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Idaho plans to sell 180 lake lots by end of 2017 |
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October 30, 2014 |
The State Board of Land Commissioners (Land
Board) voted unanimously October 28 to put 180 more
State-owned leased lake lots on the auction
block over the next three years.
The Land Board's vote directs the Idaho
Department of Lands (IDL) to auction 60 leased
lots, known as "cottage sites," annually between
Priest Lake in northern Idaho and Payette Lake
in west-central Idaho. The plan would result in
the divestiture of approximately two-thirds of
the State-owned cottage sites by the end of
2017.
The recommended number of lots to be auctioned
annually is based a 2010 study, the Cottage Site
Plan, which called for auctioning roughly 60
leased lots per year. The number also is based
on IDL administrative capacity and the ability
to maintain quality assurance, which is directly
impacted by the number of lots being processed
in a single auction.
Cottage site auctions for ownership are
voluntary, meaning the current leaseholder
decides whether to initiate the process to have
the lot they lease auctioned.
A selection window will be opened to all
leaseholders at both lakes next month. Each
lake's share of the 60 lots to be auctioned in a
year will be determined by lessee interest and
the proportion of endowment ownership at each
lake. Using computerized random selection,
applicants then will be selected for auction
cycles for 2015, 2016 and 2017. Applicants will
be informed before by Dec. 15, 2014, about which
auction cycle they secured.
In addition, the Land Board directed IDL to
consider issuing numbers to lessees beyond the
180 lots approved for auction over the next
three years, putting them in a queue for future
auctions if they are eligible. IDL will report
back to the Land Board at its Dec. 16, 2014,
meeting regarding the viability of such a
proposal.
Unleased lots, including vacant lots and lots
under a short term land use permit, also may be
offered at each lake in addition to the 60 lots
auctioned annually, through a separate
application process that is yet to be developed.
Since October 2013, IDL has auctioned 93 lots
for approximately $38.8 million - almost
one-fifth of all the cottage sites at Priest
Lake and Payette Lake. An auction for another 36
lots at Payette Lake already was approved by the
Land Board and will take place in January 2015.
The land is owned by the State of Idaho and
managed by the Land Board and the IDL under a
constitutional mandate to maximize long-term
financial returns for public schools and other
State institutions. The homes and other
improvements on the land are owned by private
individuals as personal property. The homeowners
lease the land from the State, and some families
have been leasing the same lot for decades. In
2010, the Land Board voted to sell the lots over
time.
The plan approved today provides leaseholders
some predictability in how long they may expect
to continue leasing before having an opportunity
to acquire ownership through the auction for
ownership process. It also signals to
prospective buyers who are not current
leaseholders that the lots are available for
open, competitive bidding. The Idaho
Constitution requires a public auction for sale
of endowment lands.
The State Board of Land Commissioners is
comprised of Idaho's governor, attorney general,
secretary of state, state controller and
superintendent of public instruction.
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