Arizona § 11-256 - Lease or sublease of county lands and buildings; exceptions

§ 11-256. Lease or sublease of county lands and buildings; exceptions

A. The board may lease or sublease, for a term not to exceed twenty-five years plus an option to renew for an additional period not exceeding twenty-five years, any land or building owned by or under the control of the county.

B. An appraiser who is licensed or certified pursuant to title 32, chapter 36 shall determine the rental valuation of such land or building, except that an appraisal is not required for the lease of any land or building that has a rental value of $5,000 or less per month if the value of the land or building has been justified by a market analysis that is based on comparable sales or rentals.

C. Such land or building shall be leased or subleased at a public auction to the highest responsible bidder, provided that the amount of bid is at least ninety percent of the rental valuation as determined by the appraiser or the market analysis, and subject to such other terms and conditions as the board may prescribe.

D. Notice of a proposed lease or sublease shall be given by publication, once each week for four consecutive weeks, in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. The notice shall state the period and all material conditions of the proposed lease, and the day on which the auction will be held, which shall be not less than thirty days after last publication of the notice.

E. Notwithstanding subsections C and D of this section the board may lease properties without public auction under the following conditions:

1. The board posts a notice in a conspicuous place on the affected property.  The notice shall summarize the proposed lease and shall provide information on the process for an interested person to request that proposed action be submitted to public auction. The notice shall be posted for at least fifteen days before the execution of the lease.

2. The board posts a notice on the board's website that specifies the affected property, summarizes the proposed lease and provides information on the process for an interested person to request that the proposed action be submitted to public auction. The notice shall be posted on the website for at least fifteen days before the execution of the lease.

3. The board publishes in the local newspaper where the board regularly publishes notices at the beginning of the fifteen-day posting period a summary of the proposed lease that provides information on the process for an interested person to request that the proposed action be submitted to public auction.

4. The board establishes a process that allows an interested person to request in writing that the proposed lease be submitted to public auction.  If during the fifteen-day posting period a person requests that the proposed lease be submitted to public auction the board shall follow the procedures set forth in this section.

5. The rental value of the property is less than $5,000 per month.

F. Subsections C and D of this section do not apply to leases granting a leasehold interest to a person or entity that owned, leased or otherwise possessed the property to be leased immediately before purchase or acquisition by the county or to other persons or entities leasing property for a term that would expire within four years after the purchase or acquisition by the county. A lease entered into pursuant to this subsection shall be for at least ninety percent of, but not more than, the appraised rental valuation or market analysis determined pursuant to subsection B of this section.

G. This section is supplementary to and not in conflict with other statutes governing or regulating powers of boards of supervisors.