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Vice Speaker moves sale of small Chamorro Land Trust parcel to adjoining homeowner; some senators warn of precedent
Summary
The Legislature advanced Bill 131 to third reading to authorize sale of a small Chamorro Land Trust parcel in Tamuning to an adjoining homeowner for safety and to deposit proceeds into the Trust’s infrastructure fund. Several senators warned the sale could set a precedent encouraging encroachment claims and urged a principled policy for similar cases.
Vice Speaker Tony Addis introduced Bill 131-38 COR and moved to place it on the third reading file, saying the measure would authorize the Chamorro Land Trust to sell a 100–145 (committee language varies) sliver of lot 5174-REM-1 in the municipality of Tamuning—identified in discussion as roughly 138 square meters—and deposit the proceeds into the Chamorro Land Trust Infrastructure and Survey Fund.
The sponsor described the parcel as a narrow, cliff‑edge sliver accessible only through the homeowner’s property and said the sale is intended to resolve a long-standing encroachment that required a safety railing. “This lot has no practical or useful value to CLTC … it’s too small to erect a building and it’s unsuitable for farming,” Vice Speaker Tony Addis said, urging colleagues to support the measure as a safety and fiscal benefit to the land trust.
In response, several senators expressed concern that approving the sale would create an ad hoc remedy that rewards private encroachments on government land. One senator argued, "If we continue selling fractional CLTC lots when private owners encroach, we risk creating a policy that benefits those with access to legislators," and called for a principled, uniform approach that would treat all similar encroachments consistently.
Other speakers pointed to the Chamorro Land Trust Commission’s 2019 resolutions (committee testimony cited CLTC resolution 2019‑05 and CLTC action) recommending sale in particular cases and said the commission had vetted the request. Supporters emphasized public‑safety needs and that sale proceeds would build the trust’s revenue.
The chamber debated the policy tradeoffs—safety, revenue and administrative practicality versus precedent, cumulative loss of trust land and the need for a consistent process. After exchanges, the motion to move Bill 131 as amended to third reading was made and carried without recorded objection.
What happens next: Bill 131 was placed on the third reading file for a final vote. The transcript records no roll‑call tally at the time of this session; the motion carried by voice without objection.
Notes on numbers and records: committee and legislative text cited both a square‑foot and a square‑meter figure (committee text referenced an area amount described as “145 square ft / 138 square meters” in legislative findings). That discrepancy was raised in debate; the bill sponsor described the parcel as about 138 square meters.
