(a) The Commissioner of Transportation, with the advice and consent of the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management and the State Properties Review Board may sell, lease and convey, in the name of the state, or otherwise dispose of, or enter into agreements concerning, any land and buildings owned by the state and obtained for or in connection with highway purposes or for the efficient accomplishment of the foregoing purposes or formerly used for highway purposes, which real property is not necessary for such purposes. The commissioner shall notify the state representative and the state senator representing the municipality in which said property is located within one year of the date a determination is made that the property is not necessary for highway purposes and that the department intends to dispose of the property.

(b) The Department of Transportation shall obtain a full appraisal on excess property prior to its sale and shall hold a public bid or auction for all properties determined to be legal lots of record. If the department does not receive any bids at the initial public bid or auction, the department may continue to market the property and accept offers for sale or hold another bid or auction. Transfers to other state agencies and municipalities for purposes specified by the department shall be exempt from the appraisal requirement. The department shall offer parcels that are legal lots of record to other state agencies prior to a public bid or auction and shall offer parcels that are not legal lots of record to abutting landowners in accordance with department regulations. If the sale or transfer of property pursuant to this section results in the existing property of an abutting landowner becoming a nonconforming use, pursuant to local zoning requirements, the commissioner may sell or transfer the property to such abutting landowner without public bid or auction. The department shall obtain a second appraisal if the value of such property is more than two hundred fifty thousand dollars and is to be sold to an abutting landowner or in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c) of this section. Any appraisals shall be obtained prior to the determination of a sale price of the excess property.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 3-14b and 4b-21, no residential property upon which a single-family dwelling is situated at the time it is obtained by the department for highway purposes may be sold or transferred pursuant to this section within twenty-five years of the date of its acquisition without the department’s first offering the owner or owners of the property at the time of its acquisition a right of first refusal to purchase the property at the amount of its appraised value as determined in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of this section. Notice of such offer shall be sent to each such owner by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, within one year of the date a determination is made that such property is not necessary for highway purposes. Any such offer shall be terminated by the department if it has not received written notice of the owner’s acceptance of the offer within sixty days of the date it was mailed. The commissioner shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, establishing procedures for the disposition of excess property pursuant to the provisions of this subsection in the event such property is owned by more than one person.

(d) Where the department has in good faith and with reasonable diligence attempted to ascertain the identity of persons entitled to notice under subsection (c) of this section and mailed notice to the last-known address of record of those ascertained, the failure to in fact notify those persons entitled thereto shall not invalidate any subsequent disposition of property pursuant to this section.

(1949 Rev., S. 2226; 1958 Rev., S. 13-105; 1963, P.A. 226, S. 80; P.A. 75-425, S. 48, 57; P.A. 76-253, S. 5, 6; P.A. 77-614, S. 19, 610; P.A. 86-228, S. 2; P.A. 88-283, S. 1, 3; P.A. 03-115, S. 28; P.A. 06-133, S. 3; P.A. 07-232, S. 1; P.A. 13-277, S. 1; P.A. 17-230, S. 6.)

History: 1963 act replaced previous provisions: See title history; P.A. 75-425 required consent of public works commissioner and properties review board in addition to that of commissioner of finance and control for disposal of land or buildings or agreements concerning land or buildings; P.A. 76-253 deleted reference to public works commissioner; P.A. 77-614 substituted secretary of the office of policy and management for commissioner of finance and control; P.A. 86-228 editorially added Subsec. (b) concerning appraisal requirements for sale of certain excess property and requiring department to offer parcels meeting local zoning requirements to other state agencies and to offer parcels which do not meet such requirements to all abutting landowners; P.A. 88-283 amended Subsec. (b) to require department to obtain full appraisal on all excess property, regardless of value and to make necessary technical changes, and added Subsec. (c), requiring department to offer owner of residential property obtained for highway purposes a right of first refusal to purchase the property at amount of its appraised value, and requiring commissioner to adopt regulations, and Subsec. (d) re notification of owner; P.A. 03-115 amended Subsec. (a) to require commissioner to notify the state representative and senator representing the municipality in which property is located within one year of the date of the determination that property is not necessary for highway purposes and that department intends to dispose of it; P.A. 06-133 amended Subsec. (c) to make technical changes and to allow department to offer to sell or transfer land without public bid or auction to an abutting landowner who would otherwise be left with property that is nonconforming as to local zoning, effective June 6, 2006; P.A. 07-232 made a technical change in Subsec. (c), effective July 11, 2007; P.A. 13-277 amended Subsec. (a) to make a technical change, amended Subsec. (b) to require department to obtain a second appraisal only for properties valued over $250,000 that are to be sold to an abutting landowner pursuant to Subsec. (c) and to add provisions re auctions for properties determined to be legal lots of record, the marketing of property if no bids are received at auction, the offering of legal lots of record to other state agencies or municipalities, the offering of parcels that are not legal lots of record to abutting landowners and sales or transfers that result in a property becoming a nonconforming use, and amended Subsec. (c) to delete provisions re the offer of property to municipalities prior to July 1, 1988, and re procedures for the offering of property to state agencies or abutting landowners that was previously offered to owners of the property at the time such property was acquired by department; P.A. 17-230 amended Subsec. (b) by deleting provision re offer of parcels to municipality before holding public bid or auction and making a technical change.