20.1-02-05.1. Land acquisitions - Statewide land acquisition plan

20.1-02-05.1. Land acquisitions - Statewide land acquisition plan

1. The director shall establish a comprehensive statewide land acquisition plan, subject

to approval by the legislative assembly or the budget section if the legislative assembly

is not in session. Every land acquisition made by the department exceeding ten acres

[4.05 hectares] or ten thousand dollars must be approved by the legislative assembly

or the budget section if the legislative assembly is not in session. Any request

considered by the budget section must comply with section 54-35-02.9.

2. Before a land acquisition, the department shall have the land in question appraised by

a certified appraiser. The department may not acquire any land for an amount that

exceeds the appraised value except for parcels or tracts of land less than forty acres

[16.19 hectares] which may be acquired for up to two hundred percent of the

appraised value.

3. Before the appraisal, the director shall give notice of the intent to purchase to every

landowner within one mile [1.16 kilometers] of the boundary of the land to be

appraised unless the landowner is within the boundary of a city, then the director shall

send notice to the governing body of the city or unless the landowner is within the

geographical boundary of a rural subdivision where the lots are ten acres [4.04

hectares] or less, then the director shall send notice to the governing body of the

township or other governing authority for the rural subdivision. The director shall send

notice to the board of county commissioners in the county of the land to be appraised,

the board of township supervisors if the land to be appraised is in an organized

township, and the governing body of a city within twelve miles [19.32 kilometers] of the

boundary of the land to be appraised. The director shall publish notice in the official

newspaper of the county of the land to be appraised, once a week for two consecutive

weeks. The notice must contain the amount of acreage, the legal description, and the

fact that the department intends to purchase the land.