritten and
restructured, but he believes that the general procedure being
prescribed is the same.
SENATOR R. PHILLIPS inquired if other areas of the state are having
the same problems as the Municipality of Anchorage. SENATOR RIEGER
replied that he is not aware of any other areas.
Number 107
SENATOR KELLY asked if the Municipality of Anchorage supports the
proposed committee substitute before the committee for its
consideration, and SENATOR RIEGER acknowledged that they do.
Number 118
SENATOR KELLY moved that CSSB 79(CRA) be adopted. Hearing no
objection, the motion carried.
Number 125
BOB KEAN, representing the Alaska Society of Professional Land
Surveyors and testifying from Cordova, stated support for CSSB
79(CRA).
Mr. Kean noted he has surveyed in the Rabbit Creek area of
Anchorage and he is very familiar with the problems there. He does
not believe there is another way of handling a complex problem of
this nature through the existing laws. He pointed out that there
are people who cannot sell their homes; they cannot make clear
title on them. Even with the people who may have taken steps to
resolve some of their property problems, the title companies will
still have difficulty in guaranteeing clear title, granting loans,
or the like.
Number 215
TOM KNOX, Municipal Surveyor for the Municipality of Anchorage,
testifying from Anchorage, said in the nine years he has worked
with the municipality, he has not had one month go by where he
hasn't had at least one property owner from the two plat areas that
the bill has basically been drafted to remedy, call him up and
discuss the survey problems which they have encountered in trying
to either sell their property, or to improve their property, or to
replat their property lines to purchase other lots around them.
Mr. Knox noted that the municipality has received letters from
financial institutions asking them what type of remedy could be
applied in order to rectify the situation.
Mr. Knox stated his support for the committee substitute.
Number 290
GEORGE NEWSHAM, Municipality of Anchorage, testifying from
Anchorage, stated CSSB 79(CRA) is a greatly improved version of the
legislation that was before the legislature last year. He spoke to
major improvements in the legislation such as the requirement that
prior to implementing any action a improvement district be formed,
and it gives a clearer understanding of what the process will be
after an improvement district is formed.
Number 330
MIKE HORNE, a registered land surveyor in Anchorage, voiced his
support for the committee substitute, as well as the comments of
the previous speakers.
Number 340
CRAIG SAVAGE, a registered land surveyor testifying from Anchorage,
stated his strong opposition to the legislation in its present
form. He noted there is not a single similar piece of legislation
anywhere else in the U.S. He said the legislation is an attempt to
establish a process by which owners can find relief from their
impasse, and, so long as they are willing to pay to implement the
process that solution is workable, but funding the process through
a special assessment is unfair, unnecessarily cumbersome, and will
be even more expensive than it needs to be. He added that it is a
well-intentioned bill in an attempt to assist people with economic
difficulties, but it is unfair because it exacts payment of a share
of the cost from owners who may not need help and/or may not want
help.
Number 415
WILLIAM MENDENHALL, testifying from Fairbanks, stated his basic
support for the legislation.
Number 425
JOHN BENNETT, President, Alaska Society of Professional Land
Surveyors, testifying from Fairbanks, said in recognizing the
serious nature of the survey problem, a committee was formed to
find out whether or not there were solutions outside of legislative
action that would be appropriate. The committee issued their
findings and came up with a substitute bill. He said he has been
in contact with their board of directors and also the chapters on
this matter, and a head count taken yesterday resulted in a 6-6
split as far as support or opposition to the original proposed
legislation. However, the new committee substitute has not been
reviewed by their committee or any of the their members, so he does
not believe that they can support it until they have had an
opportunity to fully review it.
Number 450
SENATOR TORGERSON asked if the committee substitute adopted by the
committee was the same substitute recommended by the Society's
committee. SENATOR RIEGER answered that it was except that because
of the sunset nature of the bill the drafters were unwilling to put
it into the Earthquake Relief Act with that sunset provision. All
the parts that are elsewhere that apply were put into this
temporary law, so, although the content is the same, the placement
is not.
Number 460
SENATOR R. PHILLIPS asked what was the main concern of the six
people who were opposed to the original legislation and MR. BENNETT
responded that basically his head count was of whether they either
supported or opposed the general concept of a legislative solution.
Number 477
GEORGE STROTHER, Engineering Division Manager, Matanuska-Susitna
Borough, testifying from the Mat-Su LIO, stated the committee
substitute is much better than the original bill, but he cannot
fully support it at this time. He outlined several areas of
concern and suggested the bill needs some fine tuning, which would
make it more workable, but there are still some other concerns. He
reiterated that the committee substitute is better, but he could
not support it at this time.
Number 558
SENATOR TORGERSON requested that Mr. Strother fax his testimony
outlining his areas of concern with the committee substitute, and
stated that because C&RA was the only committee of referral, the
bill would be held over until the following week so that he could
look at his objections to the actual wording in the language of the
bill and share that with the sponsor of the bill. He also invited
others with areas of concern to forward them to the committee.
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