Z-1274.1  _______________________________________________

 

                         SENATE BILL 6152

          _______________________________________________

 

State of Washington      55th Legislature     1998 Regular Session

 

By Senator Swecker; by request of Parks and Recreation Commission

 

Read first time 01/12/98.  Referred to Committee on Natural Resources & Parks.

Managing state park lands.


    AN ACT Relating to state park lands; and amending RCW 43.51.210 and 43.51.215.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

 

    Sec. 1.  RCW 43.51.210 and 1984 c 87 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

    Whenever the state parks and recreation commission finds that any land under its control cannot advantageously be used for park purposes, it is authorized to dispose of such land.  If such lands are school or other grant lands, control thereof shall be relinquished by resolution of the commission to the proper state officials.  If such lands were acquired under restrictive conveyances by which the state may hold them only so long as they are used for park purposes, they may be returned to the donor or grantors by the commission.  All other such lands may be either sold by the commission to the highest bidder or exchanged for other lands of equal value by the commission, and all conveyance documents shall be executed by the governor.  All such exchanges shall be accompanied by a transfer fee, to be set by the commission and paid by the other party to the transfer; such fee shall be paid into the parkland acquisition account established under RCW 43.51.200.  Sealed bids on all sales shall be solicited at least twenty days in advance of the sale date by an advertisement appearing at least in three consecutive issues of a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the land to be sold is located.  If the commission feels that no bid received adequately reflects the fair value of the land to be sold, it may reject all bids, and may call for new bids.  All proceeds derived from the sale of such park property shall be paid into the ((state general fund)) park land acquisition account.  All land considered for exchange shall be evaluated by the commission to determine its adaptability to park usage.  The equal value of all lands exchanged shall first be determined by the appraisals to the satisfaction of the commission:  PROVIDED, That no sale or exchange of state park lands shall be made without the unanimous consent of the commission.

 

    Sec. 2.  RCW 43.51.215 and 1975 1st ex.s. c 107 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

    ((At least ten days but not more than twenty-five days)) Before the director of parks and recreation presents a proposed exchange to the parks and recreation commission involving an exchange of state land pursuant to this chapter, the director shall hold a public hearing on the proposal in the county where the state lands or the greatest proportion thereof is located.  Ten days but not more than twenty-five days prior to such hearing, the director shall publish a paid public notice of reasonable size in display advertising form, setting forth the date, time, and place of the hearing, at least once in one or more daily newspapers of general circulation in the county and at least once in one or more weekly newspapers circulated in the area where the state owned land is located.  A news release pertaining to the hearing shall be disseminated among printed and electronic media in the area where the state land is located.  The public notice and news release also shall identify lands involved in the proposed exchange and describe the purposes of the exchange and proposed use of the lands involved.  A summary of the testimony presented at the hearings shall be prepared for the commission's consideration when reviewing the director's exchange proposal.  If there is a failure to substantially comply with the procedures set forth in this section, then the exchange agreement shall be subject to being declared invalid by a court.  Any such suit must be brought within one year from the date of the exchange agreement.

 


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