Managing Conservation Easements in Perpetuity - Environmental ...

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P U T T I N G I T I N T O P R A C T I C E Managing Easement Violations This exercise is best completed in a classroom training or board or staff training. It will help you practice the skills you need to exercise when confronting a violation. Divide the participants into five groups and assign each group a scenario. Discuss the possible solutions to the scenario and steps needed to resolve the situation. Then answer the questions that follow and compare your answers to those provided on page 322–29. These scenarios are drawn from real land trust experience; review the actual results, which are also included. If using this exercise in a self-study situation, read through the examples and list the important issues and actions to take in resolving the violation. Compare your answers to the guidance, which begins on page 322. 316 Managing Conservation Easements in Perpetuity
Scenario 1: Separate Conveyance Violation A conservation easement property consists of three separate parcels. The easement prohibits subdivision or separate conveyance of these individual tracts. Notwithstanding these restrictions, the landowner (the original easement donor) sold one of the three tracts, along with some of his adjacent unrestricted land, and neither he, nor his attorney, nor the buyer’s attorney noted the prohibition against the separate conveyance. The land trust was notified of the sale and subsequently notified the buyer and seller that the sale was a violation of the conservation easement. All parties, upon further research, acknowledged the error. Discussion Questions 1. What alternatives are available to this land trust to resolve this violation? _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ 2. What additional problems do some of the solutions create? _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ 3. What other considerations must the land trust examine? _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Violation Resolution and Easement Defense 317 E X E R C I S E O N E
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Managing Conservation Easements in
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Managing Conservation Easements in
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The Land Trust Alliance’s mission
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C O N T Acknowledgments · 5 A Note
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C O N T E N T S Violation Resolutio
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When a land trust accepts a conserv
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Eternity is a long time. Especially
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Course Road Map This course covers
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Course Resources This course includ
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Everyone is responsible for good re
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22 4. Consider costs and capacity w
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The long-term health and success of
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26 recordkeeping system that includ
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At a minimum, a land trust should k
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In addition to your land trust’s
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32 to serve owners of conserved lan
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34 Post-Closing Easement Stewardshi
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Transparent and ethical procedures
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38 final wording of the clause. The
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40 certain documents, such as lette
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42 able people depending on life ex
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Proper record destruction maintains
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Recordkeeping practices are essenti
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C A S E S T U D Y When the house wa
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C A S E S T U D Y People close to t
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Every project file should have a un
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54 project; -00 identifies the firs
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Do not store permanent files — ev
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Example 58 Combination system. Seve
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60 Retrieving Documents Documents n
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Hearsay is like children playing th
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64 trust prepares. A commitment to
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66 Essential Conservation Documents
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68 For more information on drafting
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70 for admitting GIS-driven maps in
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P U T T I N G I T I N T O P R A C T
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Statute of limitations: The maximum
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100 Evaluate Your Knowledge Answer
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102 Guidance 1. A written records p
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104 Conclusion Recordkeeping is an
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106 management system, a database t
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Brandywine Conservancy: Conservatio
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Mountain Conservation Trust of GA:
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VLT: Conservation Stewardship Progr
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VLT: Computer Document File Structu
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MALT: Records Management Policy All
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MALT: Records Management Policy 122
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MALT: Records Management Policy Mon
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Greensboro Land Trust: Statement of
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CLC: Record-keeping Policy 128 COLU
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CLC: Record-keeping Policy next reg
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CLC: Record-keeping Policy • Insp
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CLC: Record-keeping Policy 4. Trade
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VLT: Recordkeeping System Examples
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VLT: Recordkeeping System Examples
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140 Additional Resources “The Adm
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142 Check Your Progress Before movi
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Chapter Two • Amendments Otis B.
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• Understand the different kinds
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Conservation easement amendments in
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deal with conflicts of interest in
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The challenge for each land trust w
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source can be invaluable in these c
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to add acreage or correct scrivener
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Organizational and Governance Docum
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Guidance on Completing IRS Form 990
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other words, these prohibitions app
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the unique and significant size of
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Islands. The states are Alabama, Al
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to agree with the owner of the encu
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are respected in other states. Your
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should consult with experienced leg
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e added up to reach a decision; for
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State Nonprofit Law Requirements St
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protected conservation values and t
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Principles 5, 6 and 7 tie the amend
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No amendment policy should be more
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easement or the amendment in a four
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context in which a land trust opera
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make a recommendation to the board
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Table 2-3: Land Trust Capacity and
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These are subjects that require leg
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3. Negotiating with the landowner.
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Consulting with State Officials The
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Conservation Easement Amendments Th
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Scenario 2: Excessive Stewardship O
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Scenario 3: Weighing Impacts to Con
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Scenario 2: Excessive Stewardship O
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Drafting Easements with Amendments
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Easement Amendment Provisions Part
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the protected property is located.
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ary, these less permanent approache
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Discretionary Waiver A discretionar
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Looking Ahead: The Future of Easeme
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Easement Amendments This exercise m
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• Not result in private inurement
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V. Amendment Procedures [page 186]
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Insert the date of the policy and t
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communicating a clear process in si
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• Applied its existing conflict o
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5. Can describe two ways that your
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Conclusion Although conservation ea
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considering an amendment and the po
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I. General Policy Statement GVLT: C
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cost agreement will be developed an
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VLT Amendment Principles and Consid
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Sample Language Permitting Amendmen
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hereby approved and will not be dee
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May 23, 2006 name address town re:
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If you have any questions, please c
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“Hicks v. Dowd: The End of Perpet
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Check Your Progress Before moving o
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256 • Describe the role of variou
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258 Adoption and implementation of
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260 the landowner on the land, you
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Adopting and implementing an easeme
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A violation resolution policy holds
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Page 270 and 271: 268 WCLT learned that having a thou
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Page 274 and 275: Collecting and sharing violation in
Page 276 and 277: Moderate and major violations go to
Page 278 and 279: Violation policies should contain a
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Page 284 and 285: Extra precautions need to be taken
Page 286 and 287: Third-party violator: A person or e
Page 288 and 289: The person designated to talk with
Page 290 and 291: Knowing When You Have to Go to the
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Page 294 and 295: Mediation: The act of an impartial
Page 296 and 297: All conservation easements should i
Page 298 and 299: Third-party enforcer: A person or e
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Page 302 and 303: 300 like posture, you will be more
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Page 308 and 309: 306 a landowner is harvesting timbe
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Page 314 and 315: Many land trusts create one dedicat
Page 316 and 317: Land trusts may need to rethink cur
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Page 322 and 323: Waiver: The intentional or voluntar
Page 328 and 329: Quiet title action: A lawsuit broug
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Page 336 and 337: T E M P L A T E Sample Language The
Page 338 and 339: T E M P L A T E other violation res
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Page 342 and 343: C A S E S T U D Y Guidance Vermont
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Page 346 and 347: 344 2. Violation resolution princip
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Page 350 and 351: 348 Sample Documents The following
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Page 358 and 359: MALT: Easement Violation Policy 3.
Page 360 and 361: MCTGA: Procedure for Enforcement of
Page 362 and 363: MCTGA: Procedure for Enforcement of
Page 364 and 365: TRLT: Easement Enforcement Guidelin
Page 366 and 367: VLT: Easement Enforcement Flow Char
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VLT: Easement Enforcement Flow Char
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VLT: Conservation Stewardship Progr
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VLT: Quick Answers to Assist You wi
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VLT: Stewardship’s FAQs VLT LANDO
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VLT: Stewardship’s FAQs VLT LANDO
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376 Guidebook for Directors of Nonp
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378 Check Your Progress Before comp
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380 • Develop an amendment policy
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Glossary Administrative deviation d
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the property worthy of permanent co
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Policy: A specific course of action
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Index arbitration 266, 292, 294, 30
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Governance Mission, Planning and Ca
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