Conservation Easements on the Rise
This piece from Miller-McCune looks at the conservation easement and explains how the legal device is being used to protect land and prevent sprawl.
According to this article, the number of land trusts increased 32% between 2000 and 2005. Many expect that trend to continue due to this recession.
"This legal device makes good use of the dictum that says you have to give something to get something — in return for losing potential profit by preserving natural features, the landowner gets a tax break.
These easements are usually between a private landowner and a public or government agency that restricts the amount and type of development and protects the property's natural resources in perpetuity.
It's not a new concept. Thomas Tyner, regional counsel for the Northwest and Rocky Mountain region of the Trust for Public Land in Seattle, says the first conservation easement occurred in New England around the mid- to late 1800s."
- Login or register to post comments
- Email this page
- Using Adaptive Reuse to Scale the Urban Future - Feb 08, 2012
- Land Conservation Increasing in Spite of Recession - Dec 16, 2011
- Melbourne Ranked as Most Livable City - Sep 02, 2011
- Realligning the Libertarian Stance in the Urban Planning Culture Wars - Sep 01, 2011
- Recession A Boon for Land Preservationists - Jan 03, 2010
Planetizen picks
Contribute
- Top Cities For Singles Revealed
- Are the Arts Losing Out in D.C. Redevelopment?
- Detroit For Sale?
- Chinese Cities in Desperate Need of Competent Planning
- The Rise of Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing
- What the Feds are Doing to Connect Housing Policy to Health Policy
- Why the Politics of Climate Change Matter
- Waste Disposal Becomes Sexy
- Murky Future for Two of D.C.'s Architectural Gems
- The Story Behind One of the Most Controversial Buildings in the Country
My Storm, Managing the Recovery of New Orleans in the Wake of Katrina is Required Reading for Planners
U Penn Press
Feb 13, 2012
Planetizen Announces New Managing Editor: Jonathan Nettler, AICP
Planetizen
Feb 13, 2012
Volunteerism Plays Critical Role in Reaching World’s Millennium Development Goals
Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University
Feb 10, 2012
www.flickr.com
|
Conservation easements vs. stopping mass produced building
Conservation easements are very much a response to mass produced building. People in communities across the country are trying to save what is left after large tract home and commercial builders have gobbled up most of their farms and forestland.
What we really need to get at is cutting out this model of building, rather than paying to stop it from taking place to begin with.