North Carolina § 136-19 - 6. Right-of-Way Claim Report.

§ 136-19. 6. Right-of-Way Claim Report.

Intent. - It is the intent of the General Assembly to provide the Department of Transportation with the resources and flexibility necessary to accelerate the time in which projects are completed while maintaining fairness to affected property owners and other citizens of this State. It is the belief of the General Assembly that providing the Department with the flexibility allowed under subsection (b) of this section will help toward achieving this intent. Therefore, the Department is encouraged to utilize the flexibility provided in subsection (b) of this section for all acquisitions of land in which the estimate of the acquisition is ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or less. Permissive Exception to Appraisal. - When the Department acquires land, and except as otherwise required by federal law, an appraisal is not required if the Department estimates that the proposed acquisition is forty thousand dollars ($40,000) or less, based on a review of data available to the Department at the time the Department begins the acquisition process. If the Department estimates the acquisition to be forty thousand dollars ($40,000) or less, the Department may prepare a Right-of-Way Claim Report instead of an appraisal. The owner of the land to be acquired may request the Department provide an appraisal for any right-of-way claim of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more. The Department may contract with a qualified third party to prepare a Right-of-Way Claim Report. Any person preparing a Right-of-Way Claim Report must have a sufficient understanding of the local real estate market. Construction. - Nothing in subsection (b) of this section shall be construed as superseding or altering any provision of federal law requiring the Department to obtain an appraisal of a property the Department is attempting to acquire. History (2017-57, s. 34.5(a); 2018-74, s. 1(a).) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2017-57, s. 34.5(d), made this section effective May 15, 2018, and applicable to acquisitions on or after that date. Session Laws 2017-57, s. 34.5(c), provides: "(c) The Department of Transportation, in consultation with the North Carolina Appraisal Board, the North Carolina Chapter of the Appraisal Institute, and the North Carolina Association of Realtors, shall develop a process for performing appraisal waiver valuations authorized under G.S. 136-19.6, as enacted by subsection (a) of this section. By December 31, 2017, the Department shall submit a report to the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee on the development of the appraisal waiver valuation process. The report required under this subsection shall include an explanation of how the appraisal waiver valuation process developed by the Department conforms with the provisions of Chapter 93E of the General Statutes." Session Laws 2017-57, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations Appropriations Act of 2017.'" Session Laws 2017-57, s. 39.4, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2017-2019 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2017-2019 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2017-57, s. 39.6, is a severability clause. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2018-74, s. 1(a), effective July 1, 2018, substituted the section catchline for the former, which read: "Appraisal waiver valuation"; substituted "estimate of the acquisition is" for "value of the acquisition is estimated at" in the last sentence of subsection (a); and rewrote subsection (b).