Napa County Municipal Code Ch. 2.98 Sale of Forfeited Real Property

The authority for this chapter is Government Code Section 25538.5 which authorizes the board of supervisors of a county to designate a county officer or department head to sell, under an expedited and more flexible procedure, real property which has been forfeited to the county, as involved in or proceeds of certain criminal activity, pursuant to Health and Safety Code Sections 11470 et seq. or Penal Code Sections 186 et seq. For purposes of this chapter, "real property" shall include any interest of record, including deeds of trust and the obligations secured thereby, in one or more parcels of real property whether located within or without the boundaries of the county.

(Ord. 1050 § 2 (part), 1993: prior code § 2700)

Sales of forfeited real property under this chapter shall be conducted and otherwise administered by the Napa County district attorney-public administrator with the legal assistance of the Napa county counsel, as designated in Section 2.24.055 of this code. All references in this chapter to the district attorney-public administrator shall include the assistant public administrator or other duly-authorized deputy public administrator for the county.

(Ord. 1050 § 2 (part), 1993: prior code § 2701)

A. Investigation of Value. Following receipt of a certified copy of the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction forfeiting real property to the county pursuant either to Health and Safety Code Section 11470 et seq. or Penal Code Section 186 et seq., the district attorney-public administrator shall cause investigation and/or appraisal of the property to be conducted to determine the reasonable fair market value thereof.

B. Publication of Notice of Intention to Sell. Upon completion of the investigation and/or appraisal described in subsection A of this section, the district attorney-public administrator shall publish a notice of intention to sell forfeited real property. The notice shall contain the information set forth in subsection C of this section and shall be published for three successive weeks in a newspaper regularly published once a week or oftener, with at least five days intervening between the respective publication dates.

C. Contents of Notice of Intention to Sell. The notice of intention to sell required by this section shall contain all of the following information:

1. A description of the real property to be sold in a manner sufficient to identify the property, including the nature of the interest therein;

2. The minimum price, based upon the determination made under subsection A of this section, and the terms upon which the property will be sold;

3. The time and place at which sealed written proposals to purchase the property will be received. The time for such receipt shall be not less than seven days after completion of the publication under subsection B of this section;

4. The time and place where the written sealed bids received will be opened and oral bids may be made. The notice shall state that no oral bid will be considered unless it is made by a responsible person and exceeds by at least five percent the highest written proposal timely submitted by a responsible person;

5. A statement that the district attorney-public administrator reserves the right, prior to and following the opening of written bids and submission of oral bids, to reject any and all such bids and withdraw the property from sale, if he or she deems such action to be in the public interest.

(Ord. 1050 § 2 (part), 1993: prior code § 2702)

At the time and place fixed for the opening of the bids, the district attorney-public administrator may accept the highest bid, written or oral, or reject any and all bids and withdraw the property from sale if he or she deems such action to be in the public interest. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, no oral bid shall be considered or accepted unless it is made by a responsible person and exceeds the highest timely received written bid submitted by a responsible person by at least five percent. The determination of whether a bidder is a responsible person shall rest in the sole discretion of the district attorney-public administrator.

(Ord. 1050 § 2 (part), 1993: prior code § 2703)

If, at the time and place fixed for the opening of the bids, no written bid or oral overbid is made which equals or exceeds the minimum price fixed for the property and specified in the notice of intention to sell, the district attorney-public administrator may, after rejecting all of the submitted bids, negotiate a sale of the property with and sell the property to, any person without further notice and competitive bidding, as long as such sale is for not less than the minimum price and is made within one year following completion of the notice of intention to sell published in accordance with Sections 2.98.030(B) and (C).

(Ord. 1050 § 2 (part), 1993: prior code § 2704)

Where real property sold under this chapter was forfeited pursuant to Penal Code Section 186 et seq., the proceeds of such sale shall be distributed as specified in Penal Code Section 186.8. Where such real property was forfeited pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section 11470 et seq., the proceeds of such sale shall be distributed as specified in Health and Safety Code Section 11489.

(Ord. 1050 § 2 (part), 1993: prior code § 2705)