53C-4 - Sales, Exchanges, and Leases of Trust Lands
Title 53C > 53C-4
Sections (11)
Sales of Trust Lands
53C-4-101 - Criteria for sale, lease, exchange, or other disposition of trust lands.
53C-4-101(1) The director shall establish criteria by rule for the sale, exchange, lease, or other disposition or conveyance of trust lands, including procedures for determining fair market value of those lands. Nothing in this title or in the administration’s rules and procedures shall be considered to require the director or the administration to execute any transaction for the disposition of trust lands on terms that the director determines by a written finding to be unfavorable to the beneficiaries. The director shall send a copy of the written finding to each board member for review and comment. 53C-4-101(2) The governor, with the consent of the board, may participate in efforts and initiatives related to school and institutional trust lands inholdings.
53C-4-102 - Sale of trust lands — Fair market value — Determination of sale — Advertising proposed sales — Sale procedures — Defaults.
53C-4-102(1) Trust lands may not be sold for less than the fair market value. 53C-4-102(2) The director shall determine whether disposal or retention of all or a portion of a property interest in trust lands is in the best interest of the trust.When it is determined that the disposal of an interest in trust lands is in the best interest of the applicable trust, the transaction shall be accomplished in an orderly and timely manner. 53C-4-102(3) The director shall advertise any proposed sale, lease, or exchange of an interest in trust lands in a reasonable manner consistent with the director’s fiduciary responsibilities. 53C-4-102(4) Any tract of trust land may be subdivided and sold, leased, or exchanged in accordance with a plan, contract, or other action designating the land to be subdivided that is approved by the director.The director may survey the tract and direct its subdivision.A plat of the survey shall be filed with the county recorder of the county in which the land is located and with the administration. 53C-4-102(5) Sale conditions, including qualification of prospective purchasers, shall be in accordance with accepted mortgage lending and real estate practices. 53C-4-102(6) Upon the sale of land, the director shall issue to the purchaser a certificate of sale which describes the land purchased and states the amount paid, the amount due, and the time when the principal and interest will become due. 53C-4-102(7) Upon payment in full of principal and interest, payment in full of any amounts required to be paid for the partial release of property, or acceptance of appropriate conveyance documents in satisfaction of a land exchange, the governor, or the governor’s designee, shall issue a patent to the purchaser, heir, assignee, successor in interest, or other grantee as determined by the director. 53C-4-102(8) If a purchaser of trust lands defaults in the payment of any installment of principal or interest due under the terms of the contract of sale, the director shall notify the purchaser that if the default is not corrected within 30 days after issuance of the notice the director shall proceed with any remedy which the administration may pursue under law or the contract of sale.The notice shall be sent by registered or certified mail to the purchaser at the latest address as shown by the records of the administration.If the default is not corrected by compliance with the requirements of the notice of default within the time provided by the notice, the director may pursue any available remedy under the contract of sale, including forfeiture.If forfeited lands are sold again to the same purchaser, the sale may be made by a new and independent contract without regard to the forfeited agreement. 53C-4-102(9) The director shall offer for sale any trust lands subject to a valid surface lease agreement or permit to the owner of the lease or permit if:the director approves the sale of the trust lands;the owner of the lease or permit agrees to pay fair market value, which may not exceed an amount equal to the highest credible offer received for the trust lands;the owner of the lease or permit has held the lease or permit for at least 25 consecutive years;the trust lands offered for sale are not greater than 640 acres; andthe trust lands do not have an authorized point of public access at the time of sale.
53C-4-103 - Rulemaking for sale of real property — Licensed or certified appraisers — Exceptions.
53C-4-103(1) In accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, if the administration buys, sells, or exchanges real property, the administration shall make rules to ensure that the value of the real property is congruent with the proposed price and other terms of the purchase, sale, or exchange. 53C-4-103(2) The rules:
shall establish procedures for determining the value of the real property; may provide that an appraisal, as defined under Section 61-2g-102, demonstrates the real property’s value; and may require that the appraisal be completed by a state-certified general appraiser, as defined under Section 61-2g-102. 53C-4-103(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to the purchase, sale, or exchange of real property, or to an interest in real property:
that is under a contract or other written agreement before May 5, 2008; or with a value of less than $100,000, as estimated by the state agency.
53C-4-104 - Sale or lease of trust lands to state entities — Requirements — Excluded lands — Fair market value.
53C-4-104(1) The director may sell or lease to the Utah Department of Natural Resources an aggregation of more than 5,000 acres of trust lands, if the Utah Department of Natural Resources pays at least fair market value for the sale or lease.The director may make an aggregation of more than 5,000 acres of trust lands described in this section by selecting a single, contiguous parcel or combining multiple parcels, with individual parcels no farther apart than two miles.The director may complete a sale or lease described in this section without complying with the advertising requirements described in Subsection 53C-4-102(3), if the director and the board of trustees:provide written notice of a proposed sale or lease under this section to an affected beneficiary; andpresent at an open meeting of the board of trustees and take public comment on:the terms of a proposed sale or lease; andthe director’s findings that waiving the advertising provision is in the best interest of the beneficiaries. 53C-4-104(2) The director may not include the following lands in a sale or lease described in this section:Township 1 South, Range 8 West, USM;Township 1 South, Range 9 West, USM; orTownship 1 South, Range 10 West, USM. 53C-4-104(3) The director shall make rules, in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, for determining the fair market value of trust lands for a sale or lease described in this section.The rules adopted by the director:shall establish the procedure for determining the fair market value of the trust lands;may provide that an appraisal, as that term is defined in Section 61-2g-102, demonstrates the fair market value of the trust lands;shall require the director to obtain at least one third-party appraisal in the procedure established in this Subsection (3); andmay require that additional appraisals be completed by a state-certified general appraiser, as that term is defined in Section 61-2g-102.
Surface Leases and Easements
53C-4-201 - Surface leases and user permits — Procedures for issuing leases and user permits.
53C-4-201(1) The director may issue surface leases and user permits of trust lands for any term consistent with sound and prudent real estate practices. 53C-4-201(2) This section does not apply to leases for grazing, oil, gas, and hydrocarbons, or other minerals. 53C-4-201(3) Surface leases or user permits may be entered into by negotiation, public auction, or other public competitive bidding process as determined by rules of the director. The director may lease trust lands for development and subsequent sale of all or portions of such lands to third parties for no less than fair market value. Requests for proposals (RFP) on trust lands may be offered by the director after public notice.
53C-4-202 - Lease and permit covenants.
Each surface lease or user permit shall contain the following covenants: 53C-4-202(1) the lessee or permittee shall promptly pay the rent annually upon demand; 53C-4-202(2) no waste may be committed on the land; 53C-4-202(3) the premises shall be promptly surrendered at the expiration of the term; 53C-4-202(4) the lessee or permittee may not sublet or assign without the prior written consent of the director; 53C-4-202(5) failure to pay the agreed rent for a period of one month from the time rent is due shall result in a forfeiture of the lease or permit after notice; and 53C-4-202(6) where authorized improvements have been placed on the land by any person other than the lessee or permittee, the director may require the lessee or permittee to allow the owner of the improvements to remove them within 90 days.
53C-4-203 - Easements on trust lands — Director to establish rules.
53C-4-203(1) The director shall establish rules for the issuance of easements on, through, and over any trust land, and may establish price schedules. 53C-4-203(2) A patent for trust lands is subject to any valid existing easement or public right-of-way.
Exchanges and Grants
53C-4-301 - Exchange of trust lands — Based on equal value — Lands encumbered by a lease.
53C-4-301(1) In accordance with rules of the director, trust lands or other trust assets may be exchanged for other land or other assets. The director shall deliver the necessary patents to other proprietors and receive proper deeds for the lands exchanged. The director shall issue, deliver, and accept conveyance documents in land exchanges in accordance with accepted real estate closing practices. 53C-4-301(2) If trust lands are encumbered by an existing lease, the director may, upon approval of an exchange, and with the consent of the lessee, terminate the existing lease and issue a lease of the same type on lands which may be acquired in the same exchange in which the leased lands are used as base. The state shall honor all vested rights upon acceptance of exchanged lands.
53C-4-302 - Public land grants — Board and director to request a survey.
The board and director shall take all necessary steps to encourage the federal Bureau of Land Management to complete the survey of public unsurveyed lands for the purpose of satisfying the public land grants to this state in accordance with federal law.
53C-4-303 - Public land grants — Procedures for selection of additional lands.
53C-4-303(1) All selections of land shall be made in legal subdivisions according to the United States survey. 53C-4-303(2) When a selection has been made and approved by the director, the director shall take action necessary to secure the approval of the proper officers of the United States and the final transfer of the lands selected to this state. 53C-4-303(3) The director may cancel, relinquish, or release the claims of the state to, and may reconvey to the United States, any particular tract of land erroneously listed to the state, or any tract upon which, at the time of selection, a bona fide claim has been initiated by an actual settler.
53C-4-304 - Public land grants — Transcription of selected lands to be sent to county recorders.
53C-4-304(1) The director shall receive clear lists to lands in this state from the Department of the Interior. 53C-4-304(2) Within 90 days of receipt, the director shall transmit to the county recorders a certified transcript of all lands within their respective counties selected and approved for this state under federal law. 53C-4-304(3) The county recorder shall immediately, upon receipt of the certified transcripts, enter them in the records of the recorder’s office. 53C-4-304(4) Any certified transcript required by this section, when recorded, shall be accepted in lieu of the original approved lists, and shall be sufficient evidence of the conveyance of the lands described in it by the United States to the state.