Methods of Land Aquisition

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.