Invitation to Public OnLine Auction

Auction Narrative 

Auction Information:

• Auction Date: December 22, 2020
• Auction Registration: December 10 – December 21, 2020
• Bidding Start Time: 11:00 a.m. MST (all times based on official time in Mesa, Arizona)
• Auction Location: OnLine at https://mesa.easibuy.com/advertisements/1316   
• Auctioneer: EASiBuy Registration, Certification and Training Required (See Instructions Below)

PROPERTY INFORMATION

• Assessor Parcel No.: 141-02-002E (City will retain ownership of a 0.74 +/- acre portion of the parcel for a future well site.See the Site Conditions & Development Requirements in the Additional Property & Sale Information below for more information.)
• Location: Thomas Road west of the Red Mountain 202 Freeway Maricopa County, Arizona
• Size: 12.53 Acres +/-     
• Legal Description: Refer to Exhibit “A” for legal description 
• Present Use: Vacant land Citrus Grove
• Zoning: RS-43
• Title Report
• Bidders Access License for Property

CALL TO SCHEDULE ACCESS TO THE PROPERTY (480) 644-2521

GENERAL PLAN / ZONING DISTRICT

• The General Plan Character area designation is Neighborhood with a subtype of large lot/rural.
• According to Chapter 7 of the Mesa 2040 General Plan, the primary focus of the neighborhood character type is to provide a safe place for people to live where they can feel secure and enjoy their surrounding community.  The character type can contain a wide range of housing options and often have associated nonresidential uses such as schools, parks, places of worship, and local serving businesses.
• Current Zoning – RS Single Residence. The current zoning on this site is Single Residence (RS-43). Per the City of Mesa Zoning Ordinance to provide areas for detached single residence housing at densities of up to 7 units per net acre. Designators (-90, -43, -35, -15, -9, -7 and -6) are used to denote the minimum lot size in thousands of square feet. This zoning district also provides for residential care facilities, day care group homes, park and recreation facilities, and civic and institutional uses such as churches and places for religious assemblies that are appropriate in a residential environment. Non-residential uses of a strictly limited scale under the specific conditions listed may also be allowed.
  
  

SUBMISSION OF QUESTIONS AND INQUIRIES

• All questions and inquiries shall be submitted in writing to the City Contacts listed below no later than 5:00 pm on December 15, 2020.  Failure to submit by the deadline may result in the question or inquiry not receiving a response. Mesa staff will respond in writing and post all questions, inquiries and responses as a Public Auction Notice Addendum by 5:00 pm on December 17, 2020.  
• NO RIGHT TO RELY ON VERBAL RESPONSES.  A Bidder shall not rely on City staff, employees, elected officials, board members, or consultants’ verbal or email responses to questions or inquiries; the City’s only formal response to any question or inquiry will appear as a Public Auction Notice Addendum.
• City Contacts
• All questions and inquiries regarding this public auction shall be directed to Kim Fallbeck at kim.fallbeck@mesaaz.gov or Julie Ivey at Julie.Ivey@mesaaz.gov, or they may be submitted through the Electronic Auction interface at https://mesa.easibuy.com/advertisements/1316. 

GENERAL INFORMATION

• DUTY TO EXAMINE.  It is the responsibility of each prospective Bidder to examine all information made available about the Property, make inquiries, ask questions, and seek clarification, as necessary.  Lack of care in preparing a bid shall not be grounds for modifying or withdrawing the bid after the auction, nor shall it give rise to any claim in law or in equity against the City, its officials, employees or representatives.
• Site Inspections.  Prospective Bidders may inspect the Property, including performing soil testing, after entering into Bidders Access License with the City
• LOBBYING PROHIBITION.  Any communication between any Bidder or their affiliates and the City (including, but not limited to, City Council, City employees, and City representatives or consultants) that is made for the purpose of influencing the process or the outcome of the auction, is strictly prohibited.  This prohibition is imposed from December 9, 2020 to December 22, 2020 or until the City cancels the auction, rejects all bids, or otherwise acts in a manner which ends the auction process.  This section shall not prohibit public comment at any City Council meeting, study session, or City Council committee meeting.  The lobbying prohibition shall not apply to Bidder-initiated communication with the City contacts identified herein, or City-initiated communications for the purposes of conducting the auction. Persons violating this prohibition may be subject to a warning letter or rejection of their bid depending on the nature of the violation.  This section shall not be interpreted to prohibit: (a) public comment at any City Council meeting, study session, or City Council committee meeting; or (b) the exercise of any protected speech right.
• ACCESSIBILITY. The City of Mesa is committed to making information accessible. For disability reasonable accommodation, translation, or additional format, please contact the City of Mesa Real Estate Office at 480-644-2521. Requests should be made as early as possible to allow time to arrange the accommodation.

BIDDING INFORMATION

• AUCTION REGISTRATION AND TRAINING. Bidders must first register with the City for the auction at https://mesa.easibuy.com/advertisements/1316 and then complete Qualified Bidder Online Auction Training through EASIBuy during the required period (see below). During registration, each Bidder shall deliver and submit to the City of Mesa’s Real Estate Services representative located at 20 E. Main Street, Suite 500, Mesa, AZ 85201, a cashier’s check or money order made payable to the City of Mesa in the amount of $47,500.00 by 9:00 a.m.,  the day of the auction. All Bidders, except for the highest Bidder, will have the cashier’s check or money order returned at the conclusion of the auction.

QUALIFIED BIDDER ONLINE AUCTION TRAINING

• It is each Bidder’s responsibility to perform all due diligence and investigation of the Property, including researching the records of the parcel, and all relevant files regarding the Property made available by the City of Mesa and any other public agency regarding the Property.

• Notice is hereby given of the ongoing legal actions regarding the navigability of the Salt River before the Arizona Navigable Stream Adjudication Commission pursuant to Title 37, Chapter 7 of the Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S. § 37-1101 et seq.).  This Navigable Stream Adjudication deals with title to the beds of Arizona rivers and streams, including the Salt River, based on the question of “navigability” at statehood.  The results of the Navigable Stream Adjudication may affect the Property and title thereto.  Additional information can be found at the following link:  http://www.ansac.az.gov/

• All Bidders must sign an affidavit (“Bidder Affidavit”) making certain guarantees related to the auction including: (i) the Bidder has undertaken due diligence in preparation for the auction or waives their right to, (ii) the Bidder’s representative is authorized to bid and bind the Bidder, and (iii) the Bidder is purchasing the Property in an “AS IS” condition “WITH ALL FAULTS.”  All Bidders shall acknowledge and agree in the Bidder Affidavit that they are purchasing the Property solely upon the basis of their own due diligence and investigation of the Property, and not on the basis or any representation, express or implied, written or oral, made by the City of Mesa or its elected officials, employees, agents or representatives.  Each Bidder shall also acknowledge that he or she did not engage in collusion or other anti-competitive practices in connection with the preparation or submission of its bid(s).  Once complete, the Bidder Affidavit can be uploaded to the auction site at:  https://mesa.easibuy.com/advertisements/1316  or delivered in person to the City of Mesa, Real Estate Services located at 20 E. Main Street, Suite 500, Mesa AZ 85201 by 9:00 a.m. the day of the auction.
• Those registered Bidders who complete training and submit the completed Bidder Affidavit prior to 9:00 a.m. on the auction date are eligible to submit initial price offers which will remain sealed until 11:00 a.m. on the auction date.  If the $47,500.00 cashier’s check or money order is not received by the City of Mesa by 9:00 a.m. on the auction date, then the Bidder’s initial offer will not be considered and the Bidder’s access to the auction website will be removed by EASiBuy.  

• The minimum bid amount is $950,000.00.  The appraisal report for the Property is posted below, under Additional Property & Sale Information.

• After the first bid, bidding increments shall be no less than $10,000.00 thereafter.  Bidding will be conducted online.

RESERVATIONS OF THE CITY

SUMMARY OF TERMS OF SALE

1. Property Sold “AS-IS.” The Property is being sold “AS-IS” and therefore is subject to existing encumbrances, reservations, easements, leases, and rights-of-way, including any easements on the Property held by the City which are a sole and separate right of the City that is not being sold as a part of the auction.

• Notice is hereby given of the ongoing legal actions regarding the navigability of the Salt River before the Arizona Navigable Stream Adjudication Commission pursuant to Title 37, Chapter 7 of the Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S. § 37-1101 et seq).  This Navigable Stream Adjudication deals with title to the beds of Arizona rivers and streams, including the Salt River, based on the question of “navigability” at statehood.  The results of the Navigable Stream Adjudication may affect the Property and title thereto.  Additional information can be found at the following link:  http://www.ansac.az.gov/

• The Mesa City Council is required to approve the sale of the Property, which is done at the City Council’s sole discretion.  The City Council is scheduled to consider approval of the City entering into the Purchase Agreement at a date following the auction; however, the City Council retains the authority to reject the highest bid and the entering into of the Purchase Agreement. 

• The opening of escrow shall occur within five (5) business days after the execution of the Purchase Agreement by both buyer and seller.

• The Property is zoned RS-43. RS Single Residence. To provide areas for detached single residence housing at densities of up to 7 units per net acre. Designators (-90, -43, -35, -15, -9, -7, and -6) are used to denote the minimum lot size in thousands of square feet. This zoning district also provides for residential care facilities, day care group homes park and recreation facilities, and civic and institutional uses such as churches and places for religious assemblies that are appropriate in a residential environment. Non-residential uses of a strictly limited scale under the specific conditions listed may also be allowed.

• The feasibility period is sixty (60) days from the opening of escrow. The earnest money will be refundable to buyer during the feasibility period and will be non-refundable and payable to the seller after the feasibility period.. 

• The highest bidder must close on the purchase of the Property within ninety (90) days of the opening of escrow; extensions of the closing deadline may be available with approval of the City Manager. Bids will be good for 140 days after the online auction. 

• Included in the Seller’s Conditions to Closing is that the buyer must enter into, and the City Council must approve, a development agreement that, at a minimum: (i) limits the development and use of the parcel to Single Residence-43 (RS-43) zoning with a minimum of one (1) acre lots (see the Site Conditions & Development Requirements link in the Additional Property & Sale Information below) for a minimum period of 30 years; (ii) Seller may, at its sole discretion, abandon or transfer ownership to buyer of well site MW-5 and abandon any related easement  (see Site Conditions & Development Requirements in Additional Property & Sale Information); and (iii) requires that, , as it relates to Seller’s future well site, if Seller does not obtain rights from the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) to provide for continuous access to the future well site as well as construction, operation, maintenance, repair and replacement of water transmission and distribution lines and other related facilities and infrastructure located on the ADOT property, then the buyer must grant the City a public utilities facilities easement on the parcel providing such rights to Seller. For more information on the development agreement, see the Purchase and Sale Agreement and Escrow Instructions.

ADDITIONAL PROPERTY & SALE TRANSACTION INFORMATION

• General Plan Map (Click to view and download) 
• Aerial Map (Click to view and download) 
• Original Parcel Map (Click to view and download) 
• Zoning Map (Click to view and download) 
• Master Plan Waterline Connection Map (Click to view and download) 
• Sewer Utility Map (Click to view and download) 
• Gas Utility Map (Click to view and download) 
• Storm Drain Utility Map (Click to view and download) 
• Conduit Utility Map (Click to view and download) 
• Flood Zone Maps (Click to view and download)
• Land Map of adjacent ADOT property that ADOT is currently planning (subject to ADOT’s discretion that could be modified at any time) to place for sale or that ADOT will abandon to the City

ADDENDUMS

DISCLAIMER