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| Sandy and Rossie Fisher of Brookview Farm, pioneers in conservation easements |
Every time a rezoning application pops up, residents condemn
landowners, who dare to sell their property to developers, as greedy and destroying
the rural nature of the county. This seems especially true of new residents,
who "moved to the country” and now may well live in a residential enclave
that was a farm no so long ago.
Selling property to realize a return on investment is how landowners,
without pension plans or 401k accounts, finance their retirement or raise cash
for other reasons. How many people would turn down a generous offer for their
homes? Probably not many.
There is, however, another alternative, a conservation
easement, which allows a landowner to retain control of property, raise cash,
and prevent development in perpetuity—forever.
At the May 6 Board of Supervisors’ meeting Parker Agelasto, Executive
Director of the Capitol Region Land Conservancy (https://capitalregionland.org/) explained
the history and role of his agency in protective land use.
The Capitol Land Conservancy has been in existence since
2005 and merged with the Goochland Land Alliance, formed by local landowners,
to put permanent conservation easements on their property, in 2014. Its mission
is to conserve natural and historic resources in the region for the benefit of nature
and people. To date, 15,000 acres have been protected. Its goal is to protect
30 percent of the land and water resources in its territory. This includes all
of Goochland, most of Fluvanna, all of Cumberland and part of Louisa.
Working with local planning staff to ensure agreement with
comprehensive plans, the Conservancy hopes to create a greenbelt around the
Capitol Region. “This is a concept that goes back thousands of years,” Agelasto
explained. “You had your inner cities, but you needed an agricultural belt to
provide food sustenance for the people.”
Conservation easements include those on state and federal
land, which are used as parks, as well as privately owned property. In
Goochland, the Conservancy has partnered with the Monacan Soil and Water Conservation
District to hold easements. State law, under the Open Space Act, permits non-profit
public bodies like the MSWCD to hold easements.
Agelasto cited Malvern Hill in eastern Henrico and the
Goochland Farm of Ronnie Nuckols, whose conservation easement is held by the
Virginia Outdoors Foundation, (https://www.vof.org/)
as examples.
Nationwide, about 13 percent of land is under a conservation
easement, in Virginia, only about six percent.
The challenge with land use, said Agelasto, is finding balance
between the need for jobs, housing, and commercial space with land used to grow
food and for recreation. He said that every 30 seconds a football field’s worth
of natural land is lost to a more intense use. Agelasto said that between 2017
and 2022 Goochland lost 22 percent of its farmland. If this keeps up, it will threaten
Goochland’s long-term goal of confining growth to 15 percent of the county,
while keeping the remainder rural.
Conservation easements are perpetual (forever) deeds that a landowner
gives to a land trust. They must conform to the local comprehensive plan and are
recorded at the court house. As part of the title, the easement runs with the
land and must protect specific conservation values. These are specifically identified
and uniquely identifiable for the public. For instance, a landowner could specify
that two houses and a barn for private use could be built on a parcel. Any other
use would be a violation.
The money obtained from easements sustain generational working
farms and forests, which is made difficult by escalating land prices and development
pressures. They “extinguish” development rights to make operations more
affordable. In Virginia, a land preservation tax credit enables a property
owner to be compensated with 40 percent of the development value as a state tax
credit that can be sold and transferred. Given current real estate values, said
Agelasto, that can be a substantial amount.
His organization performs due diligence on each application to
confirm that the title and boundaries are good, so that the easement can be
protected and defended, should it ever be threatened. The value of an easement,
the difference the “highest and best” use versus the value with development removed,
is determined by assessment.
Agelasto introduced Tad Thompson, owner of Tuckahoe Plantation,
Thomas Jefferson’s boyhood home, which is under a conservation easement.
Thompson said that the easement process helped to keep his property economically
viable.
The late Sandy Fisher of Brookview Farm at the intersection
of Dover and River Road West, was instrumental in creation of land trust
entities and placed Brookview under one of the first in Goochland. Sandy, and
wife Rossie, were recognized in 2007 by the American Farmland Trust as Stewards
of the Land for their dedication to the protection of natural agricultural resources.
The challenge with land use, said Agelasto, is finding balance
between the need for jobs, housing, and commercial space with land used to grow
food and for recreation. He said that every 30 seconds a football field’s worth
of natural land is lost to a more intense use. Agelasto said that between 2017
and 2022 Goochland lost 22 percent of its farmland. If this keeps up, it will threaten
Goochland’s long-term goal of confining growth to 15 percent of the county,
while keeping the remainder rural.
Conservation easements are perpetual (forever) deeds that a landowner
gives to a land trust. They must conform to the local comprehensive plan and are
recorded at the court house. As part of the title, the easement runs with the
land and must protect specific conservation values. These are specifically identified
and uniquely identifiable for the public. For instance, a landowner could specify
that two houses and a barn for private use could be built on a parcel. Any other
use would be a violation.
The money obtained from easements sustain generational working
farms and forests, which is made difficult by escalating land prices and development
pressures. They “extinguish” development rights to make operations more
affordable. In Virginia, a land preservation tax credit enables a property
owner to be compensated with 40 percent of the development value as a state tax
credit that can be sold and transferred. Given current real estate values, said
Agelasto, that can be a substantial amount.
His organization performs due diligence on each application to
confirm that the title and boundaries are good, so that the easement can be
protected and defended, should it ever be threatened. The value of an easement,
the difference the “highest and best” use versus the value with development removed,
is determined by assessment.
Agelasto introduced Tad Thompson, owner of Tuckahoe Plantation,
Thomas Jefferson’s boyhood home, which is under a conservation easement.
Thompson said that the easement process helped to keep his property economically
viable.
The late Sandy Fisher of Brookview Farm at the intersection
of Dover and River Road West, was instrumental in creation of land trust
entities and placed Brookview under one of the first in Goochland. Sandy, and
wife Rossie, were recognized in 2007 by the American Farmland Trust as Stewards
of the Land for their dedication to the protection of natural agricultural resources.
Conservation easements result in lower assessed valuation,
which impacts the county tax base. Agelasto pointed out that land protected by an
easement does not send children to school and that houses cost more in government
services than they generate in tax revenue. He also contended that the value of
land adjoining conservation easements tends to increase because it will not be
developed.
Mechanisms to protect easements are crucial to give comfort
to landowners who want to preserve their property. A few years back, the purchaser
of land under a conservation easement ignored its terms and began making improvements
with the intention of creating an event venue. For some reason, the county
issued permits for these actions. The activity was eventually halted, and the
property is currently on the market. Its marketing verbiage mentions the
easement. Hopefully, the sales agent will explain the easement restrictions to
any purchaser. This must never happen again. Surely the presence of an easement
could be indicated on computerized property records to alert the planning staff
of an easement before any permits are issued.
Conservation easements are a tool to preserve our rural
character. A board member suggested that information about them could be directed
to those who participate in the county’s land use taxation program.
To hear all of Agelasto’s remarks, go to the county webpage https://www.goochlandva.us/ click on watch
county meetings, select BoS May 6. It starts at about the ten-minute mark.
