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An Overview of Conservation Easements
May 2002 article in The Florida Cattleman and Livestock Journal
As a former member of the Florida House of Representatives, a landowner and a real estate specialist, I'd like to share with you a topic that although is not new, is one that is gaining recognition and acceptance by landowners.
This is the first in a series of articles to offer my expertise and insight into the trend of selling development rights, known today as conservation easements, and their importance to landowners and cattlemen in Florida.
As you know, when you purchase land you also purchase a bundle of rights. These rights include the right to develop, the right to minerals, water and more. Collectively this bundle of rights is called "fee title."
As a landowner you also have the ability to sell some of these rights while maintaining ownership of the land. This is generally known as selling a "less-than-fee" interest. A conservation easement is a form of a less-than-fee interest. The idea of selling development rights was introduced in the 1970s in the northeast to protect farmland being lost to development. Since then, a number of different programs have been enacted by other states and the federal government to purchase less-than-fee interests.
Now conservation easements have been recognized as valuable tools on both national and state levels. In 1990 the voters of Florida and the Florida Legislature created the Preservation 2000 program, which invested $3 billion over a 10-year period to protect environmentally sensitive land. At this point, I began to wonder since so much land was being purchased, was there a way to emulate the farmland programs of the northeast and protect lands from development by purchasing a less-than-fee interest in them? The concept of conservation easements in Florida was then implemented with the passage of the Green Swamp Land Authority in 1994, creating the first state agency to purchase development rights from landowners.
As a member of the Florida Legislature at that time, I led these actions because I strongly believed that this was a win-win for protecting the land from development and preserving the integrity of private property rights.
Since 1994, conservation easements have become widely accepted by the government, environmentalists and landowners. Florida has emerged as a leader in this burgeoning area. In fact, these programs have worked so well that farmers and environmental groups together have formed a united front to purchase conservation easements from farmers. Florida has also recognized this important trend with recent passage of The Rural and Family Lands Protection Act in 2001.
This Act was designed to protect ranch and timberlands by purchasing conservation easements from landowners with funding of up to $100 million per year over the next 10 years. I applaud the efforts of State Representative Paula Dockery and Senator John Laurent in spearheading this Act and its funding. Rules are currently being developed by the Department of Agriculture, and at the time of this writing funding is pending approval. I'll be sure to keep you updated on these developments.
Because conservation easements are popular with both the state and landowners, these purchases benefit the state in four key areas:
1) the land buyer's dollar goes further
2) the state does not pay to maintain the land
3) more land is made available to be purchased and
4) more land is protected from development.
This is just the tip of the iceberg and you may be asking yourself, what does this mean to me? In the next article, I'll address key issues including:
1) how to sell the rights, but keep the land
2) important benefits and tax advantages
3) what are the restrictions and
4) how the land is appraised?
For more information, visit www.saundersrealestate.com and download your free copy of "A Primer to Conservation Easements" or contact Coldwell Banker Saunders Real Estate at 863-648-1528 or toll free 877-518-LAND. ###
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