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COMMUNITYGROWTH <br /> I N S T I T U T E <br /> Experts in Small Town Planning <br /> MEMORANDUM <br /> Date: 9/5/o8 <br /> Prepared By: Alec Nord, Planner <br /> Re: Land trusts <br /> There are two main ways in which a private landowner can place their land into a trust. <br /> Typically in the case of rural areas land trusts are usually formed through conservation <br /> trusts, whereas community land trusts are more associated land that has been <br /> developed in urban and suburban areas. <br /> Both conservation trusts and community land trusts are driven and administered by <br /> nonprofit organizations. <br /> Types of Land Trusts <br /> Conservation/Traditional Land Trusts (easements) <br /> Conservation Trusts focus on acquiring and protecting open space and agricultural land. <br /> This is typically done through the establishment of a conservation easement. <br /> A conservation easement is a set of restrictions a landowner voluntarily places on his or <br /> her property in order to preserve its conservation values. The conservation values of the <br /> property and the restrictions created to preserve those values, along with the rights <br /> reserved by the landowner, are detailed in a legal document known as a conservation <br /> easement. This document is filed with the local county land records'. <br /> A conservation easement is conveyed to a government agency or nonprofit conservation <br /> organization qualified to hold and enforce easements. Most conservation easements— <br /> including all of those held by the Minnesota Land Trust—are perpetual. They apply to <br /> the current owner and all future landowners, permanently protecting the property'. <br /> A landowner retains all rights to the property not specifically restricted or relinquished <br /> by the easement. The landowner still owns the land and has the right to use it for any <br /> purpose that is consistent with the easement, to sell, to transfer or to leave it through a <br /> will. Typically,landowners also retain the right to restrict public access'. <br /> Each conservation easement is unique, specifically tailored to the particular land being <br /> protected as well as to the particular situation of the landowner. <br /> Types of land that can be protected by conservation easements: <br /> 1 http://www.mnland.org/prog-ce.html <br /> 14084 Baxter Drive, Suite 7 1 Baxter, Minnesota 56425 1 866.900.3064 1 www.communitygrowth.com <br />