In order to return nonproductive land to tax revenue-generating status, the Mayor and Council are hereby authorized to transfer title to any unimproved residential lot owned by the City upon the following terms and conditions if the Mayor and Council have determined that said lot is not needed for municipal purposes:
(a) Written notice of the availability of the lot shall be given to the owners of all adjoining single family and two-family properties with not less than a 75% common boundary line at the side lot line. To qualify for purchasing the lot, the owner must personally occupy the property, must be current in property tax, and must agree to pay future property taxes from time of title transfer. The owner shall then produce their desire of owning the lot by application documenting the intended use of the lot, including any improvements that will be made. Upon receipt of an application to acquire a parcel as a side yard, the Director of Economic Development or their designee shall then inform the Councilperson in whose District the parcel is located to share the application and give the Councilperson the opportunity to provide a letter of support. The disposition of any given lot will be based upon an assessment of the most efficient and effective way to maximize the best use of the parcel to enhance the immediate neighborhood.
(b) (1) If only one adjoining owner is interested in purchasing the lot, the Mayor and Council may sell the lot to that property owner for the sum of one hundred dollars ($100.00) plus closing costs.
(2) If two or more adjoining property owners are interested in purchasing the lot, the Mayor and Council may divide the lot and sell to all interested parties for the price of one hundred dollars ($100.00) total plus closing costs provided the parties are willing to pay the costs of a lot re-subdivision, including survey costs.
(c) The owner shall agree, at the owner’s expense, to consolidate the lot with the owner’s existing property at the time of the transfer of the land reutilization program lot. The owner shall contract with a registered professional surveyor to draw up a consolidation plat and legal description for the owner’s lot and the land reutilization program lot. The consolidation plat shall be approved by the City’s Planning and Zoning Commission prior to filing it and the quit claim deed for the land reutilization program lot, with the Cuyahoga County Recorder’s Office.
(d) Nothing herein shall require the Mayor and Council to offer any particular unimproved City-owned lot to adjoining property owners, or be construed to prohibit the sale or holding of a lot for development purposes or the use of said lots for community gardening or other public purposes.
(e) The Mayor and Council may adopt such rules, not inconsistent with this section, for the implementation of this section.
(Ord. 2015-47. Passed 9-2-15; Ord. 2022-17. Passed 2-16-22.)