Agenda - Council - 05/27/1980 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The possibility and feasibility of utilizing existing railroad trackage as part of a fixed guideway and/or light rail mass transit system should be addressed and, if exist- lng railroad trackage/right-of-ways are petitioned for abandonment, these should be preserved by the state through alternate public use until rail systems once again become economically feasible or needed because of energy considerations. a building or improvement is not designed by an architect, engineer or contractor, or inspected by a local building official, then the state shall provide a fee inspector who shall inspect the building or improve- ment and certify that it comp.lies with the energy code. This certification must be completed before any city or county may issue a certificate of occupancy or final inspection for thebuilding. Eminent domain law In recent years, amendments have been made to the eminent domain law in an effort to safe- guard the interests of the property owners who become involved in this process. Taken as a Whole, however, the present procedure seems to result in the public paying excessively high prices for land. Therefore, the League believes the entire process pcovided in the law should be critically reviewed and streamlined. This examination should include a re-evalualion of the advisability of making appra- isals public information; the advisability of using a professional referee in lieu of three commis- s;oners to establish the value of land;and the legal- ity and feasilibility of collecting property taxes on pcoperty for several prior years in instances where the award is substantially in excess of the ma~'ket value of the property for tax purposes. The League Board should establish a task force to study eminent domain, its alternatives, and re!ocation practices and costs. Establish federal and state funding mechan- isms for implementation of hot water and/ or steam district heating systems. Sug- gested financing options include a state capital grant matching program with direct grants to cities; a state bond program to provide loans of 100% of the capital cost; and broadening the availabilty of revenue bonds for these purposes. Continue the ongoing fuel assistance pro- gram for Iow income households and to identify methods of support which would include a maintenance of effort on the part of the recipient. Establish weatherization programs for Iow income households. Permit labor costs, as well as materials, to be at a realistic level for Iow income weatherization pro- grams, with counties, cities and GAP agencies as designated recipients. Energy conservation Cities will be adopting an overall energy con- servation plan to accomplish prioritization of conservation efforts through the public, private, commercial and industrial sectors. The plan will be based on the rationale that conservation efforts achieve the greatest energy savings at the lowest cost. The League believes that a city's individual energy conservation plan can be accomplished if the legislature permits or establishes some of the following measures: Make the energy code mandatory state- wide with enforcement as follows. Any building or improvement to which the energy code applies shall be designed to conform to it by an architect, engineer or contractor who shall also inspect the building and certify to the city, or county if located outside of a city, that the build- ing or improvement has been constructed in compliance with the energy code. If o o Continue the availability of MHFA and other funds-to finance grants and Iow interest loans for weatherization pro- grams. Support increasing tax incentives for re- sidential weatherization. Provide financial support for residential energy audit programs coordinated at the local level. Establish an Energy Bank Trust Fund to finance energy cost-effective programs at the local level. This fund should be a de- signated block grant to cities for imple- mentation of residential conservation mea- sures, capital grants, and local conserva- tion and energy codes and energy code en- forcement. .Support incentives for gasohol production, including promoting gasohol usage by - 24 -