Is it possible to buy land without an auction if the building is small?

I read about a situation where a person built a small workshop on a plot of land and was then able to buy the entire plot from the city council, even though its area was 198 times larger than the area of the workshop itself. And all this – without land auctions and special justification. The question arises: if, for example, I own a small building on land, do I have the right to buy the entire plot of such a large size directly from the city council without an auction? Or, in such a situation, does the law require the land to be put up for auction and an additional explanation of why I need exactly such an area?