Plans to privatize the Columbia Housing Authority
involve a complex Federal law that could reshape the Columbia landscape in unexpected -- and unwanted -- ways
Continued from part oneClaims and appealsTo receive most benefits under the URA, tenants must file claims that CHA officials can deny subject to appeal.Given the complexity of the URA, tenants may need an attorney to enforce claims or file appeals. Arcane legalese is part and parcel of the law, as this passage about how to determine eligibility for "displaced tenant" benefits points out."Most HUD regulations identify an event that establishes a 'rebuttable presumption' that a project begins (e.g., date of submission of the application). It is presumed that a displacement before this date did not occur 'for the project' and is not covered by the URA, unless rebutted by convincing evidence to the contrary."Eminent domain -- againSteinhaus has publicly set the agency's sights on properties identified for potential acquisition, triggering the second part of the URA described in a HUD handbook entitled "Real Property Acquisition."The URA addresses both voluntary vs. involuntary acquisition under 49 CFR Subpart B, which grants broad condemnation powers to the housing authority; its private investors; and even non-profit agencies working on its behalf.It defines involuntary acquisition as "acquisitions under threat or use of eminent domain (condemnation)." That process follows a circuitous and complex set of URA protections and procedures involving everything from negotiations to appraisals, and begins with a mandatory, ominous sounding "notice" and a HUD brochure, "When a Public Agency Acquires Your Property" (HUD-1041-CPD)."This acquisition notice usually serves as an agency’s initial written communication to an owner whose property may be acquired for a federally-funded project under threat or use of eminent domain," it explains, adding that the housing authority will tell the property owner what it thinks the property is worth, the starting point for negotiations. "Before the initiation of negotiations, the Agency shall establish an amount which it believes is just compensation for the real property."
[Ed. Note: As with all Columbia Heart Beat articles for the past seven years, dozens of links and sources are provided. That way, when public officials start with old canard that "rumor and misinformation" is driving the debate, readers can say they read the information for themselves. So Please -- get up to speed on the URA if U R Affected!]HUD handbook on URA relocations -- Introduction, tenant relocation, and land acquisition chaptersHUD Website on relocation and acquisition -- click links on right hand side for relevant sections
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