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  • Methods of Land Aquisition

    1. Greenspace Advisory Board
    Parks and Recreation

    Harris Center

    425 Perry St

    Kevin M. Kelly

    Kevin M. Kelly

    financial/project manager

    Conservation Easement

    • A legal agreement between a landowner and the City, it is a flexible land protection tool
    • Permanently limits the uses of the land in order to protect its conservation or recreation values
    • Conveys a permanent right of public access across the property for a greenway
    • The land remains in private ownership
    • Can be tailored to meet the financial and personal needs of the landowner as long as the land's conservation and recreational values continue to be protected
    • May qualify as a tax-deductible charitable donation, resulting in federal income tax benefits for the landowner
    • Landowner may also gain reduced property taxes and estate tax benefits

    Land Donation

    • An outright donation of land for the purposes of open space
    • May be the best land protection strategy if the landowner:
      • does not wish to pass the land along to heirs
      • owns property he or she no longer uses
      • owns highly appreciated property
      • has substantial real estate holdings and wishes to reduce the potential estate tax burden
      • would like to be relieved of the responsibility of caring for the land
    • May qualify as a tax deductible charitable donation, resulting in federal income tax benefits for the landowner, while avoiding any capital gains taxes that would have resulted from selling the property
    • May provide estate tax benefits by reducing the value of the landowner's estate

    Bargain Sale

    • Sale of land by the landowner to the City for less than the appraised fair market value of the land
    • Combines the income-producing benefit of the sale with the tax-reducing benefits of a donation
    • Provides cash to the landowner, avoids some capital gains tax, and provides a potential charitable income tax deduction based on the difference between the land's fair market value and its sale price

    Fee Simple Acquisition

    • The outright sale of land by a private landowner to the City for a greenway, based on an agreed upon sale price

    Land Trust

    • A non-profit, community-based organization that collaborates with citizens, governmental entities, developers and businesses to preserve the quality of life through land use, acquisition, and preservation
    • A partnership designed to "merge the creative energies of the public and private sectors in the creation of a strong sense of community in every area of life"
    • Since 1968, the number of local and regional land trusts in the United States has increased by 68%, to over 1,200. These trusts have protected more than 5 million acres of open space, and they have more than 1 million members in total.
    • Land trusts employ all the aforementioned methods of land acquisition to protect land for future generations; however, conservation easements are by far the fastest-growing land protection strategy of local land trusts.
    • Some of the responsibilities of a land trust:
      • Manage land owned by others
      • Advise landowners on how to preserve their land
      • Help negotiate conservation transactions
      • Evaluate open space needs
      • Assist in the development of open space plans
    • Therefore, a land trust represents a long-term and on-going financial commitment to the community it serves.