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Home My WebLink About00-058RESOLUTION NO. 00- D~ A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND, ESTABLISHING RIGHT-OF-WAY ACQUISITION PROCEDURES, APPRAISAL WAIVER PROCEDURES AND DESIGNATING STAFF AUTHORITY LIMITS IN MAKING ADMINISTRATIVE SETTLEMENT OFFERS. WHEREAS, City of Port Townsend, desiring to acquire Real Property in accordance with the State Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Act (Ch. 8.26 RCW) and State Regulations (Ch. 468-100 WAC) and applicable Federal Regulations hereby adopts the following procedures to implement the above statutes and Washington Administrative Code, and WHEREAS, the City Manager is responsible for the real property acquisition and relocation activities On projects, administered by the City of Port Townsend, and WHEREAS, to fulfill the above requirements, the City Manager will acquire rights-of-way in accordance with the policies set forth in the Washington State Department of Transportation (VVSDOT) Right of Way Manual (M26-01) and Local Agency Guidelines Manual (M36-6), and WHEREAS, the following Right-of-Way Acquisition Procedures appoints staff responsible for the various elements of the right-of-way acquisition process, and NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Port Townsend that the City adopt the following Right-of-Way Acquisition Procedures, Appraisal Waiver Procedure and Administrative Settlement Offer Authority Limits for the acquisition of real property: Section 1. Right-of-Way Procedure. City of Port Townsend has the following expertise and personnel capabilities to accomplish these functions: Program Administration- City Manager Project Managers under direction of the Public Works Director B. Appraisal- WSDOT and/or Consultant C. Appraisal Review- WSDOT and/or Consultant D. Acquisition Negotiator- WSDOT and/or Consultant E. Relocation- WSDOT and/or Consultant Fo Property Management- Public Works Director / City Engineer Project Managers right of way procedure resolution 1 Any functions for which the Agency does not have staff will be contracted for with WSDOT, another local agenby with approved procedures or an outside contractor. An AGENCY that proposed to use outside contractors for any of the above functions will need to work closely with the WSDOT Local Agency Coordinator and Highways and Local Programs to ensure all requirements are met. When the AGENCY proposed to have a staff person negotiate who is not experienced in negotiation for FHWA funded projects the Coordinator must be given a reasonable opportunity to review all offers and supporting data before they are presented to the property owners. Section 2. City of Port Townsend Appraisal Waiver Procedure. The City of Port . Townsend desiring to acquire Real Property according to 23 CFR,.Part 635, Subpart C and state directives and desiring to take advantage of the $10,000.00 appraisal waiver process approved by the Federal Highway Administration for Washington State, hereby agrees to follow the procedure approved for the Washington State Department of Transportation as follows: RULES A. The City of Port Townsend may elect to waive the requirement for an appraisal if the acquisition is simple and the compensation estimate indicated on the Project Funding Estimate (PFE) is $10,000.00 or less including cost-to cure items. B. The Agency must make the property owner(s) aware that an appraisal has not been done on the property and that one will be completed if they desire. C. Special care should be taken in the preparation of the waiver. As no review is mandated, the preparer needs to assure that the compensation is fair and that all the calculations are correct. PROCEDURES A. An Administrative Offer Summary (AOS) is prepared using data from the Project Funding Estimate (PFE). B. The AOS is submitted to the City Manager or designated representative for approval. C. The City Manager signs the AOS authorizing a first offer to the property owner(s). Just Compensation includes amounts for the value of the lands and improvements acquired for the project, uneconomic remnants, damages, and deductions for special benefits. Section 3. Administrative Settlement Offer Authority limits. Administrative settlements may be required, in addition to Just Compensation in order to acquire needed Right-of-Way. Administrative Settlements can help mitigate or eliminate costly condemnation litigation and project construction schedule delays. The Project Parcel Negotiation Diary shall contain rationale, justification and/or documentation for the Settlement Offer. The authority granted to City officials to provide Administrative Settlement Offers is as follows: right of way procedure resolution 2 Acquisition Neqotiator. A counter-offer of Just Compensation plus an Administrative Settlement up to 20% of the Just Compensation, or $5,000.00, whichever is less. Project Manager A counter-offer of Just Compensation plus an Administrative Settlement up to 30% of the Just Compensation, or $10,000,00, whichever is less. C. City Manager A counter-offer of Just Compensation plus an Administrative Settlement up to 50% of the Just Compensation, or $15,000.00, whichever is less. D. City of Port Townsend City Council Membem A counter-offer of Just Compensation plus an Administrative Settlement exceeding 50% of the Just Compensation, or a counter offer of Just Compensation plus an Administrative Settlement of $15,000.00, or greater. Section 4. All projects shall be available for review by the Federal Highway Administration and the State of Washington at any time. All project documents shall be retained and available for inspection during the plan development, right-of-way and construction stages and for a three (3) year period following acceptance of the projects by WSDOT. Section 5. WSDOT approval of City of Port Townsend's procedures, contained herein, may be rescinded at any time should City of Port Townsend be found to no longer have qualified staff or is found to be in non-compliance with applicable WSDOT regulations. The rescission may be applied to all or part of the functions approved. APPROVED2000. BY the City Council and signed by~ t~ day of November,_ ~ G i, Mayor ATTEST: /~ APPROVED AS TO FORM: John Wafts, City Attorney WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT · OF TRANSPORTATION Approved B¥~~_. '~' /! right of way procedure.~em~.C"j' 'Jr°/~-'~QU'jR~[~[N~j~ [,[~I~..,D IN . RIOItT'OF WAY~PR~ APPROVAL LE'FTF.,R Washington State Department of Transportation Sid Morrison Secretary of Transportation Transportation Building P.O. Box 47300 Olympia, WA 98504-7300 December 4, 2000 Mr. Robert Wheeler Public Works Director City of Port Townsend 181 Quincy St., Suite 201 Port Townsend, WA 98368-1622 Right of Way Procedures Dear Mr. Wheeler: Recently the WSDOT's Olympia Service Center Real Estate Services Division reviewed your agency' s submittal of amended right of way procedures. Upon their review, the city of Port Townsend's procedures are approved with the following requirements: 1. Since the city of Port Townsend has limited right of way staff, they are approved to acquire only with the direct supervision from the Regional Local Agency Coordinator. At a minimum, the Coordinator must review all parcel files prior to first offers being made to the property owner. 2. All Appraisals, Appraisal Reviews, and any Relocation must be contracted for with qualified Agencies or Consultants and any Relocation Consultant must be approved and monitored by the Coordinator. In addition, the city of Port Townsend is also approved to use the Appraisal Waiver process on federal aid projects. If you have any questions regarding the provisions, please contact Hal Wolfe, Olympic Region LA Coordinator, at (360) 357-2693, or Galen Wright, Real Estate Services Olympia, at (360) 705-7308. Sincerely, Darlene K. Sharar Standards and Procedures Engineer Highways & Local Programs Service Center DKS:jm Enclosure cc: Galen Wright, 7338 Mike Horton, w/enclosure, Olympic Region, 7440 Hal Wolfe, w/enclosure, Olympic Region