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| Conservation Easements | ||||||||||
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What is a conservation easement? A
Conservation Easement (CE) is a set of restrictions a landowner
voluntarily places on his or her property in order to preserve its
conservation values. The
conservation values of the property and the restrictions created to
preserve those values, along with the rights reserved by the landowner,
are detailed in a legal document known as a conservation easement.
This document is attached to the deed and filed with the local
county land records. A
landowner retains all rights to the property not specifically restricted
or relinquished by the CE. The
landowner still owns the land and has the right to use it for any purpose
that is consistent with the CE, to sell, to transfer or to pass on to
heirs through a will. The
right to restrict public access is also at the option of the landowner.
The landowner remains responsible for the land, for its maintenance
and upkeep, for paying taxes and for otherwise meeting the typical
obligations of land ownership. CEs
add only a few further requirements: notification to the CE holder of
proposed changes to the property; the allowance of annual monitoring
visits; notification when selling or transferring the property; and
compliance with the restrictions in the CE. Unless
other arrangements are made, the SWCD prefers to hold perpetual easements
– meaning they apply to the current landowner and all future landowners,
permanently protecting the property.
Each CE is unique, specifically tailored to the particular land
protected as well as to the particular situation of the landowner. Conservation
easements held by a separate & independent third party have a
significantly greater chance of standing the test of time.
An appropriate third-party holder, whether it is the SWCD or
another organization, can guarantee the protection of valuable
environmental resources such as stream corridors, wetlands, and other
unique vegetative communities. Additionally,
the third party will have the expertise and interest in adequately
addressing easement violations. Other local organizations that can assist
landowners with CEs include the
Western
Reserve Land Conservancy, Medina-Summit Land Chapter
and the Medina County Park District. Conservation
Easements for Individuals:
The
SWCD office is able to accept and hold CEs on behalf of individual
landowners.
Please contact the office to learn more about CE programs for your
private property. Conservation
Easements within Proposed Development Sites: The
SWCD office is also able to accept and hold CEs for land developers. Prior to requesting the SWCD office to hold your CE, we
ask that you consider the points presented below. Full implementation of
these points will significantly increase the likelihood the SWCD office, or any other
organization for that matter, will ultimately accept your CE.
For more information regarding Conservation Development principles,
go to Countryside
Program Website. The SWCD office may be available to provide some assistance.
Copies of the Countryside Program’s Conservation
Development Resource Manual are available in the SWCD office. When accepting a CE within a new development site, the SWCD office
requires the developer to contribute a stewardship endowment.
The purpose of this endowment is to cover the SWCD’s personnel
and administrative costs associated with the review, acceptance, and
long-term commitments of the CE. Click here
to view a sample of our Stewardship
Endowment formula. Download
Adobe Reader [ A Living
Legacy: CEs are a cost-effective tool to protect Medina County’s
increasingly burdened land and water resources, preserving wildlife
habitat, safeguarding our waters and capturing scenic vistas for today and
tomorrow. They give
landowners peace of mind, knowing that their commitment to protecting
critical environmental resources will be forever respected and remain as an
enduring legacy. |
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| Farmland Protection Program | ||||||||||
Farmers, who own or rent most of the private land in America, hold the key not only to the nation's food supply, but also to managing community growth, maintaining an attractive landscape, and protecting water and wildlife resources. Between 1987 and 1997, Ohio lost 627,100 acres of cropland to non-agricultural uses, an area of high quality farmland roughly the size of one Ohio county. |
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Presented below is a summary of the techniques to help preserve agricultural lands and open space. (Information
available from the Clinton County Regional Planning Commission) Purchase of Development Rights Purchase of development right (PDR) programs use public money to purchase development rights to privately owned land. PDR programs are generally seen as more permanent approach to preserving agricultural lands and open space than traditional zoning-type methods. In such a program, a landowner is paid the fair market value of the development rights of his/her property and an easement restricts houses from being built on the land. The value of the development rights is generally calculated as the difference between the development value and the agricultural value of the land. Funding for PDR programs varies, with many communities funding their own programs through bonding or tax schemes. For more information, check out the Ohio State University (OSU) Extension Fact Sheet on the Purchase of Development Rights. Beginning of Farmland Protection Program Transfer of Development Rights Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) programs differ somewhat from PDR programs in that the development rights are generally transferred directly from the farmer or landowner to the developer, using private funds. With such a program, permitted housing units are transferred from an agricultural area (often referred to as a "sending zone") to another area where development is desired and which is often serviced by existing infrastructure (a "receiving zone"). The developer then compensates the farmer directly for the value of the development rights in exchange for using those rights in the receiving area. These programs are largely voluntary, and most require little public expenditure. For more information, check out the OSU Extension Fact Sheet on the Transfer of Development Rights. Beginning of Farmland Protection Program Zoning is a traditional method for communities to control development in rural and undeveloped areas. It is different from typical zoning in that agricultural zoning is intended to protect a resource rather than to just give order to development. Increasingly, zoning efforts have become more innovative, often including such schemes as sliding scales and agricultural security areas. Agricultural security areas help protect blocks of agricultural land, are initiated by landowners, require a large minimum lot size, and must be kept in agricultural use for the length of the agreement. In exchange, the community agrees to minimize the impact of adjacent development on agriculture. Other zoning options include lowering the density permitted in agricultural areas or utilizing cluster development layouts to protect farmland. Other zoning techniques include: overlay zoning, quarter-quarter zoning, and sliding scale zoning. Beginning of Farmland Protection Program Private land trusts are becoming increasingly common around the country, and provide a means for permanently preserving land as open space or agriculture. Land trusts can be defined as "a non-profit grassroots conservation organization directly involved in protecting natural, recreational, scenic, agricultural, historic, or cultural property. Many land trusts manage land owned by others, advise landowners on how to preserve their land, or help negotiate conservation transactions in which they plan no other role. For more information check out the OSU Extension Fact Sheet on Land Trusts and the Land Trust Alliance web page. Beginning of Farmland Protection Program Conservation development or open space development are concepts included in the zoning ordinance of a community, and represent a way to allow development to occur in a manner which leaves large blocks of open space or farmland. More specifically, conservation development concentrates buildings in specific areas on the site to allow the remaining land to be used as open space or for other preservation purposes. Planned Unit Developments are a common example of a clustered-type residential development. Conservation development often provides a municipality more flexibility regarding regulatory controls, preserving environmentally sensitive areas of a site while concentrating development on the most suitable land. For more information on land use planning and conservation development, check out the Countryside Program Website and/or contact Kirby Date, Program Coordinator at (216) 295-0511. A resource manual of practices for planning and design is available and highly recommended as a source of information. Additional information can be obtained from the OSU Extension Fact Sheet on Cluster Development. Beginning of Farmland Protection Program A less common method for preserving open space and natural features is the requirement of deed restriction. Deed restrictions can be required of new developments, or negotiated with current landowners. Such restrictions include prohibiting certain activities, which may harm environmentally sensitive areas on the property. A commonly cited advantage of this technique is that the restriction travels with the deed, and does not expire with a change in landowner. For more information, check out the OSU Extension Fact Sheet on Conservation Easements. Additionally, an Agricultural Easement Purchase Program has been established through the Clean Ohio Fund. Download Adobe Reader [ Beginning of Farmland Protection Program The most common tax programs to promote agriculture are those that attempt to give farmers a tax incentive by lowering the assessed value of the farm property. Current use valuation is a common method, in which tax assessments are based on the land's current use rather than the development potential. In exchange, the farmer must keep the land as agriculture; penalties are often assessed when a property is converted to another use. These programs provide farmers with options to selling off land to developers. Beginning of Farmland Protection Program Growth management techniques attempt to contain growth and prevent sprawl into undeveloped areas. Some general growth management techniques include: delineating urban growth boundaries, mechanisms for outright purchase of land, environmental corridors, greenbelts, and programs for incremental growth. Beginning of Farmland Protection Program Other Publicly Initiated Techniques Capital Improvement Programming: The
scheduling of budgetary expenditures for infrastructure, thereby guiding
development. Beginning of Farmland Protection Program Other Privately initiated techniques Outright donation: The donation of
land to a conservation organization. |
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American Farmland Trust
-- Farmland
Information Library Click here for a list of additional Agriculture and Natural Resources Web Sites
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