Conservation Easements: A Partnership with Landowners
One of the most popular conservation tools across the United States is the conservation easement, a legal agreement between a property owner and a conservation trust that allows your land to remain in private ownership. These agreements permanently restrict the type and amount of future development and activities permitted on a property to protect the land’s scenic and conservation values.
As a landowner, you can protect the conservation and scenic values of your land forever and help shape the Barrington community for years to come.
TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HOW CONSERVATION EASEMENTS CAN BENEFIT YOU AND BENEFIT OUR COMMUNITY, click here.
How An Easement Document Might Look
Below is an example of how a legal conservation easement document might look. Click here or click the image to download a full-size PDF.
Examples of Different Types of Easements
Below are some examples of how conservation easements have been used
in other communities to achieve land protection and provide landowners
with significant benefits.
BUFFER PROPERTY AND TRAILS
A property owner with a beautiful oak savanna adjacent to a forest preserve property wanted to ensure that the trees were protected. The landowner put an easement on just the half of her property that contained the trees. The easement serves as a protective buffer between the forest preserve and any future development that might occur on the rest of her land. She now has protected the savanna she loves and enjoys reduced property taxes.
Easements can also be put on riding and bike trails to protect them from
development and changing ownership while providing tax benefits to the property owners.
RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY
A homeowner wanted to preserve the rustic character of his 12-acre property. A wetland on the site made the land environmentally valuable, but existing zoning permitted the property to be subdivided into 4-acre lots. The homeowner put an easement on the entire 12 acres, preventing subdividing and limiting use to a single-family dwelling. He received significant income tax and property tax benefits for his easement.
LARGE PARCELS
The patriarch of a family with a 300-acre farm listened to his children talk about what they will do with it in the future. The father’s priority was ensuring that the original home and farmstead were protected and that the rest of the property would be developed responsibly. The patriarch and his children worked with the land trust and his attorneys to map out an easement for the entire property that preserved the original 100 acres as open space and detailed how the remaining land could be subdivided and used. Drafting the easement forced the children to work out their differences. They also realized that the easement would provide important estate tax benefits that would allow them to keep all of the land in the family. The father and his children gained significant peace of mind and financial benefits by using a conservation easement to define the land’s future.
To learn more about conservation easements, click here.
