Sec. 15.1. (a) As used in this section, "qualifying corporation" refers to a nonprofit corporation or neighborhood development corporation that meets the requirements of subsection (b)(1) and the criteria established by the county fiscal body under subsection (i).

(b) The commission may sell or grant at no cost title to real property to a nonprofit corporation or neighborhood development corporation for the purpose of providing low or moderate income housing or other development that will benefit or serve low or moderate income families if the following requirements are met:

(1) The nonprofit corporation or neighborhood development corporation has, as a major corporate purpose and function, the provision of housing for low and moderate income families within the geographic area in which the parcel of property is located.

(2) The qualifying corporation agrees to cause development that will serve or benefit low or moderate income families on the parcel of property within a specified period, which may not exceed five (5) years from the date of the sale or grant.

(3) The qualifying corporation, if the qualifying corporation is a neighborhood development corporation, agrees that the qualifying corporation and each applicant, recipient, contractor, or subcontractor undertaking work in connection with the real property will:

(A) use lower income project area residents as trainees and as employees; and

(B) contract for work with business concerns located in the project area or owned in substantial part by persons residing in the project area;

to the greatest extent feasible, as determined under the standards specified in 24 CFR 135.

(4) The county fiscal body has determined that the corporation meets the criteria established under subsection (i).

(5) The qualifying corporation agrees to rehabilitate or otherwise develop the property in a manner that is similar to and consistent with the use of the other properties in the area served by the qualifying corporation.

(c) To carry out the purposes of this section, the commission may secure from the county under IC 6-1.1-25-9(e) parcels of property acquired by the county under IC 6-1.1-24 and IC 6-1.1-25.

(d) Before offering any parcel of property for sale or grant, the fair market value of the parcel of property must be determined. The fair market value may be determined by an appraisal made by a qualified employee of the department. However, if the qualified employee of the department determines that:

(1) the property:

(A) is less than five (5) acres in size; and

(B) has a fair market value that is less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000); or

(2) if the commission has obtained the parcel in the manner described in subsection (c);

an appraisal is not required. An appraisal under this subsection is solely for the information of the commission and is not available for public inspection.

(e) The commission must decide whether the commission will sell or grant the parcel of real property at a public meeting. In making this decision, the commission shall give substantial weight to the extent to which and the terms under which the qualifying corporation will cause development to serve or benefit families of low or moderate income. If more than one (1) qualifying corporation is interested in acquiring a parcel of real property, the commission shall conduct a hearing at which a representative of each corporation may state the reasons why the commission should sell or grant the parcel to that corporation.

(f) Before conducting a hearing under subsection (e), the commission shall publish a notice in accordance with IC 5-3-1 indicating that at a designated time the commission will consider selling or granting the parcel of real property under this section. The notice must state the general location of the property, including the street address if any, or a common description of the property other than the legal description.

(g) If the county agrees to transfer a parcel of real property to the commission to be sold or granted under this section, the commission may conduct a hearing to sell or grant the parcel to a qualifying corporation even though the parcel has not yet been transferred to the commission. After the hearing, the commission may adopt a resolution directing the department to take appropriate steps necessary to acquire the parcel from the county and to transfer the parcel to the qualifying corporation.

(h) A conveyance of property to a qualifying corporation under this section shall be made in accordance with section 15(i) of this chapter.

(i) The county fiscal body shall establish criteria for determining the eligibility of nonprofit corporations and neighborhood development corporations for sales or grants of real property under this section. A nonprofit corporation or neighborhood development corporation may apply to the county fiscal body for a determination concerning the corporation's compliance with the criteria established under this subsection.

As added by P.L.14-1991, SEC.19. Amended by P.L.31-1994, SEC.20; P.L.39-1994, SEC.26; P.L.2-1995, SEC.133; P.L.86-1999, SEC.3; P.L.177-2003, SEC.10.