Expedited Bill No.  11-12                      

Concerning: County Property - Disposition        

Revised:    5-1-12              Draft No. 8    

Introduced:      March 13, 2012              

Enacted:         May 1, 2012                   

Executive:       Disapproved May 14, 2012

Re-enacted:     May 15, 2012                 

Effective:        May 15, 2012                 

Sunset Date:  None                             

Ch.   12    , Laws of Mont. Co.    2012    

County Council

For Montgomery County, Maryland

By: Councilmembers Leventhal and Elrich, Council President Berliner,

and Councilmembers Andrews, Riemer, and Navarro

AN EXPEDITED ACT to:

(1)        modify the procedures to dispose of County property;

(2)        require the County Council to approve certain [[dispositions of]] actions regarding certain County properties, and authorize the Council to review certain agreements to dispose of County property;

(3) prohibit the County from disposing of certain property at less than full market value, unless the Council waives this requirement; and

[[(3)]] (4) generally amend the County law regarding disposition of County property.

By amending

            Montgomery County Code

            Chapter 11B, Contracts and Procurement

            Section 11B-45

Boldface Heading or defined term.

Underlining Added to existing law by original bill.

[Single boldface brackets] Deleted from existing law by original bill.

Double underlining Added by amendment.

[[Double boldface brackets]] Deleted from existing law or the bill by amendment.

*   *   *                                                  Existing law unaffected by bill.

The County Council for Montgomery County, Maryland approves the following Act:

          Sec. 1.  Section 11B-45 is amended as follows:

11B-45.      Disposition of real property.

(a)     The County Executive must adopt regulations to establish a process for the disposition of any real property owned or controlled by the County, other than surplus school facilities and [other] property of nominal value identified in the regulation.  [[As used in this Section, "disposition" means a sale, a lease or license for a term of 3 years or longer, or a lease or other document which includes an option to buy.]]  The regulations must provide for:

(1)     coordination among public agencies, including any [municipal corporation] municipality in which the real property is located;

(2)     opportunity to reserve property for alternative public use;

(3)     comparative analysis of reuse proposals before any disposition actions; and

(4)     public notice and hearing on possible dispositions before final decision on disposition, except that the County Executive may waive the public hearing requirement for any real property that:

(A)    has nominal value; or

(B)     is recommended to be reused by the County government.

(b) As used in this Section, disposition means a sale, a lease or license for a term of [[3]] 2 years or longer, or a lease or other document which includes an option to buy.  If a license or lease for an initial term of less than [[3]] 2 years is extended or renewed beyond [[3]] 2 years, that extension or renewal is a disposition.  Disposition does not include:

(1) a lease of or license to use any parkland, or any facility located on parkland, that the Parks Department operates or manages for the County;

(2) a license to use County property that is coterminous with a contract for services performed by the licensee; [[or]]

(3) a license to use County property to provide child or adult day care services; [[or]]

(4) a sale or lease of property to the Housing Opportunities Commission for housing development;

(5) a sale of one or more housing units obtained by the County using its right of first refusal under Section 11A-3 or 11A-4, Chapter 25A, or Chapter 53A, and resold for not less than the County paid; or

(6) a transfer of County right-of-way that is needed to implement a road or transit project that is included in the applicable master or other land use plan.

(c) Unless the County Council waives this requirement under subsection (e)(2)(B), the Executive must not dispose of any property owned or controlled by the County at less than full market value.  In case of a sale of property, full market value must be determined by at least one professional appraisal of the property obtained by the Director within [[the previous]] [[6]] 12 months before a declaration is submitted to the Council.

(d) Before seeking Council approval of a declaration of no further need under subsection (e), the Executive must submit to the Council and allow the Council at least 30 days to comment on:

(1) all material terms of the disposition, including the price or rent to be paid and any associated economic incentives; and

(2) any appraisal that the Executive relied on or will rely on in setting the property’s market value.

In addition, the Executive should when practicable submit for prior Council review the parameters and material terms of a disposition that has not begun to be negotiated.  Any document submitted under this subsection, [[other than any document submitted under the preceding sentence which]] to the extent the document need not be disclosed under state law, [[is a public document]] must be treated as confidential.

[[(b)]] (e) [[Before]] In addition to the process required under subsection (a), before the disposition of any real property owned or controlled by the County (other than a property which has either nominal value or an appraised value lower than $100,000) becomes final[[,]]:

(1) the Executive must publish a declaration in the County Register and post a notice on the County website that the County has no further need for the property or, if the disposition is a lease or license, has no further need for the property during the term of the lease or license; and

(2) the [[County]] Council, by resolution adopted after the Council holds a public hearing with at least 15 days advance notice, must approve:

[[(1)]] (A) the [[disposition]] Executive’s declaration of no further need; and

[[(2)]] (B) [[all material terms of the disposition, including the price or rent to be paid and any associated economic incentives.]] any disposition of the property at less than full market value.

The Director must adjust the $100,000 floor in this subsection on July 1 every third year by the percentage increase or decrease in the applicable Consumer Price Index, or any successor index, during the previous 3 calendar years, rounded to the nearest $1000.  The Council may waive the public hearing required by this subsection if it concludes that a hearing on a particular proposed disposition is not necessary to properly assess the proposed action. If the Council does not act under this subsection within 60 days after the Executive has submitted [[all information necessary to assess]] the proposed action, the proposed action is automatically approved.  The Council may extend [[this]] the 60-day deadline by resolution if the Council President has informed the Executive, within 30 days after the Executive submitted the proposed action, that the Council has not received all information necessary to review the proposed action.  If [[this]] the 60-day deadline would fall during August or from December 15 through December 31, the deadline is automatically extended until the next scheduled Council session.  This subsection and subsection (c) do not apply to any disposition of property that will be used primarily for housing development if the recipient legally commits to the Director of the Department of Housing and Community Affairs that at least 30% of the housing units built on the property will be moderately priced dwelling units or other units that are exempt from the development impact tax under Section 52-49(g)(1)-(4).

[(b)] [[(c)]] (f)        *        *        *

[(c)] [[(d)]] (g) The Executive must adopt regulations to establish a process for disposition of surplus schools.  As used in this Section, "surplus school" means any building used at any time as a public school and later conveyed to the County and all or part of the land which constitutes the school site[, and "disposition" means a sale or a lease with an option to buy].  The regulations must provide for:

          *        *        *

[(d)] [[(e)]] (h)       *        *        *

          Sec. 2. Expedited Effective Date; Applicability.

          The Council declares that this legislation is necessary for the immediate protection of the public interest.  This Act takes effect on the date when it becomes law.  County Code Section 11B-45, as amended by Section 1 of this Act, [[applies]] does not apply to any disposition of County property [[completed on or after]] for which a legally enforceable contract, lease, or other agreement was signed by all parties before that date.

Sec. 3.  Applicability – White Flint Sector Plan area.

Section 11B-45(b)-(e), as amended by Section 1 of this Act, does not apply to any sale by the County of real property located in the boundaries of the White Flint Sector Plan if:

(a) the property was acquired by the County from the State Highway Administration;

(b) the property was originally acquired by the State Highway Administration to construct Montrose Parkway; and

(c) the sale by the County is completed on or before December 31, 2012.

Approved: