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Conservation Easements: Save Nature and Your Wallet
By Dan Weede If you own undeveloped or partially developed property and want to continue to own the property in its natural state, but would also like to obtain some immediate economic benefit from that land then you might want to consider a conservation easement for your property. Conservation easements are an increasingly popular method used to protect green space and water quality in Georgia. In addition to the environmental advantages of a conservation easement, an owner may also benefit financially from compensation paid for the easement or state and federal tax credits/deductions offered for a qualified donation. In addition to the state and federal tax benefits, a reduction in your property taxes is also a possibility when you establish a conservation easement. As you might imagine, the process of establishing a conservation easement will require the involvement of your attorney who will assist you in the process, but the summary of the process is as follows: Step 1: Identify a Qualified Conservation Purpose. In Georgia, conservation easements are established by the Georgia Uniform Conservation Easement Act (codified under O.C.G.A. §44-10-1 thru 8). For this act to apply, the easement must be established for a conservation purpose. Examples of a “conservation purpose” include (i) retaining or protecting natural, scenic or open-space values of real property, (ii) assuring its availability for agricultural, forest, recreational or open space use, (iii) protecting natural resources, (iv) maintaining or enhancing air or water quality, (v) flood or wetlands protection, (vi) protection of creek buffers and other areas that serve as habitat and corridors for native plants and animals, or (vii) preserving the historical, architectural, archeological or cultural aspects of real property. Step 2: Contact a Potential Easement Holder. The conservation easement is really just a contract between you, as the owner, and the qualified “holder” where you give up certain rights to develop and/or use your property in order to preserve it for one of the purposes discussed above. Therefore, the next step for an owner is to locate a qualified “holder”. In Georgia, the holder of a conservation easement must be a government or a charitable organization. Because of the limited resources in capacity of governmental organizations, conservation organizations such as land trusts, are most likely to serve as easement holders. The potential holder can help answer questions related to the conservation easement process. For general questions on this process you should contact either: · Georgia Land Conservation Program at (404) 584-1101 or (404) 463-5717; or · Georgia Department of Natural Resources at (770) 918-6411 and ask for Kristina Sorensen. For a list of common holders of these easements, call the Georgia Land Trust Service Center; contact Hans Neuhauser, Executive Director at (706) 546-7507 (the Georgia Land Trust Service Center maintains an updated list of all active Georgia land trusts at http://www.gepinstitute.com/landtrust.asp). Additionally, the City of Atlanta is in the process of developing a system for responding to conservation easement requests by residents. Through its program, Project Green Space, the City is dedicated to preserving green space around metro Atlanta. Currently, however, the City has not finalized a process for either serving as a holder or partnering with other organizations to hold conservation easements, but this could soon change. Questions regarding the City’s conservation easement process or Project Green Space should be directed to Dee Merriam, City of Atlanta-Project Green Space at (404) 330-6143. Step 3: Determine the Feasibility of a Sale or Donation of a Conservation Easement. An owner should work with the prospective holder to determine whether a sale or a donation of a conservation easement is the best option for you. Due to limited funds currently available for the purchase of easement, a donation is the most likely method to create a conservation easement, however, a donated easement may be eligible to receive (i) a state income tax credit for the lesser of 25% of fair market value of the donation or $250,000 and, (ii) a federal income tax deduction of up to 50% of your adjusted gross income, with any excess being carried over for up to 15 years following the year of donation (donations after 2007 may be limited to a maximum deduction of 30% of AGI with excess carried over for just 5 years if Congress does not renew this provision of the tax code). Step 4: Determine Possible and Prohibitive Uses for your Property. The conservation easement that you negotiate with the holder will specify all the permissible uses for the easement land. The restrictions are usually very negotiable and the owner may be able to reserve limited rights to use or access the property depending on the specific holder. While this article has only attempted to highlight some of the advantages and procedures for a conservation easement, for a more detailed treatment of this subject, including frequently asked questions and a basic example of a conservation easement, go to the NBCA Web Site at www.nbca.org/Greenspace/Conservation_Easements/Conservation_Easements.pdf.
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