Tipton Redevelopment Commission accepts 314 Fairview lot and approves offering packet with floodplain caveat

The Tipton Redevelopment Commission voted June 24 to accept city-owned land at 314 Fairview Avenue and to approve an offering packet that will put the parcel up for competitive bid.

Tim Bradford, the city’s building commissioner, told commissioners the adjacent Lucas family had maintained the lot for years and had expressed interest in buying it, but procurement rules require the commission to open the sale to public offer. "This is accepting the property at 314 Fairview Avenue," Bradford said, explaining the transfer would occur via a quitclaim deed and that staff had checked utilities and street needs and found no city use for the narrow parcel.

The packet approved by the commission includes a written caveat for this site noting that, because of lot size, setback requirements and floodplain constraints, "it is highly unlikely that an adequate home site could be developed on this lot," Bradford said. Staff told the commission they will update the legal description to remove the piece of property that currently extends into the roadway before the offering is published. "We do have to go through this bid process and then in the event that they do offer a bid, we can accept that," Bradford said.

Commissioners asked staff to add the site-specific note to the offering form to avoid misleading potential bidders. The commission then voted to approve the offering packet with that amendment by voice vote.

The commission’s action accepts the parcel into the Redevelopment Commission’s holdings and authorizes staff to publish the amended offering packet and open the sale to bids. The commission did not set a specific sale price at the meeting; bidding procedures and the revised legal description will be finalized by staff before notices are posted.