§ 58-255. Organization of the bank.

The bank shall be directed and managed by a bank board to consist of five members who shall be residents of Fulton County, nominated by the department and approved by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners. Specifically, one member shall be experienced in the banking or financial industry, one member shall be a private landowner in the CHC area, one member shall be experienced in the legal industry, one member shall represent a conservation organization, and one member shall be a representative from the real estate development industry. The terms of office for the bank board members shall be four years and staggered.

Three members shall constitute a quorum. A majority vote shall be required for any action before the bank board.

The bank board may adopt procedural and substantive rules to govern its powers, duties and functions. Staff support shall be provided by the department.

(1)

Empowerments. The bank board shall be empowered to:

a.

Enter into agreements for professional services, e.g. consulting, appraising, accounting, subject to available funding;

b.

Apply for and accept grants or loans for the bank board's authorized purposes;

c.

Purchase, receive, sell or hold TDRs;

d.

Purchase properties in fee simple to preserve them through conservation easements and resell the restricted properties at fair market value; and

e.

Do all other things necessary to carry out the functions and operations of the bank.

(2)

Authority and compensation. The members of the bank board shall receive no compensation from the bank except reimbursement for expenses incurred for the performance of their duties as board members.

(3)

Registry of TDRs. For the purposes of tracking and marketing transfer of development rights, a central registry of available transfer of development rights certificates shall be established by the bank or the department in the event the bank is not established.

(4)

Acquisition priorities. The following priorities shall be considered by the bank board for purchasing TDRs:

a.

Properties adjacent to the living working areas (outside the 300-foot rural protection setback);

b.

Properties that border the Chattahoochee River, its tributaries, and any associated water features such as wetlands.

c.

Development pressures on the land;

d.

Price of the development rights;

e.

Pre-existing perpetual restrictions against development;

f.

Proximity to other properties with easement restrictions for the purpose of creating large, contiguous tracts of conserved land;

g.

Environmental assessments; and

h.

Other factors of public interest determined by the bank board.

(5)

Purchase, sale and value of TDRs. To determine purchase and/or sales price of development rights, the bank board may negotiate, use a competitive bid process, or any other method deemed fair and equitable by the bank board.

Purchase and sale prices must be supported by an appraisal paid for by the bank board.

Any eligible landowner may approach the bank board with an offer to sell TDRs. The bank board shall have 60 days to consider and respond to such offers.

Landowners shall follow the procedures and requirements for certification of TDRs as prescribed by this division.

All transactions through the bank board must follow the recordation requirements prescribed by this division.

The bank board may, as a preservation measure, acquire fee simple interest in sending area parcels on a competitive basis in the open market.

The intent of a purchase is to place a perpetual conservation easement on a property and then resell the restricted parcel for fair market value.

Purchase and resale of sending area parcels is limited to those parcels where development pressures or the prospects of a change of the use of the property are high and/or whose location and/or quality are such that the property's preservation is important to the continued viability of the Chattahoochee Hill Country.

(6)

Right of first refusal. The bank board shall have the authority to enter into right of first refusal agreements with sending area landowners for the purchase of either TDRs or property in fee simple.

The right of first refusal agreement is an instrument that is recorded in the chain of title for the subject property, and is to be effective concurrent with the ownership of the signer(s) of the agreement and to be renewed by immediate family members who may become successive owners.

In the event that all or a portion of the TDRs or property may be sold to someone other than an immediate family member or developed or subdivided, notification by the landowner to the bank board shall be required.

Within 90 days of notification, the bank board may exercise the right of first refusal by acquiring either the development rights or the property in fee simple at a price which is equal to any bona fide offer which has been tendered to the landowner or the appraised fair market value, if an offer has not been tendered, plus $1.00.

(Ord. No. 03-0492, 4-2-03)