[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 106 (Tuesday, September 12, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8408-S8410]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CABIN USER FEE FAIRNESS ACT OF 1999
Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, soon the Senate will take up S. 1938, the
Cabin User Fee Fairness Act of 1999. It is designed to set a new course
for the Forest Service in determining fees for forest lots on which
families and individuals have been authorized to build cabins for
seasonal recreation since the early part of this century.
In 1915, under the Term Permit Act, Congress set up a program to give
families the opportunity to recreate on our public lands through the
so-called recreation residence program. Today, 15,000 of these forest
cabins remain, providing generation after generation of families and
their friends a respite from urban living and an opportunity to use our
public lands.
These cabins stand in sharp contrast to many aspects of modern
outdoor recreation, yet are an important aspect of the mix of
recreation opportunities for the American public. While many of us
enjoy fast, off-road machines and watercraft or hiking to the
backcountry with high-tech gear, others enjoy a relaxing weekend at
their cabin in the woods with their family and friends.
The recreation residence programs allows families all across the
country an opportunity to use our national forests. This quiet,
somewhat uneventful program continues to produce close bonds and
remarkable memories for hundreds of thousands of Americans, but in
order to secure the future of the cabin program, this Congress needs to
reexamine the basis on which fees are now being determined.
Roughly twenty years ago, the Forest Service saw the need to
modernize the regulations under which the cabin program is
administered. Acknowledging that the competition for access and use of
forest resources has increased dramatically since 1915, both the cabin
owners and the agency wanted a formal understanding about the rights
and obligations of using and maintaining these structures.
New rules that resulted nearly a decade later reaffirmed the cabins
as a valid recreational use of forest land. At the same time, the new
policy reflected numerous limitations on use that are felt to be
appropriate in order keep areas of the forest where cabins are located
open for recreational use by other forest visitors. Commercial use of
the cabins is prohibited, as is year-round occupancy by the owner.
Owners are restricted in the size, shape, paint color and presence of
other structures or installations on the cabin lot. The only portion of
a lot that is controlled by the cabin owner is that portion of the lot
that directly underlies the footprint of the cabin itself.
At some locations, the agency has determined a need to remove cabins
for a variety of reasons related to ``higher public purposes,'' and
cabin owners wanted to be certain in the writing of new regulations
that a fair process would guide any future decisions about cabin
removal. At other locations, some cabins have been destroyed by fire,
avalanche or falling trees, and a more reliable process of determining
whether such cabins might be rebuilt or relocated was needed. It was
determined, therefore, that this recreational program would be tied
more closely to the forest planning process.
The question of an appropriate fee to be paid for the opportunity of
constructing and maintaining a cabin in the woods was also addressed at
that time. Although the agency's policies for administration of the
cabin program have, overall, held up well over time, the portion
dealing with periodic redetermination of fees proved in the last few
years to be a failure.
A base fee was determined twenty years ago by an appraisal of sales
of ``comparable'' undeveloped lots in the real estate market adjacent
to the national forest where a cabin was located. The new policy called
for reappraisal of the value of the lot twenty years later--a trigger
that led to initiation of the reappraisal process in 1995.
In the meantime, according to the policy, annual adjustments to the
base fee would be tracked by the Implicit Price Deflator (IPD), which
proved to be a faulty mechanism for this purpose.
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Annual adjustments to the fee based on movements of the IPD failed
entirely to keep track of the booming land values associated with
recreation development.
As the results of actual reappraisals on the ground began reaching my
office in 1997, it became clear that far more than the inoperative IPD
was out of alignment in determining fees for the cabin owners.
At the Pettit Lake tract in Idaho's Sawtooth National Recreation
Area, the new base fees skyrocketed into alarming five-digit amounts--
so high that a single annual fee was nearly enough money to buy raw
land outside the forest and construct a cabin. Meanwhile, the agency's
appraisal methodology was resulting in new base fees in South Dakota,
in Florida, and in some locations in Colorado that were actually lower
than the previous fee.
At the request of the chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture
in 1998, the cabin owners named a coalition of leaders of their various
national and state cabin owner associations to examine the methodology
being used by the Forest Service to determine fees. It became obvious
to these laymen that analysis of appraisal methodology and the
determination of fees was beyond their grasp, and a respected
consulting appraiser was retained to guide the cabin owners through
their task. The report and recommendations of the coalition's
consulting appraiser is available from my office for those who might
wish to examine the details. This legislation reflects the coalition's
consulting appraiser's report and comments from the Administration and
the appraiser they hired to review their appraisal process.
This is highly technical legislation. Its purpose is to send a clear
set of instructions to appraisers in the field and a clear set of
instructions to forest managers to respect the results of appraisals
undertaken to place value on the raw land being offered cabin owners.
Additionally, the purpose of this legislation is to ensure that the
cabin program continues long into the future, that it provides a fair
return to the taxpayers, and continues to generate a profit for the
Treasury.
I ask unanimous consent that the section-by-section analysis for S.
1938 be entered into the Record following this statement.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Section-by-Section Analysis
sec. 1 title
This Act may be cited as the ``Cabin User Fee Fairness Act
of 2000''
sec. 2 findings
Current appraisal procedures for determining recreation
residence user fees have, in certain circumstances, been
inconsistently applied in determining fair market values for
cabin lots demonstrating the need for clarification of these
provisions.
sec. 3 purposes
The purposes of the Act are 1) to ensure that the National
Forest System recreation residence program is managed to
preserve the opportunity for individual and family-oriented
recreation and 2) to develop a more consistent procedure for
determining cabin user fees, taking into consideration the
limitations of an authorization and other relevant market
factors.
sec. 4 definitions
This section defines the terms ``agency'' ``authorization''
``base cabin user fee'' ``cabin'' ``cabin owner'' ``cabin
user fee'' ``caretaker cabin'' ``current cabin user fee''
``lot'' ``natural, native state'' ``program'' ``Secretary''
``tract'' ``tract association'' and ``typical lot''
sec. 5 administration of recreation residence program
To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary will
determine a cabin user fee for owners of privately owned
cabins, authorized to be built on National Forest land, that
reflects the market value of the cabin lot and regional and
local economic influences.
sec. 6 appraisals
The Secretary will establish an appraisal process to
determine the market value of a typical lot or lots at a
cabin tract. Section 6 describes the unique characteristics
of the lots authorized for use under the Forest Service
recreation residence program, and the characteristics of
parcels of land sold in the private sector that might
appropriately provide comparable market information for
purposes of determining market value.
As a first step, the Secretary will complete an inventory
of existing improvements to the cabin lots in the program to
determine whether these improvements were paid for by the
agency, by third parties, or by the cabin owner. Improvements
paid for by the cabin owner (or his predecessor) are not
included in the market value. There is a rebuttable
presumption that improvements were paid for by the cabin
owner or his predecessor.
The Secretary will contract with an appropriate appraisal
organization to manage the development of specific appraisal
guidelines. An appraisal shall be performed by a State-
certified general real estate appraiser in compliance with
Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice,
Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions,
and specific appraisal guidelines developed in accordance
with this Act.
Reappraisal for the purpose of recalculation of the base
cabin user fee shall occur not less often than once every 10
years.
sec. 7 cabin user fees
To determine the annual base cabin user fee, the Secretary
shall multiply the market value of the cabin lot by 5
percent. This calculation reflects restrictions imposed by
the permit, including the limited term, absence of
significant property rights, and the public's right of access
to, and use of, any open portion of the forest lot upon which
the cabin is located.
If the Secretary decides to discontinue use of a lot as a
cabin site, payment of the full base cabin user fee will be
phased out in equal increments over the final 10 years of the
existing authorization. If the decision to eliminate the
authorization for use as a cabin lot is reversed, the cabin
owner may be required to pay any portion of fees that were
forgone as a result of the expectation of termination.
The cabin owner's fee obligation terminates if an act of
God or catastrophic event makes it unsafe to continue
occupying a cabin lot.
sec. 8 annual adjustment of cabin user fee
The Secretary shall adjust the cabin user fee annually,
using a rolling 5-year average of a published price index
that reports changes in rural or similar land values in the
State, county, or market area in which the lot is located. An
adjustment to the fee may not exceed 5 percent per year, but
the amount of adjustment exceeding 5 percent shall be carried
forward for application in the following year or years.
At the end of the initial 10-year period, the Secretary has
the option to choose a different index if it is determined
that this index better reflects change in the value of a
cabin lot over time.
sec. 9 payment of cabin user fees
A cabin user fee shall be prepaid annually by the cabin
owner. If the increase over the current base cabin user fee
exceeds 100 percent, payment of the increased amount shall be
phased in over three years.
sec. 10 right of second appraisal
On receipt of notice from the Secretary of the
determination of a new base cabin user fee, the cabin owner
may obtain a second appraisal at the cabin owner's expense.
The Secretary shall determine a new base cabin user fee that
is equal to the base cabin user fee determined by the
initial appraisal or the second appraisal, or within that
range of values.
sec. 11 right of appeal and judicial review
The Secretary shall grant the cabin owner the right to an
administrative appeal of the determination of a new base
cabin user fee. A cabin owner that is adversely affected by a
final decision of the Secretary may bring a civil action in
United States district court.
sec. 12 consistency with other law and rights
Nothing in this Act limits or restricts any right, title,
or interest of the United States in or to any land or
resource. The Secretary shall not establish a cabin user fee
or a condition affecting a cabin user fee that is
inconsistent with the Alaska National Interest Lands
Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3193(d)).
sec. 13 regulations
The Secretary shall promulgate regulations to carry out
this Act within 2 years of the date of enactment.
sec. 14 transition provisions
The Secretary may complete the current appraisal process in
accordance with the policy in effect prior to enactment of
this Act.
For annual cabin fees conducted on or after September 30,
1995 but prior to promulgation of regulations required under
this Act, the Secretary shall temporarily charge an annual
cabin user fee as determined by appraisals occurring since
September 30, 1995, provided that the amount charged shall
not be more than $3,000 greater than the cabin user fee in
effect on October 1, 1996, as adjusted for inflation.
In the absence of an appraisal conducted on or after
September 30, 1995, the Secretary shall continue to charge
the annual cabin user fee in effect on the date of enactment
of this Act until a new fee is determined under the new
regulations and the right of the cabin owner to a second
appraisal is exhausted.
Not later than 2 years after promulgation of final
regulations, cabin owners who received a new appraisal after
September 30, 1995, but prior to promulgation of new
regulations under this Act, may request a new appraisal or
peer review of the existing appraisal. Such request must be
made by a majority of the cabin owners in a group of cabins
represented in the appraisal process by a typical lot.
Peer review will be conducted by an independent
professional appraisal organization. If peer review
determines that the earlier appraisal was conducted in a
manner inconsistent with this Act, such appraisal may be
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revised accordingly, or subject to an agreement with the
cabin owners, a new appraisal and fee determination may be
conducted.
Cabin owners and the Secretary shall share, in equal
proportion, the payment of all reasonable costs of any new
appraisal or peer review.
For annual cabin user fees capped by an increase of $3,000,
if the new appraisal or peer review resulted in a cabin fee
that is 90% or more of the appraisal conducted on or after
September 30, 1995 but prior to the promulgation of
regulations under this Act, the Secretary shall charge the
cabin owner the unpaid difference between those two appraised
cabin fees in three annual equal installments.
In the absence of a request for a new appraisal or peer
review, the Secretary may consider the base cabin user fee
resulting from the appraisal conducted after September 30,
1995, to be the base cabin user fee in accordance with this
Act.
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