New members insist on competitive process for potential land sale to state delegate

State Del. Delores McQuinn, a Democrat who previously served on the City Council, told city officials she doesn’t mind the black snakes that come onto her Henrico County yard from an overgrown lot the city owns next door. The venomous copperheads are a different story.

“I believe cleaning that space up will help assist in keeping down the population of reptiles,” McQuinn wrote in a letter last year asking if she and her husband can buy the lot to “make it an extension of our yard space.”

The McQuinns offered $6,500 for the parcel at 8790 Strath Rd., a little higher than its current assessed value of $6,300. That’s a recent increase from the $5,400 assessment the nearly 1-acre parcel has had since 2005, according to Henrico property records.

The city purchased the land in 1994 for $25,500. At the time, the city planned to use the property for a natural gas facility that never materialized and rendered the property “obsolete,” according to a city memo.

In the letter making an offer for the property, McQuinn estimated that it would cost her and her husband around $10,000 to clean up the fallen trees and overgrown areas of the city parcel.

“We will definitely leave most of the trees on the property, hopefully we can clean the area up, making it much more appealing for the neighborhood,” McQuinn wrote, adding she wanted to get rid of anything that “creates a habitat for those kind of critters.”

The Council seemed poised to approve the sale to McQuinn as part of its consent agenda, but first-term Councilor Andrew Breton (1st District) asked for it to be delayed so the city could entertain other offers on the property and “get the best market price.”

Other newer members of the Council concurred.

“The worst that can happen is that this person who has put in an unsolicited offer, they pay a little bit more than they were going to,” said Councilor Sarah Abubaker (4th District).

The Council voted to postpone the matter, but Council President Cynthia Newbille (7th District) and Councilor Ellen Robertson (6th District) objected to the delay.

“I want to make sure we’re going to be consistent in what we are asking of folks who make offers,” Newbille said.

During the public comment portion, one speaker said the city could potentially get multiple offers for the property and asked the Council to delay the pending sale.

Richmond’s city code says the Council cannot consider an ordinance to sell land in response to an unsolicited offer unless the Council has first voted to declare the property surplus. A surplus declaration sends a signal the city no longer needs a property and is open to selling it.

The Council didn’t follow that step for the property sought by McQuinn. The ordinance before the Council Monday effectively waived the rule. If passed, it would have declared the property surplus and authorized the sale to McQuinn at the same time.

Contact Reporter Graham Moomaw at gmoomaw@richmonder.org