15.2-734 - Purchase, sale, exchange, or lease of real property.
§ 15.2-734. Purchase, sale, exchange, or lease of real property.
The board may (i) sell, at public or private sale, or exchange, lease (aslessor or lessee), mortgage, pledge, subordinate its interest in, orotherwise dispose of the real property, which includes the superjacentairspace, except airspace provided for in § 15.2-2030, which may besubdivided and conveyed separate from the subjacent land surface, of thecounty; and (ii) purchase any real estate as may be necessary for theerection of all necessary county buildings. However, no such land shall bedisposed of unless and until the governing body has held a public hearingconcerning such disposal.
The board may acquire by purchase, gift, devise, bequest, grant, lease, orotherwise title to, or any interests or rights of less than fee-simple titlein, any real property within its jurisdiction, for any public purposes.
The initial term of any lease shall not exceed seventy-five years, providedsuch lease term is not prohibited by the Constitution of Virginia. The termsand provisions of any lease shall be prescribed by the county board, providedthat any lease shall have a clause to the effect that at the termination ofsuch lease it shall not be renewed if required for any of the purposesmentioned in § 15.2-1639, and that upon termination, all improvements thereonshall revert to the county and the real property including all improvementserected thereon shall revert to the county and shall be free from anyencumbrance at the time of such reversion. Such real property including allimprovements situated thereon may be mortgaged or pledged by the lessee forthe term of its lease. If a lease allows a lessee to mortgage or pledge theproperty, it may also provide that the board has the right to take all actionnecessary to cure the default if the lessee defaults.
The board may lease real property to private entities under terms which allowthe private entities to build office and commercial buildings on the propertyand to use the office and commercial space itself or lease it to others. Theleases by the board to private entities may provide that the rent to be paidthe board is to be based in total or in part on a percentage of the profitthe private entity gains from the operation of the development on the leasedreal property; however, the board may not participate in the management oroperation of the private commercial activity on the site except during suchreasonable period as it is necessary for the board to operate the property inorder to protect its interest in the property if the developer defaults onthe lease or on a mortgage or pledge of the property. As soon as reasonablypossible the county shall provide for management and operation of theproperty by a private developer.
The board may lease space in the improvements constructed on the land whichit leases to the private entities for use by the county government and countyconstitutional officers, if it pays fair market rent for the use of the spaceand if the lease of its land is not conditioned on the lease of such space.The lease of such space by the board may be for any terms of years notprohibited by the Virginia Constitution.
This section shall not be construed to in any way affect the requirements of§§ 15.2-1638, 15.2-1643 or § 16.1-69.50.
(1986, c. 595, § 15.1-687.12; 1997, c. 587.)