Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
Page 8 <br />Ms. Tara L. Fikes <br />Page 2 <br />January 28, 1992 <br />sale were successfully challenged as not being one for a public <br />purpose because of a lack of express statutory authority for the <br />conveyance to Habitat, the result would be a "cloud on the title" <br />of the property in the hands of the ultimate purchaser from <br />Habitat. <br />To avoid this undesirable result, I recommend that the sale <br />from Orange County be to the Orange County Housing Authority. <br />Clearly, that Authority performs a public purpose in its housing <br />programs. Furthermore, North Carolina General Statutes §157 -42 <br />authorizes Orange County to convey its interest in real property, <br />with or without consideration and without complying with <br />appraisal, public notice, advertisement or public bidding <br />requirements, to a housing authority for the purpose of aiding <br />housing projects located within its jurisdiction. North Carolina <br />G7 General Statutes §157 -41(3) defines a housing project to include <br />"any undertaking ... to provide dwelling accommodations for <br />persons of low income...." <br />The Orange County Housing Authority is authorized to <br />"transfer" any real property or interest therein to any person, <br />da firm, corporation...." It also has authority to exercise its <br />powers with respect to any specific housing project through or by <br />T an agent which it may designate, including any corporation formed <br />under the laws of North Carolina. Finally on this point, the <br />housing authority law provides that "no provisions with respect <br />to the acquisition, operation or disposition of property by other <br />public bodies shall be applicable to an authority unless the <br />legislature shall specifically so state." See generally North <br />Carolina General Statutes 5157 -9. The sum total of various <br />provisions of the housing authority law leads me to conclude that <br />the Orange County Housing Authority can convey its property <br />acquired for a housing project to Habitat for Humanity in order <br />V to accomplish that housing project. <br />I will, with your assistance, develop the necessary Board <br />resolutions to accomplish the Pine Knolls property transfers at <br />the time the Board of Commissioners, acting as the Board of <br />Commissioners and acting as the Board to the Orange County <br />Housing Authority, considers the transfers and in response to the <br />development planned for the property described in your November <br />25, 1991 letter. <br />very truly yours, <br />edhill <br />GEG /lsg <br />xc: Moses Carey, Jr. <br />John Hartwell <br />Albert Kittrell <br />John M. Link, Jr. <br />