3. Introduction

The Corporation is responsible for the maintenance, operation, construction, reconstruction, improvement, development, financing and promotion of the Canal System and for implementation of the New York State Canal Recreationway Plan (CRP). In accordance with the provisions of the Canal Law, the Corporation has the authority to acquire, hold and dispose of real property to advance the purposes of the Corporation and thus, the interest of the State. Real property transactions (transactions) include, but are not limited to, acquisitions, sales, leases, grants of easement and the issuance of permits.

Occupancy permits, which are revocable upon 30 days notice, provide the Corporation with the greatest flexibility for managing property under its jurisdiction. Therefore, in most cases, occupancy permits are the appropriate transaction to use when the real property is needed for Corporation purposes, or may be needed for Corporation purposes in the future. Permits are not considered disposals under the Public Authorities Accountability Act of 2005 as there is not a transfer of an interest in the real property.

As an interim measure, if the real property is within an existing subdivision, and such real property is currently under an occupancy permit, it may continue to be permitted under an occupancy permit and may continue to be transferred. However, such subdivision permits must be for the same use (e.g., no additional improvements, no change in existing structure footprints, etc.). If the real property is not currently under an occupancy permit, no new permit shall be issued.

Annual fees for occupancy permits shall be based on the estimated fair market value of the property. Where a fee rate schedule has not been established for an occupancy permit, annual fees shall be based upon, at a minimum, the property's fair market value as estimated by an appraisal, except in limited circumstances where the fair market value may be estimated by other means as determined by the Office of Real Property Management.

December 2006 900-1-02.7

Where a disposal is contemplated, unless otherwise authorized by the Executive Director, no permits will be issued in advance of completion of a disposal. In addition, a work permit shall not be issued in advance of the issuance of the occupancy permit without written authorization by the Executive Director, except in situations described in Exhibit 11 of SOP – TRANSACTION ANALYSIS PROCESS (900-1-02.1). See SOP-WORK PERMITS (900-1-02.8) for the work permit procedure

4. Procedure for Processing and Issuing an Occupancy Permit

4.1. Upon receipt of an inquiry for an occupancy permit for use of real property under the jurisdiction of the Corporation, the Division Permit Engineer (DPE) will follow SOP-TRANSACTION ANALYSIS PROCESS (900-1-02.1) to record the inquiry and send out the application package. The DPE will send the applicable OCCUPANCY PERMIT CHECKLIST¹ based on the type of use requested.

4.2. Upon receipt of the application package, a Division Secretary will assign a Project Reference Number to the application, forward the application fee to the Credit and Collections Unit, and send a receipt to the applicant. Credit and Collections will deposit the funds and note the receipt of the funds in Permits Plus.

4.3. The DPE will verify that the application package is complete. If the application is incomplete, the DPE will send a MISSING DOCUMENTS LETTER² to the applicant requesting missing information. Once the application package is complete, the DPE will indicate this in Permits Plus.

4.4. The DPE will notify the Division Canal Engineer to complete the TRANSACTION ANALYSIS/RECOMMENDATION (TAR) form (TA-N99116) and the review and approval process will be done in accordance with SOP-TRANSACTION ANALYSIS PROCESS (900-1-02.1). If rejected by OLM, the procedure stops here and OLM will send a REJECTION LETTER³ to the applicant.

4.5. If OLM has approved the TAR determination, OLM will send the TAR to the DCE with a copy to the Contracting Officer and Finance.

1 Exhibit 1 2 Exhibit 2 3 Exhibit 3

December 2006 900-1-02.7

4.6. The DPE will contact Division real estate personnel to determine the annual occupancy permit fee. If there is no fee schedule, Division real estate personnel will conduct an appraisal to determine the fee following SOP-APPRAISALS AND SURVEYS (900-102.4).

4.7. The DPE will verify that the insurance certificate has not expired. If expired, the DPE will obtain a current insurance certificate from the applicant. The DPE will then notify Bureau of Real Property Management (BRPM) to process the permit.

4.8. BRPM will send an OCCUPANCY PERMIT COVER LETTER¹ requesting the applicant to sign and return the permit, annual fee, and any required security deposit and/or bond. The cover letter will give the applicant 30 days to respond. If there is no response within 30 days, BRPM will send a SECOND NOTICE FOR OCCUPANCY PERMITS². If there is still no response within 30 days from the second notice, BRPM will send a PERMIT CLOSURE NOTICE³ notifying the applicant that the permit application is closed and send a copy of the NOTICE to the Division Canal Engineer for the Project Record. BRPM will update Permits Plus to indicate that the occupancy permit process has ceased.

4.9. Upon receipt of the annual fee and signed occupancy permit, BRPM will notify the Supervisor of Credit and Collections who will post the payment, add the applicant to the billing record, set up the account for annual billing, and note on Permits Plus that the fee has been received.

4.10. BRPM will forward the permit to the Supervisor of Real Property Management for signature, and upon signature, will send a LETTER SENDING THE FULLY EXECUTED PERMIT AND IDENTIFICATION PLATE⁴ to the applicant.

5. Contesting and Appealing the Occupancy Permit Fee

Any appeals of the permit fee will be promptly sent to BRPM for handling in accordance with current regulations and procedures.

1 Exhibit 4 2 Exhibit 5 3 Exhibit 6 4 Exhibit 7 December 2006 900-1-02.7

6. Responsibilities

The Bureau of Real Property Management will coordinate execution of the occupancy permit and any appeals of permit fees.

The DPE will coordinate the review and processing of an occupancy permit application.

The Division real estate personnel will coordinate the appraisal process to determine occupancy permit fees, if required, in accordance with SOP-APPRAISALS AND SURVEYS (900-1-02.4).

The Division Secretary will assign a Project Reference Number to the application, forward application fee and deposit to Finance, and send a receipt to the applicant.

Finance will post fee payments, set up the account for annual billing, and note on Permits Plus when fees are received.

OLM will review the Division’s permit determination following SOP-TRANSACTION ANALYSIS PROCESS (900-1-02.1) and approve or reject the determination. OLM will coordinate applicant contact if the occupancy permit application is rejected.

September 2006 900-1-02.7

7. Flowchart