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HomeMy WebLinkAbout035-25 - Resolution - ROW ProceduresDocusign Envelope ID: 4DBDDAA5-5C18-4C53-A2DC-F7723E49AC9D RESOLUTION NO. 035-25 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORT ORCHARD, WASHINGTON, ADOPTING UPDATED RIGHT OF WAY PROCEDURES AND REPEALING RESOLUTION NO. 080-22. WHEREAS, the City of Port Orchard undertakes capital projects that may require the acquisition of real property or property interests to support infrastructure, transportation, utility, and related public improvements; and WHEREAS, the City is responsible for ensuring that such right of way (ROW) acquisition and relocation activities are conducted in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and best practices; and WHEREAS, the City has prepared updated Right of Way procedures that identify qualified staff roles, outline the appropriate use of consultants, and establish administrative processes for activities such as appraisal, acquisition, relocation assistance, and property management; and WHEREAS, these procedures reflect current guidance from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and provide a consistent framework for compliance and effective project delivery; and WHEREAS, the City has previously adopted updated procedures by Resolution No. 031- 07, Resolution No. 028-16, and most recently in 2022 by Resolution No. 080-22; and WHEREAS, the City of Port Orchard desires to update the procedures to reflect the current qualified staff members overseeing these integral tasks for the development and maintenance of public infrastructure and right of way improvements; now, therefore, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORT ORCHARD, WASHINGTON, HEREBY RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS: THAT: It is the intent of the Port Orchard City Council that the recitals set forth above are hereby adopted and incorporated as findings in support of this Resolution. THAT: Resolution No. 080-22 is hereby repealed in its entirety. THAT: The City Council hereby adopts the updated Right of Way Procedures, attached hereto as Exhibit A and incorporated by this reference, as the City's official procedures for right of way activities. The Mayor or designee is authorized execute all documents necessary to effectuate this Resolution. THAT: The Resolution shall take full force and effect upon passage and signatures hereon. Docusign Envelope ID: 4DBDDAA5-5C18-4C53-A2DC-F7723E49AC9D Resolution No. 035-25 Page 2 of 11 PASSED by the City Council of the City of Port Orchard, SIGNED by the Mayor and attested by the City Clerk in authentication of such passage this 10th day of June 2025. �.Signed by: r6b Pl MJA sluff. :�RQMQ?F'i PrAAM Robert Putaansuu, Mayor ATTEST: Brandy Wallace, MMC, City Clerk Docusign Envelope ID: 4DBDDAA5-5C18-4C53-A2DC-F7723E49AC9D Right of Way Procedures The CITY OF PORT ORCHARD (Agency), needing to acquire real property (obtain an interest in and/or possession of) in accordance with the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act and applicable federal regulations (49 CFR Part 24) and state law (Ch. 8.26 RCW), and state regulations (Ch. 468-100 WAC) hereby adopts the following procedures to adhere to all applicable laws, statutes, and regulations. The Agency is responsible for the real property acquisition and relocation activities on projects administered by the Agency and must acquire right of way (ROW) in accordance with the policies set forth in the Washington State Department of Transportation Right of Way Manual M 26-01 and Local Agency Guidelines (LAG). Below is a list of Agency staff, by name and position titles, who are qualified to perform specific ROW functions. Attached to these procedures are resumes for everyone listed within these procedures, which provide a summary of their qualifications. The procedures shall be updated whenever staffing changes occur. The Agency has the staff with the knowledge and experience to accomplish the following ROW Disciplines: i. PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION: Oversee delivery of the ROW Program on federal aid projects for the Agency. Ensures ROW functions are conducted in compliance with federal and state laws, regulations, policies, and procedures. Responsibilities/Expectations: • Ensures Agency's approved ROW Procedures are current, including staff qualifications, and provides copies to consultants and Agency staff; • Oversight of ROW consultants; o use of consultant contract approved by WSDOT o management of ROW contracts o management of ROW files o reviews and approves actions and decisions recommended by staff & consultants o Overall responsibility for decisions that are outside the purview of consultant functions • Sets Just Compensation before offers are made; • Oversight and approval of Waiver Valuations per policy; • Oversight and approval of Administrative Settlements per policy; • Ensure the Agency has a relocation appeal process before starting relocation activities; • Obligation authority for their Agency; • Obtain permits (Non -Uniform Relocation Act (URA)); • Ensures there is a separation of functions to avoid conflicts of interest. • Verifies whether ROW is needed, and that the property rights and/or interests needed are sufficient to construct, operate, and maintain the proposed projects (see LAG Appendix 25.174, 25.175, & 25.176). Director of Community Development; Nick Bond, AICP Director of Public Works; Denis Ryan, CPWP-M City Engineer; Kenneth C. Hammer, PE, PMP LPA-001 Rev. 6/2024 Docusign Envelope ID: 4DBDDAA5-5C18-4C53-A2DC-F7723E49AC9D Note: Staff included under Program Administration must have completed the eLearning Administrative Settlement and No ROW Verification training available at https://wsdot.wa.gov/business-wsdot/support-local-programs/local-programs-training/ri hg t=way- training-education ii. APPRAISAL Prepare and deliver appraisals on federal aid projects for the Agency. Ensures that appraisals are consistent and in compliance with state and federal laws, regulations, policies, and procedures. Responsibilities/Expectations: • Use only qualified agency staff approved by WSDOT to perform appraisal work; • Use an Appraiser from WSDOT's Approved Consultant List if the Agency does not have qualified staff; • Prepare ROW Funding Estimate (not required to be completed by an appraiser & only when there are federal funds in the ROW Phase); • Prepare Wavier Valuation; • Obtain specialist reports; Coordinate with engineering, program administration, acquisition, relocation, and/or property management, as necessary. Qualified Consultant iii. APPRAISAL REVIEW: Review appraisals on federal aid projects for the Agency to make sure they are adequate, and reliable, have reasonable supporting data, and approve appraisal reports. Ensures appraisals are adequately supported and represent fair market value and applicable costs to cure and are completed in compliance with state and federal laws, regulations, policies, and procedures. Responsibilities/Expectations: • Use only qualified agency staff approved by WSDOT to perform appraisal review work; • Use review appraiser from WSDOT's Approved Consultant List if the agency does not have qualified staff; • Ensures project -wide consistency in approaches to value, use of market data, and costs to cure; Coordinate with engineering, program administration, acquisition, relocation, and/or property management, as necessary. Qualified Consultant LPA-001 Rev. 6/2024 Docusign Envelope ID: 4DBDDAA5-5C18-4C53-A2DC-F7723E49AC9D iv. ACQUISITION: Acquire, through negotiation with property owners, real property, or real property interests (rights) on federal aid projects for the Agency. Ensures acquisitions are completed in compliance with federal and state laws, regulations, policies, and procedures. Responsibilities/Expectations: • Use only qualified staff to perform acquisition activities for real property or real property interests, including donations; • To avoid a conflict of interest, when the acquisition function prepares a Waiver Valuation, only acquires property valued at $15,000 or less; • Provide and maintain a comprehensive written account of acquisition activities for each parcel; • Prepare Waiver Valuation justification and obtain approval; • Prepare Administrative Settlement and obtain approval; • Prepare Right of Way Funding Estimate (when there are federal funds in the ROW Phase); • Review title, and recommend and obtain approval for acceptance of encumbrances; • Ensure acquisition documents are consistent with ROW plans, valuation, and title reports; • Provide a negotiator disclaimer; • Maintain a complete, well -organized parcel file for each acquisition; • Coordinate with engineering, program administration, appraisal, relocation, and/or property management, as necessary. Qualified Consultant Note: Staff included under Acquisition must have completed the eLearning Administrative Settlement training available at https://wsdot.wa.gov/business-wsdot/support-local- programs/local-programs-trainin right -way -training -education v. RELOCATION: Provide relocation assistance to occupants of property considered displaced by federally funded projects for the Agency. Ensures relocations are completed in compliance with federal and state laws, regulations, policies, and procedures. Responsibilities/Expectations: • Prepare and obtain approval of relocation plan before starting relocation activities; • Confirm relocation appeal procedure is in place; • Provide required notices and advisory services; • Make calculations and provide recommendations for Agency approving authority before making payment; • Provide and maintain a comprehensive written account of relocation activities for each parcel; • Maintain a complete, well -organized parcel file for each displacement; • Ensure occupants and personal property is removed from the ROW; LPA-001 Rev. 6/2024 Docusign Envelope ID: 4DBDDAA5-5C18-4C53-A2DC-F7723E49AC9D • Coordinate with engineering, program administration, appraisal, acquisition, and/or property management, as necessary. Qualified Consultant vi. PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: Establish property management policies and procedures that will assure control and administration of ROW, excess lands, and improvements acquired on federal aid projects for the Agency. Ensures property management activities are completed in compliance with federal and state laws, regulations, policies, and procedures. Responsibilities/Expectations: • Account for use of proceeds from the sale/lease of property acquired with federal funds on other title 23 eligible activities; • Keep ROW free of encroachments; • Obtain WSDOT/FHWA approval for change in access control along interstate; • Maintain property records; • Ensure occupants and personal property is removed from the ROW; • Maintain a complete, well -organized property management file; • Coordinate with engineering, program administration, appraisal, acquisition, and/or property management, as necessary. Director of Community Development; Nick Bond, AICP Director of Public Works; Denis Ryan, CPW-M City Engineer; Kenneth C. Hammer, PE, PMP b. Any functions for which the Agency does not have qualified staff, the Agency will contract with another local agency with approved procedures, a qualified consultant, or the WSDOT. An Agency that proposes to use qualified consultants for any of the above functions will need to work closely with their ROW Local Agency Coordinator (LAC) and Local Programs to ensure all requirements are met. The LAC will perform spot-check reviews on selected federal aid or federal aid -eligible projects. The LAC must be given an opportunity to review all offers and supporting data before offers are made to the property owners. The number of spot-check reviews is dependent upon the scope of the project, the complexity of acquisitions, the local agency's level of experience, and past performance. Spot check reviews may not be required on all projects but will lessen the risk of delays during ROW Certification. Additional information or parcel files may be requested by the LAC to ensure local agency compliance. c. The Agency's Administrative Settlement Procedures indicating the approval authorities and the procedures involved in making administrative settlements need to be included with these procedures (see Exhibit A). LPA-001 Rev. 6/2024 Docusign Envelope ID: 4DBDDAA5-5C18-4C53-A2DC-F7723E49AC9D d. An Agency wishing to take advantage of the Waiver Valuation process, properties valued up to $35,000 or less, need to complete Exhibit B of these procedures. 2. All projects shall be available for review by the FHWA and WSDOT at any time and all project documents shall be retained and available for inspection during the plan development, ROW, and construction stages, and for three years following acceptance of the projects by WSDOT. Approval of the Agency's procedures by WSDOT Local Programs may be rescinded at any time the Agency is found to no longer have qualified staff or is found to be in non-compliance with the regulations. The rescission may be applied to all, or part of the functions approved. Signed by: r6b Pu aa�n,s�un. Robert Putaansuu, Mayor City of Port Orchard Washington State Department of Transportation Approved By: 6/11/2025 Date Local Programs Right of Way Manager Date LPA-001 Rev. 6/2024 Docusign Envelope ID: 4DBDDAA5-5C18-4C53-A2DC-F7723E49AC9D EXHIBIT A Agency's Administrative Settlement Policy The AGENCY shall make every reasonable effort to expeditiously acquire real property by negotiation. Negotiation implies an honest effort by the AGENCY to resolve differences with property owners. Offers can be flexible and negotiations should recognize the inexact nature of the process by which just compensation is determined. The AGENCY shall endeavor to expedite the acquisition of real property by agreements with owners and to avoid litigation and relieve congestion in the courts. 1. The AGENCY shall carefully consider and maximize the use of administrative settlements in appropriate situations. An administrative settlement or stipulated settlement is a negotiated settlement of a right-of-way acquisition case in which the AGENCY has administratively approved payment in excess of the AGENCY's offer of just compensation. The AGENCY shall carefully consider and maximize the use of administrative settlements in appropriate situations. 2. Administrative settlements may be approved when it is determined that such action Is reasonably supported and in the public interest. In arriving at a determination to approve an administrative settlement, the following nonexclusive factors may be considered: a. All available appraisals, including the owner's, comparable sales not included in an appraisal, and the probable range of testimony in a condemnation trial. b. Ability of the City to acquire the property, or possession, through the condemnation process to meet the construction schedule. c. Impact of construction delay pending acquisition. d. The negotiators recorded information, including parcel details and the owner's rationale for increased compensation. e. Recent court awards in cases involving similar acquisition and appraisal problems. f. Likelihood of obtaining an impartial jury in local jurisdiction, opinion of legal counsel where appropriate. g. Estimate of trial cost weighed against other factors. 3. The authority granted to AGENCY officials to provide Administrative Settlement Offers is as follows: a. The Community Development Director can authorize up to $20,000 over the amount offered as just compensation. b. The City Administrator can authorize $20,001 up to $50,000 over the amount offered as just compensation. c. Settlements exceeding $50,000 over the amount offered as just compensation must be authorized by City Council. LPA-001 Rev. 6/2024 Docusign Envelope ID: 4DBDDAA5-5C18-4C53-A2DC-F7723E49AC9D ISigned byy1: D� IMAAVtSItiU 6/11/2025 Robert Putaansuu, Mayor Date City of Port Orchard Washington State Department of Transportation Approved By: Local Programs Right of Way Manager Date LPA-001 Rev. 6/2024 Docusign Envelope ID: 4DBDDAA5-5C18-4C53-A2DC-F7723E49AC9D EXHIBIT B Agency's Waiver Valuation The CITY OF PORT ORCHARD, hereinafter (Agency), desiring to acquire Real Property according to 23 CFR, Part 635, Subpart C, 49 CFR Part 24, and State directives, and desiring to take advantage of the waiver valuation process approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for Washington State, hereby agrees to follow the procedure approved for the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) as follows: Rules A. The Agency may elect to waive the requirement for an appraisal if the acquisition is simple, has a low fair market value, and the compensation estimate (including the cost to cure items) and the estimated property value is under $35,000. B. The Agency must make the property owner(s) aware that an appraisal has not been completed on the property for offers of $15,000 or less. C. The Agency must make the property owner(s) aware that an appraisal has not been completed on the property for offers over $15,001 and up to $35,000, and that an appraisal will be prepared if requested by the property owner(s). D. Special care should be taken in the preparation of the Waiver Valuation as no review is mandated, the preparer needs to ensure that the compensation is fair and that all the calculations are correct. Procedures A. A Waiver Valuation is prepared using comparable sales found and verified at the time of preparation. B. The Waiver Valuation is approved by the Agency staff listed under Program Administration within these Right of Way Procedures. Upon signature, an offer to the property owner(s) is authorized once the local agency coordinator has completed a Spot Check for the project. �P'MrAQ9PIFSAAM gned by: o.i is t, 6/11/2025 ... Robert Putaansuu, Mayor Date City of Port Orchard Washington State Department of Transportation Approved By: Local Programs Right of Way Manager Date EXHIBIT C LPA-001 Rev. 6/2024 Docusign Envelope ID: 4DBDDAA5-5C18-4C53-A2DC-F7723E49AC9D Program Administration and Property Management City of Port Orchard staff currently filling the positions of "Program Administration" and "Property Management", and a brief summary of their qualifications pertaining to the specific right-of-way function(s) for which they are listed are shown below. Program Administration and Property Management: 1. Nick Bond, AICP Mr. Bond is the Director of the Department of Community Development for the City of Port Orchard. He has assisted Port Orchard (2013 to present) and previously the Town of Eatonville (2005 to 2013) with a variety of planning, transportation, utility, real estate acquisition, economic development, and building projects. Mr. Bond has a Masters in Urban Planning from the University of Washington and a Bachelors in Planning and Environmental Policy from Western Washington University. He has over 18 years' experience as a professional planner has a unique interdisciplinary approach to planning and has been very involved in projects outside of the planning department throughout his career. Mr. Bond has completed the requires WSDOT trainings and has assisted with multiple projects including but not limited to the Tremont Street Reconstruction (FHWA, STP, TIB), and the Bay Street Pedestrian Pathway (Federal). 3. Denis Ryan, CPWP-M Mr. Ryan is the Public Works Director for the City of Port Orchard. He has assisted Port Orchard (2023 to present) and previously Clark County (1997-2010), the City of Camas (2010 to 2021), and the Peninsula Metropolitan Park District (2021 - 2023) with a variety of utility, transportation projects, studies and plans, infrastructure improvements and various building projects. Mr. Ryan has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He has over 25 years' experience as a public works professional. Mr. Ryan has completed the required WSDOT trainings and has assisted with multiple projects including but not limited to the Bay Street Pedestrian Pathway (Federal). 3. Kenneth "Chris" Hammer, P.E., P.M.P. Mr. Hammer is the City Engineer for the City of Port Orchard. He has assisted Port Orchard (2020 to present) and previously the City of Bainbridge Island (2005 to 2019) with a variety of transportation projects, studies and plans. Mr. Hammer has a Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of the Pacific and is a Washington State Licensed Civil Professional Engineer. He has over 33 years' experience with State and City governments and private sector as a professional engineer, including extensive experience with federally funded transportation projects. Mr. Hammer has completed the required WSDOT trainings and has assisted with multiple projects including but not limited to the Bay Street Pedestrian Pathway, SR305/Sound to Olympic Trail, SR166/ Bay Street Reconstruction Project, and Winslow Way Reconstruction Project (All Federal) LPA-001 Rev. 6/2024