Appendix A
City of Tulsa Flood Mitigation Acquisition Plan, 1984
Policies and Procedures
The policies and procedures set forth herein for the City of Tulsa Flood Mitigation Acquisition Plan, hereinafter referred to as the "Acq. Plan", as may hereafter be adopted and approved by the Board of Commissioners of the City of Tulsa, Oklahoma, hereinafter referred to as "City", for use in connection with the acquisition of real property, relocation of site occupants and the clearance and removal of improvements located on acquired properties.
It is the intent of these procedures to establish criteria by which each owner and resident of property designated by the City to be acquired pursuant to the Acq. Plan will, in all respects, be afforded fair, equitable and consistent treatment. The City Department of City Development staff is responsible for all activities related to acquisition, relocation and site clearance in the Acq. Plan and is charged with administering those activities in a manner consistent with the policies and procedures set forth herein.
Acquisition
The City shall identify for the Department of City Development staff the properties to be acquired as a part of the Acq. Plan.
Appraisals
The Department of City Development shall be authorized to contract for and obtain all necessary appraisals. Each property to be acquired shall be appraised by at least two qualified appraisers, except those to be acquired by FEMA funds will conform to FEMA regulations. If, after careful review of the initial appraisals, the staff has questions concerning the value estimate, it may ask for a review by the appraisers and/or obtain a 3rd appraisal. Except as otherwise noted below, appraisers will be instructed to appraise the property in fee simple without regard to any observed damage resulting from flooding. The value estimate of the appraiser will reflect the value of the property on May 26, 1984, the day before the flood. Exceptions to the above shall be vacant, unimproved properties; properties for which ownership change as a result of death, divorce, incompetency or creation of a trust. These exceptions shall be appraised on the basis of fair market value, but shall recognize damages resulting from flooding. The owner may, at his sole expense, obtain his own appraisal. If the appraisal is prepared by a staff approved appraiser and the appraisal is prepared on staff provided forms, the appraisal report may be considered in determining the fair market value of the property.
Title Evidenced
Evidence of title shall be obtained through the services of a qualified title insurance agent who will:
- Issue preliminary title insurance binders (certificated) prior to the initiation of negotiations with property owners, and if necessary,
- Furnish a title insurance policy (final title certificate) in the amount of the purchase price after closing the purchase.
The Department of City Development will provide staff and informational material to adequately and sufficiently explain the Acq. Plan and these policies and procedures.
Offer to Purchase
Upon receipt of acceptable appraisals and evidence of title, prepared in the appropriate manner as described above, the staff shall make an offer to the property owner to purchase the property at its fair market value based on appraisals.
Closing of Purchase
After acceptance of an offer by the property owner, the staff shall as quickly as possible consummate the purchase of the property, provided that title evidence proves merchantable title vested in the owner as determined by legal counsel. Owners will be required to pay the cost for title clearance measures. Taxes will be prorated to the first of the month following date of closing. Prior to closing, the staff shall determine, and the owner shall so certify, the amount of any insurance proceeds received for repair of damages to the real property to be acquired for which repairs have not been made and any amount of outstanding insurance claims due and receivable for damages to the real property to be acquired. In the event such payments have been received and/or are due the owner, the purchase price shall be reduced by an amount equal to such payment; or, in lieu of said reduction in purchase price, the amount receivable by the owner shall be assigned for payment to the City and deposited in the Acq. Plan account.
Property Management
Rent: Owner actually occupying the acquired property at the date of closing will be given 30 days of rent free occupancy from the date of purchase of the property. After such 30-day period, the former owner shall pay economic rent as determined by the staff. Tenant occupants shall commence paying rent to the City on the next rent due date following purchase of the property. Rental agreements setting forth the conditions of occupancy and rental amount shall be signed at the time of closing or as soon thereafter as possible. Sixty-day vacate notices will be issued immediately after closing to all site occupants. Occupancy may be extended if the staff determines that a hardship would be created if the occupant were forced to move at the end of the 60-day period. Upon failure to pay rent or at such time as it is determined that the property must be vacated in order to carry forth the Acq. Plan, the staff will request that legal counsel initiate eviction proceedings and offset any delinquent rent against any relocation payments for which the occupant may be eligible.
Security and Maintenance
Reasonable measures, including boarding of doors and windows and/or the hiring of a security patrol, may be taken to insure that all acquired properties are secured to prevent vandalism and theft. Steps will be taken to maintain the acquired properties so as not to create a nuisance or hazardous condition. Except as otherwise provided, maintenance, particularly of occupied properties, will be held to a responsible minimum.
Moving Assistance
Relocation benefits will consist of either actual cost of moving or reasonable moving expense allowance based on State DOT "fixed moving expense schedule" not to exceed $300.00, and a $200.00 fixed moving expense payment to cover the cost of incidental cost. The maximum relocation assistance shall not exceed $500.00. Relocation payments will be made to all displaces whether acquired by the Department of City Development staff or FEMA, and conditioned upon not relocating in floodplain area.
Site Clearance
Sale of Acquired Properties: Structures and other improvements will be disposed of so as to yield the highest return (or lowest cost) as determined by the staff, consistent with the objective of carrying out the Acq. Plan in the most expeditious manner possible. Structures and/or other real property may be retained and moved by the former owner with the purchase price being the "value to remove" of retained real property. The staff may conduct sealed bids or public auctions to dispose of acquired real property, dispose of property through negotiation, provided that no negotiated sale may be less than its appraised "value to remove", or retain such real property for removal by the City or other Agency of the City for other public purpose uses. "Value to remove" is defined as being that consideration which a given property would sell for given sufficient exposure on the open market, considering condition of the property, cost of removal, resultant damages, and the cost of reinstallation, hookup of utilities and other related and resultant costs. "Value to remove" shall be determined by a contract appraiser or a qualified staff member. The staff is authorized to execute Bills of Sale on all property disposed of in accordance with the procedures set forth herein. Purchasers of all property will be required to remove same within a reasonable period of time; or, if not, said property may be resold or demolished.
Demolition and Removal
All acquired land, whether by Department of City Development or FEMA, shall be cleared of all improvements. Those improvements not sold and removed will be demolished and the land cleared. Department of City Development staff is authorized to contract for such demolition and removal, as necessary.
Revision or Modification
These policies and procedures are subject to change or revision from time to time by approval of the Board of Commissioners of the City of Tulsa.