A Conservation Restriction is a voluntary, legally binding, permanent agreement between a landowner (grantor) and a holder (grantee), a public agency or a private non-profit land conservation organization. The grantor agrees to limit the use of his/her property for the purpose of protecting its conservation values. The conservation restriction is recorded at the Registry of Deeds and runs with the title. By permanently donating or selling the future development rights to their land to a nonprofit conservation organization or a government agency, a landowner may immediately obtain a federal income tax charitable deduction, and reduce the market value of the acreage used to compute estate taxes. Agricultural preservation restrictions (APR) are a specific type of conservation restriction designed to help farmers realize equity without being forced to sell their land for development purposes. The equity is often reinvested back into the protected farm by way of the purchase of more land, equipment or buildings and through the retirement of farm debt.

Legislation proposed by Representative Kulik would help to make these tools more effective.  By strengthening the durability of conservation restrictions, this legislation will enhance innovative land protection across the Commonwealth. Enabling land trusts and other eligible organizations to co-hold APRs with the Department of Agricultural Resources will assist the Department in negotiating, funding, and enforcing these restrictions, and help foster public-private partnerships that are often necessary to complete such projects.

9.a    The Legislature should amend the Conservation Restriction and Agricultural Preservation Restriction statutes to increase their effectiveness

9.b    The Legislature should provide adequate resources and funding for the Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) Program.