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An Ordinance of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, amending and supplementing the Administrative Code of Allegheny County, Part 7, "Properties" Article 701, entitled "Grounds, Properties and Buildings," in order to establish a procedure for entering and enacting County contracts relating to land use.
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WHEREAS, pursuant to Article V, §2(i) of the Home Rule Charter of Allegheny County, the Chief Executive is vested with the power to "[n]egotiate, award and sign, or cause to be negotiated, awarded and signed on behalf of the County, all contracts, agreements and other instruments, except as provided in Article IV, Section 2 (j) and (k)."; and
WHEREAS, Article IV, §2(k) establishes that County Council is vested with the power to "[b]y ordinance, lease, convey, vacate or abandon, or permit the use of County land, buildings or other real or personal property."; and
WHEREAS, the plain language of these two Charter sections clearly and unambiguously states that the transactions enumerated in Article IV, §2(k) are specifically removed from the Executive's contract power and placed within Council's legislative power; and
WHEREAS, it is the judgment of Council that, in light of the plain language of the Charter, any practice of issuing requests for proposals or undertaking any negotiations relating to land use prior to obtaining the permission of Council would be counterproductive, insofar is it could result in the negotiation or execution of contracts for land use that do not receive the necessary legislative authorization; and
WHEREAS, it is further the judgment of Council that the transparency of the legislative process, which is required by the Charter within the context of land use, is desirable, but that such transparency unavoidably suffers when requests for proposals and negotiations take place prior to the required legislative process; and
WHEREAS, it is accordingly the desire of Council to establish a process for authorizing land use that thoroughly adheres to the requirements established by the Charter.
The Council of the County of Allegheny hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Incorporation of the Preamble.
The provisions set forth in the preamble to this Ordinance are incorporated by reference in their entirety herein.
Section 2. Creation of Article 707.
Part 7 "Properties" of the Administrative Code of Allegheny County is hereby amended through the creation of a new Article 707 as follows:
ARTICLE 701
Natural Resources
§5-707.03. Authority to sell or lease County-owned real property.
A. General Requirements
A 1. The County may sell or lease any County-owned real property necessary for carrying out any of its functions.
B 2. In the case of any lease of real property, any improvements shall be subject to taxation.
C 3. The approval of County Council shall be required for any action authorized by this section.
D 4. The approval of the Court of Common Pleas shall not be required for any action authorized by this section.
E 5. In the case of a sale or lease to a private party, the Manager shall first determine that it is no longer in the interest of Allegheny County to maintain the property. Secondly, the Manager shall have the property appraised by an independent appraiser to determine fair market value. All costs associated with the appraisal and transaction shall be borne by the private party.
F 6. Directors shall first seek authorization from the Manager to enter into any action permitted under this section. The Law Department shall review the proposed action and advise the Manager regarding the terms and conditions. County Council shall may, at its discretion and subject to the requirements of Subsection B, approve by ordinance any sale, use or lease of County property. In the event that Council does not approve a sale, use or lease by ordinance, such sale, use or lease shall not be deemed effective, regardless of the existence of any negotiated contract, lease, memorandum of understanding, or other written or verbal agreement relating to such sale or lease.
B. Process
No sale, lease, or other agreement relating to the lease, sale, use or disposition of County owned property shall be authorized by County Council unless the following conditions are met:
1. County Council shall be notified of the terms of any request for proposal, bids, or other solicitation by the County relating to the lease, sale or use in question prior to issuance. No such solicitation shall be issued publicly or privately unless authorized in advance by Council via a validly enacted resolution.
2. In the event that the County receives an unsolicited proposal, bid, or other submission relating to the lease, sale, use or other disposition of County owned property, Council shall be notified of the receipt, and no further action shall be undertaken by any County entity until authorized by Council via a validly enacted resolution. Passage of such resolution shall be subject to the requirements of Section 1.
3. In the event that the Executive or Manager determine that a particular proposal, bid, or other submission relating to the lease, sale, use or other disposition of County owned property is in the best interest of the County and its taxpayers and residents, the Executive shall introduce an ordinance authorizing such action. Upon final approval of such ordinance, the Executive shall be empowered to negotiate any necessary contract, lease, or other agreement in order to facilitate the authorized sale, lease or use of County property. Any contract, lease, memorandum of understanding, or other written or verbal agreement relating to such sale, lease, or use of County property negotiated or executed prior to the passage of the required authorization shall be deemed null and void.
4. The provisions of this Section shall not be deemed to preempt specific delegations of authority to permit the use of County owned property for limited duration to various County departments, whether such delegations were enacted prior or subsequent to the effective date of this Section.
Section 3. Short Title. This Ordinance shall be known as the Honorable K. Leroy Irvis ordinance.
Section 4. This Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon approval.
Section 5. Severability. If any provision of this Ordinance shall be determined to be unlawful, invalid, void or unenforceable, then that provision shall be considered severable from the remaining provisions of this Ordinance which shall be in full force and effect.
Section 6. Repealer. Any Resolution or Ordinance or part thereof conflicting with the provisions of this Ordinance is hereby repealed so far as the same affects this Ordinance.
PRIMARY SPONSOR: COUNCIL MEMBER ROBINSON
COSPONSOR(S):