|
June 11, 2001
Mr. Jamie Clark
WHEO Radio
Stuart, Virginia
The staff of the Freedom of
Information Advisory Council is authorized to issue advisory
opinions. The ensuing staff advisory opinion is based solely upon
the information presented in your phone conversation of May 3,
2001.
Dear Mr. Clark:
You have asked whether a local Board of Supervisors is required
by the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to conduct a
public hearing in order to sell a piece of real property. You
indicate that your local Board of Supervisors is contemplating
selling a 10-acre piece of property to the local School Board, and
you indicate some concern that the Board of Supervisors will
attempt to conduct the transaction through closed meetings.
There is no requirement in FOIA for a public body to conduct a
public hearing to sell real property owned by it. Subsection A of
§ 2.1-344 of the Code of Virginia requires that [a]ll
meetings of public bodies shall be open, except as provided in
§ 2.1-344. Section 2.1-344 sets forth 27 exemptions to the
general requirement of openness. Subdivision A. 3. of §
2.1-344 exempts a discussion of the disposition of publicly held
real property, where discussion in an open meeting would adversely
affect the bargaining position or negotiating strategy of the
public body. This provision would allow the Board of
Supervisors to conduct some discussion of the sale of the property
in a closed session if the requisite criterion is met. Even if the
Board of Supervisors utilizes this exemption and closes some of its
discussion, § 2.1-343.2 requires that any vote of a public
body must be conducted in open session. Thus, a final decision may
only be reached in a meeting open to the public.
Please note that the authority of the Freedom of Information
Advisory Council is limited to the interpretation of FOIA. However,
I would like to bring to your attention a provision of the Code
outside the scope of FOIA relating to public hearings of local
governing bodies. Subsection B of § 15.2-1800 requires a
locality to hold a public hearing before it may dispose of any of
its real property. This provision specifically states that such a
public hearing is not required in order to lease the property to
another public body. Thus, it would appear that in addition to the
exemption and voting requirements set forth in FOIA, another
provision of the Code requires a public hearing for the Board of
Supervisors to sell a piece of real property.
Thank you for contacting this office. I hope that I have been of
assistance.
Sincerely,
Maria J.K. Everett
Executive Director
|
