Section PRP.01.09 — General Standards Applicable To Land Assignments

(a) Grantees are responsible for maintaining their land assignments and improvements on the land assignment in good condition in accordance with all applicable laws, including Chapter PRP.02 and Chapter SAF.02.

(b) When a grantee applies for and is granted a land assignment, the land assignment is granted in "as is" condition. The grantee is responsible to perform any maintenance or remediation required so that the land assignment and improvements are in good condition within a reasonable timeframe.

(c) A land assignment shall be one contiguous parcel of land. This requirement shall not affect any previously granted non-contiguous parcels.

(d) A land assignment shall not exceed five (5) acres, if the application for the land assignment is dated after June 15, 1979.

(e) Grants for land assignments approved and issued prior to June 15, 1979 are hereby declared valid notwithstanding the five acre limit herein.

(f) Public roads and rivers, excluding logging roads, shall serve as natural boundaries for all land assignments.

(g) Roads and Right-of-Ways, as defined in Chapter PRP.02, the Stockbridge-Munsee Land Use Code, which run through a land assignment, shall not be blocked and shall be open for public access.

(h) In addition to the terms and conditions imposed by the grant and this ordinance, all assignments shall be subject to all terms and conditions contained in Chapter PRP.02, the Land Use Code and other applicable laws.

(i) All grantees shall be required, upon the written request of the Tribal Council, to comply with any soil, water, or timber conservation program that may be initiated by the Tribal Council.

(j) Structures shall be built in accordance with Chapter PRP.02, the Land Use Code and other applicable laws.

(k) Improvements.

(1) Buildings and other improvements placed upon land assignment by a grantee are recognized as the personal property of that grantee.

(2) The Tribe does not permit the purchase and ownership of improvements on a land assignment by individuals other than the grantee and/or the grantee's spouse without the consent of the Tribal Council to such purchase and ownership.

(3) A house may not be removed from a land assignment without the consent of the Tribal Council, except that a mobile home may be removed for replacement or if it is uninhabitable.

(4) Improvements such as driveways, fences, shrubs, utility lines, wells, septic systems and other items of a similar nature, even if placed on the property by the grantee, are considered to be attached to the land and become part of the land assignment.

(l) Abandonment. The Tribe may have a land assignment that contains a dwelling declared abandoned through the Tribal Court.

(1) Grounds for an action to declare a land assignment to be abandoned are:

(A) when the land assignment is secured, but unoccupied and not maintained by either the grantee or an authorized individual for a period of eighteen (18) consecutive months;

(B) when a grantee has provided a written statement that he or she is abandoning the property; or

(C) where there is other significant evidence abandonment with no intent to return such as the property not being secured or being open to the elements.

(2) The grantee has the burden to show by preponderance of the evidence that he/she or another authorized person has not abandoned the property in order to prevent the Tribal Court from declaring the land assignment as being abandoned.

(3) If the Tribal Court declares that a land assignment has been abandoned, then that assignment shall revert to the Tribe.

(A) The former grantee shall have no rights to dispose of improvements such as the house after a declaration of abandonment.

(B) The former grantee shall have a reasonable period of time from the date of the declaration, not to exceed 60 days, to remove all personal belongings from the land assignment.

(C) The Tribe shall post notice that the property has been declared abandoned by the Tribal Court on the door of any house located on the land assignment and provide unauthorized tenants with an opportunity, not to exceed 30 days, to remove personal belongings from the land assignment.