Real property may be sold by the city in any of the following ways.
(A) By negotiation.
(1) All property sales consummated pursuant to negotiation shall be approved by ordinance of the Council.
(2) All properties identified and posted “For Sale” by Council, shall be sold without regard to identity of the purchaser, intended use or schedule for development.
(3) Purchasers of all city-owned property shall be responsible for providing a survey and an appraisal completed by a certified general appraiser licensed in Arizona.
(4) Proposed purchase agreements shall be presented by the purchaser through city staff to the Council for negotiation and approval. Council may approve a sale based on appraised value presented or seek another appraisal prior to further negotiation. Once Council has approved the sale of property, a formal written agreement shall not be consummated until publication and comment periods have expired.
(5) The City Clerk shall publish in a paper of general circulation in the city a “Notice of Sale of City Property” to be published once a week for two consecutive weeks. The City Clerk shall also post a copy of the notice in at least three public places in the city. The notice shall contain the names of the purchasers, a general and legal description of the property to be sold and the sales price. Any other purchaser may, before the expiration of publication and comment periods, present a proposed purchase agreement which shall include earnest money in a minimum amount of 10% of the sales price. Such a proposal shall have the effect of abating the published sale until further negotiations have been completed. Council may negotiate the sale in the best interest of the city.
(6) At the next regular meeting of the City Council after the required publication, the Council may approve the ordinance for the sale of the identified property. Council may not thereafter consider other offers to purchase the identified property unless the acts or omissions of the purchaser would preclude the close of escrow.
(7) If the Council approves the ordinance, a formal written agreement to purchase shall be executed and the sale concluded.
(8) All land sales agreements shall contain an acknowledgment by the purchaser that the purchased property is subject to use and development restrictions imposed by the City of Page General Plan, the General Development and Subdivision Regulations, city zoning ordinance, the Gateway Area Specific Development Plan, city adopted building codes and other applicable state and federal laws.
(9) Any state real estate broker representing a purchaser prior to an initial offer will at the close of escrow be paid a 3% commission based on the sales price. Exclusive real estate sales agreements for the sale of city property shall not be permitted.
(B) By sealed bid or public auction. Upon resolution of the Council, the City Clerk shall be authorized to proceed with the sale of real property, under this section, as follows.
(1) If the value is less than $25,000, as appraised, the property may be sold by sealed bid or by public auction as determined by the Council.
(2) If the value is more than $25,000, as appraised, the property shall be sold at public auction to the highest bidder.
(3) At least 30 days prior to sale or disposition of property by sealed bid or auction, the City Clerk shall cause to be published in the official newspaper of the city a notice of sale of such property. The notice of sale shall be a brief description of the property, the hour, date and place of sale or disposition, and may also include the location where bid blanks and specifications may be secured, the location of the property, the conditions of sale and any restrictions placed on the use of the property as well as other such information considered relevant by the Council. The notice shall be published once each week for three consecutive weeks if in a weekly newspaper, with not less than 20 days intervening between the first and last publication and if in a daily newspaper, six consecutive times. The City Clerk shall also post a copy of the notice in at least three public places in the city.
(4) Bids:
(a) The minimum acceptable bid shall be determined by resolution of the Council;
(b) Sealed bids shall be accompanied by a cashier’s check payable to the city for 10% of the bid which check will be returned to the bidder if unsuccessful;
(c) All bidders at an auction shall, prior to the auction, furnish the auctioneer with a cashier check payable to the city for 10% of the appraisal value which check will be returned to the bidder if unsuccessful;
(d) Such sales shall be made to the highest bidder, but the Council shall have the right to reject any and all bids; and
(e) The sale shall be binding upon the city only upon award of the bid and delivery of the quit claim deed to the successful bidder, and no other action of the city or its representatives shall be construed to vest any right, title or interest to or in said property in any person prior to said delivery of the deed. Said award or rejection of the bid shall be made by the Council at the next regular Council meeting following the bidding.
(C) Sale of slivers.
(1) If the value of the property is less than $10,000 as appraised, and the property is not marketable to the general public because no one other than an adjoining property owner can, within the Zoning Code of the city, lawfully utilize the property, as determined by the City Council, and if there is no other adjoining property owner who desires to purchase the property, the property may be sold to the adjoining property owner for its appraised value without the necessity for a public sale, either by auction or sealed bid.
(2) The manner of sale to the adjoining property owner shall proceed in compliance with this subchapter, except that the contents of the notice of sale shall be modified so as to advise the public of the proposed sale to a particular individual. The sale shall thereafter be made to the individual at the time contained within the notice of sale. If there is more than one adjoining property owner who may lawfully utilize the property in connection with his or her adjoining property and they each desire to purchase the property, then, and only in that event, the property shall be sold at sealed bid in accordance with this section except that the only qualified bidders upon the parcel of property to be sold shall be the adjoining property owners who qualify as a bidder in accordance with this division (C).
(1976 Code, § 3-5-2) (Ord. 183-87, passed - -; Ord. 352-96, passed 12-19-1996; Ord. 456-03, passed 5-8- 2003; Ord. 655-19, passed 2-13-2019)