§ 37-7-3 Reconveyance, lease, or sale of
land acquired by condemnation. –
Whenever in the opinion of the acquiring authority any land or other real
property or interest therein taken by condemnation is no longer required for
the purpose for which it was taken, the acquiring authority, with the approval
of the state properties committee, may, with the consent of the person or
persons from whom the land, property, or interest was obtained, or their heirs,
successors, or assigns, convey the property or any part thereof, with or
without suitable restrictions, by executing and recording a deed thereof. The
deed shall be executed on behalf of the state by the acquiring authority,
approved as to substance by the director of administration, and approved as to
form by the attorney general. The recorded deed shall thereby revest the title
to the land, property or interest therein to the persons, their heirs,
successors, or assigns, in whom it was vested at the time of the taking, and
the fair market value of the land or property or interest therein so conveyed
at the time of the conveyance shall be considered in mitigation of damages in
any proceedings instituted on account of the taking. Or, the acquiring
authority, with the approval of the state properties committee, may lease or
sell and convey the property, with or without suitable restrictions, for
consideration not less than that paid for it by the acquiring authority or not
less than its appraised value as determined by the state properties committee
at the time of the leasing or selling, by executing and delivering a lease or
deed thereof, which lease or deed shall be executed on behalf of the state by
the acquiring authority, approved as to substance by the director of
administration, and approved as to form by the attorney general; provided,
however, the person or persons in whom the title to the land or property or
interest therein was vested at the time it was acquired under the provisions of
this chapter shall, if living, have the right to lease, purchase, or reinvest
him or herself or themselves, as the case may be, of the land or property or
interest therein before the property may be leased, sold, or conveyed as
provided by this section. A prior right shall be conclusively presumed to have
been waived in the event that a written offer to lease, sell, or convey the
property, containing the terms and conditions of the offer, shall be sent by
registered or certified mail to the last known address of the person or
persons, and the offer shall not have been accepted within thirty (30) days
from the date of the mailing. In the event the prior right to purchase or lease
the land or real property shall be waived by the person or persons in whom the
title to the land or property or interest therein was vested, the city or town
wherein the land or property is situated shall have the second right to
purchase or lease the land and property upon the same terms and conditions as
the acquiring authority was willing to sell or lease the land or property to
the vested person or persons thereof. A second right to purchase or lease the
land or property shall be conclusively presumed to have been waived in the
event a written offer to sell or lease the same, containing the terms of the
offer, shall have been sent by registered or certified mail to the city or town
clerk, as the case may be, wherein the land and property are situated and the
offer shall not have been accepted within thirty (30) days from the date of the
mailing.
(P.L. 1953, ch. 3105, § 16; impl. am. P.L. 1956, ch. 3717, § 1; G.L.
1956, § 37-7-3; P.L. 1966, ch. 203, § 1.)