Connecticut General Statutes 16-50d – Action to acquire property
(a) Within one hundred eighty days after approval by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority of the sale, lease or other disposition of land owned by a public service company, except a water company, the recipient of a notice provided pursuant to subsection (a) of section 16-50c may give written notice to the authority and to the public service company by certified mail, return receipt requested, of a desire to acquire such land and each shall have the right to acquire the interest in the land which the public service company has declared its intent to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of, provided (1) the state’s right to acquire the land shall be secondary to that of the municipality, and (2) the recipient has not waived its right to acquire such land as set forth in subsection (b) of this section. In the case of the sale, lease or other disposition of land owned by a water company, within one hundred days after approval by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, the recipient of a notice provided pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of section 16-50c or any nonprofit land-holding organization which has identified itself as a potential acquirer pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of section 16-50c may give written notice to the authority and to the water company by certified mail, return receipt requested, of a desire to acquire the interest in the land which the water company has declared its intent to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of, provided the recipient has not waived its right to acquire such land as set forth in subsection (b) of this section.
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 16-50d
- Authority: means the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and "department" means the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. See Connecticut General Statutes 16-1
- Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection: means the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection appointed pursuant to title 4, or the commissioner's designee. See Connecticut General Statutes 16-1
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- Person: means an individual, business, firm, corporation, association, joint stock association, trust, partnership or limited liability company. See Connecticut General Statutes 16-1
- Public service company: includes electric distribution, gas, telephone, pipeline, sewage, water and community antenna television companies and holders of a certificate of cable franchise authority, owning, leasing, maintaining, operating, managing or controlling plants or parts of plants or equipment, but shall not include towns, cities, boroughs, any municipal corporation or department thereof, whether separately incorporated or not, a private power producer, as defined in section 16-243b, or an exempt wholesale generator, as defined in 15 USC 79z-5a. See Connecticut General Statutes 16-1
- Water company: includes every person owning, leasing, maintaining, operating, managing or controlling any pond, lake, reservoir, stream, well or distributing plant or system employed for the purpose of supplying water to fifty or more consumers. See Connecticut General Statutes 16-1
(b) If the recipients of a notice provided pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) of section 16-50c, or any nonprofit land-holding organization identified as a potential acquirer pursuant to subsection (b) of section 16-50c, fails to give notice, as provided in subsection (a) or (d) of this section, or give notice to the authority and to the public service company or water company by certified mail, return receipt requested, of a desire not to acquire such land, or if a nonprofit land-holding organization fails to identify itself as a potential acquirer pursuant to subsection (b) of section 16-50c, the right to acquire such land in accordance with the terms of sections 16-50b to 16-50e, inclusive, shall have been waived by such recipient or nonprofit land-holding organization.
(c) The written notice given by a municipality, the state, a water company or a nonprofit land-holding organization pursuant to subsection (a) or (d) of this section shall constitute acceptance of the terms, conditions and price set forth in the agreement approved by the authority in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) of section 16-43 and section 16-50c. The municipality, state, water company or nonprofit land-holding organization shall thereafter acquire the interest in land which the public service company or water company has proposed to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of within fifteen months after such written notice has been given.
(d) (1) Within one hundred eighty days after such approval by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority has been so given with respect to land owned by a public service company other than a water company, a chief executive officer or officers or the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection exercising their rights under subsection (a) of this section may give written notice to the authority and to the public service company by certified mail, return receipt requested, of the municipality’s or the state’s intent to acquire such land by eminent domain and each shall have the right to acquire the land which the public service company has declared its intent to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of, provided the municipality or the state has not waived its right to acquire such land as set forth in subsection (b) of this section.
(2) Within one hundred days after such approval by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority has been so given with respect to land owned by a water company, a chief executive officer or officers or the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection exercising their rights under subsection (a) of this section may give written notice to the authority and to the water company by certified mail, return receipt requested, of the municipality’s or the state’s intent to acquire such land by eminent domain and, subject to the order of rights set forth in subsection (f) of this section to acquire water company land, each shall have the right to acquire the land which the water company has declared its intent to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of, provided the municipality or the state has not waived its right to acquire such land as set forth in subsection (b) of this section.
(3) The procedure for acquiring the land pursuant to this subsection shall be as follows: The Comptroller in the name of the state or the municipality shall proceed in the same manner specified for redevelopment agencies in accordance with sections 8-128 to 8-133, inclusive, provided, if such land is subject to the provisions of section 25-32, such land shall not be sold or condemned as herein provided without the approval of the Department of Public Health. The price, terms and conditions approved by the authority in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) of section 16-43 and section 16-50c shall apply to any such procedure and shall not be changed without the approval of the authority in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) of section 16-43.
(e) In no case shall any such land be sold or transferred to a corporation, ten per cent or more of the capital stock of which is owned or controlled by the stockholders of the public service company or water company, for a consideration less than the fair market value of the land. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to transfers of land between public service companies or water companies.
(f) When more than one person gives notice of a desire to acquire a water company source or land, the right to acquire such source or land shall be in the following order: (1) A water company, as defined in section 25-32a, for water supply purposes; (2) a municipality in which the source or land is located for water supply, open space or recreational purposes; (3) the state for open space or recreational purposes; (4) a private, nonprofit land-holding organization for open space or recreational purposes; (5) a municipality for any public purpose, including, but not limited to, an educational use; and (6) the state for any public purpose. Any such source or land acquired for open space or recreational purposes shall have such restriction placed in the instrument intended as a conveyance recorded in the land records in the town where the source or land is situated. No source or land acquired pursuant to this section for open space or recreational purposes may be used for any other purpose unless the source or land has been reoffered for open space or recreational purposes pursuant to the provisions of this section and no notice of a desire to acquire such source or land has been given. The authority shall approve any such reoffering, provided there is compliance with this section. In any decision pursuant to this subsection, the authority shall act in concurrence with the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (5) of this subsection, not more than fifteen per cent of the land acquired pursuant to this section may be used by a municipality for a use other than open space or recreational purposes without a reoffering. Any such other use shall be subject to the provisions of section 7-131n. As used in this subsection, “open space or recreational purposes” means use of lands for agriculture, parks, natural areas, forests, camping, fishing, wetlands preservation, wildlife habitat, reservoirs, hunting, golfing, boating, swimming and hiking, and “educational use” means the use by any town, city or borough, whether consolidated or unconsolidated, and any school district or regional school district, for the purposes of schools and related facilities.