AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE CONVEYANCE OF CERTAIN PARCELS OF LAND IN THE CITY OF LOWELL.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 131 of the acts of 1998 is hereby repealed.
SECTION 2. (a) Notwithstanding sections 32 to 37, inclusive, of chapter 7C of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance may, in consultation with the commissioner of conservation and recreation, convey to the city of Lowell for general municipal purposes: (i) a certain parcel of land acquired for conservation and recreation purposes, is described in a deed recorded in the Middlesex northern district registry of deeds in book 2583, page 326 and shown on a plan of land entitled “Compiled Plan Of Land In Lowell, Mass. Prepared for Lowell Electronic Park Realty Trust”, dated July 1982 and recorded in the Middlesex northern district registry of deeds in plan book 138, plan 111; and (ii) a certain parcel of land acquired for conservation and recreation purposes, described in a deed recorded in the Middlesex northern district registry of deeds in book 2469, page 630 and shown as parcel 1 on a plan of land entitled “Plan of Property Owned by 1 Manzi Sales & Service, Inc., 3A, 3B The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Broadway Street, Lowell, Massachusetts”, dated November 27, 1979 and recorded in the Middlesex northern district registry of deeds in plan book 133, page 86. Any conveyance shall be subject to such additional conditions and restrictions as the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance may, in consultation with the commissioner of conservation and recreation, determine.
(b) At least 1 independent appraisal of the fair market value and value in use of the parcels described in subsection (a) shall be prepared in accordance with the usual and customary professional appraisal practices by a qualified appraiser commissioned by the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance. The commissioner shall submit any such appraisals to the inspector general for review and comment. The inspector general shall review and approve the appraisals and the review shall include an examination of the methodology utilized for any appraisals. The inspector general shall prepare a report of the review and file the report with the commissioner. After receiving the report, the commissioner shall submit copies of the report to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on state administration and regulatory oversight not less than 15 days prior to the execution of any documents affecting the transfers described in said subsection (a).
(c) Consideration for the conveyance of the parcels, or interests therein as described in subsection (a) shall be: (i) the full and fair market value or the value in proposed use, whichever is greater, as determined by the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance pursuant to subsection (b); or (ii) the transfer to the department of conservation and recreation of a parcel of land or an interest therein or funding for the acquisition of a parcel of land or an interest therein which shall be equal to or greater than the value of the highest appraised values as determined pursuant to said subsection (b) or any combination of land, an interest in land or funding that is acceptable to the department of conservation and recreation. If the city of Lowell proposes to convey a parcel of land or an interest therein to the commonwealth, the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance shall include such land or interest therein within the appraisal assignment pursuant to said subsection (b). The land or interest in land shall be acceptable to the department of conservation and recreation. Any land or interests in land, whether conveyed by the city of Lowell or acquired by the department of conservation and recreation, shall be permanently held and managed for conservation and recreation purposes by the department. If the value of the land or any interests therein being conveyed to the commonwealth exceeds the appraised values as determined pursuant to said subsection (b), the commonwealth shall have no obligation to pay the difference to the city of Lowell. Any monetary payments made to the commonwealth as a result of the conveyances authorized by this act shall be deposited in the Conservation Trust established in section 1 of chapter 132A of the General Laws.
(d) The city of Lowell shall assume all costs associated with any engineering, surveys, appraisals, deed preparation and other expenses deemed necessary by the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance to execute the conveyances authorized in this act.
(e) No instrument executed pursuant to this act shall be valid unless it provides that the land conveyed shall be used solely for the purposes described in this act. The instrument authorized in subsection (a) shall include a reversionary clause that stipulates the property shall revert to the commonwealth and be assigned to the care, custody and control of the department of conservation and recreation, upon such terms and conditions as the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance may determine, if the property ceases to be used for the express purposes authorized in this act. If any interest reverts to the commonwealth, any further disposition shall be subject to Article XCVII of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth and sections 34 to 37, inclusive, of chapter 7C of the General Laws.
Approved, July 29, 2020.