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8 <br /> Mr. Craig Brown, City Attorney, said that the City has received a request to sell a <br />24 x 200 foot strip of property next to 601 Concord Avenue. He said this was previously <br />discussed with City staff in 1998. He said the proposal at this time is to sell the property <br />at $11 a square foot, which is the current assessment. He said the sale is pending for the <br />adjacent property, and Mr. Hadley has requested that Council waive the second reading <br />of the ordinance. <br /> <br /> The public hearing was opened. <br /> <br /> Mr. Bob Hadley, owner of 601 Concord Avenue, asked Council to reduce the <br />sales price from $53,000. He said he thought all along that he owned the property, and <br />was stunned to find out he did not own it. He noted that other properties along that street <br />also encroach on City property. <br /> <br /> As there were no further speakers, the public hearing was closed. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch asked Mr. Hadley why he thought he owned the property if he had <br />declined the offer by the previous City Attorney to buy the property. <br /> <br /> Mr. Hadley said that the previous City Attorney called him back and said the City <br />agreed to give him the property if he maintained it, and he assumed he owned it from that <br />time on and never gave it more thought. <br /> <br /> Mr. Brown said that records show there was a discussion about selling the <br />property, but no record of an offer to give Mr. Hadley the property. <br /> <br /> Ms. Susan Hadley, co-owner of the property, said they assumed the property was <br />theirs and constructed a building on it, but were later told it was not their land. She said <br />they cannot negotiate the price now because the building is on the City’s land. <br /> <br /> Responding to a question from Dr. Brown, Ms. Hadley said sidewalks were <br />installed in 1998 and expanded later. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch asked if there are other verified encroachments on the street, and Mr. <br />Brown said he does not know. <br /> <br /> Mr. Taliaferro asked that staff determine if there are other encroachments. <br /> <br /> Mr. Brown said encroachments are typically discovered when there is a sale and <br />survey of the property. <br /> <br /> Mr. Taliaferro said he would like to know if this is a common problem. He said it <br />bothers him if this was reviewed by staff. <br /> <br /> Responding to a question from Ms. Hamilton, Mr. Hadley said Concord was a <br />wide street that never got narrowed. He said he had a previous survey done that did not <br />reflect the encroachment, but the most recent survey showed the encroachment. <br /> <br /> Dr. Brown said that because of a stream of events the Hadley thought they owned <br />the property and he said he believes they have acted in good faith. He said he would be <br />comfortable splitting the difference between the original sales price of $17,000 and <br />current price of approximately $53,000. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch said he is sympathetic to the applicant, but he cannot see the argument <br />for selling below market value. He said if we have to look at doing this with other <br />properties we should have a standing, fair policy. <br /> <br /> Mr. Norris said a way to keep consistent is to sell property for less if public <br />improvements have been made. He said we could value the improvements, deduct that <br />from the value, and have the applicant pay the difference. <br /> <br /> Mr. Brown noted that the sidewalk was likely a site plan requirement. <br /> <br />