No. SB 938
Filed under Environment & Water.
Conservation Easements; Requiring a water management district to release a conservation easement upon application of the fee simple owner of a parcel of land if certain conditions are met; requiring that the ad valorem taxes of the property be based on the just value of the property; authorizing such property to be used for development consistent with the zoning designation of the adjacent lands; providing that the property owner assumes responsibility for any stormwater requirements if the property is developed, etc.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDA water management district must release a conservation easement if the landowner applies and the parcel is under 15 acres, hemmed in by impervious surfaces on three or more sides, and has no historic or cultural significance.
The owner must also secure enough mitigation credits, paid for through an in-state mitigation bank, to offset any wetlands lost when the easement disappears.
Once released, the land is taxed at full market value instead of its conservation rate, and it can be developed to match whatever zoning applies on the land next door.
The owner then owns the stormwater problem: they must follow local stormwater rules and get district approval to change any stormwater permit tied to the old easement.
AIA water management district must release a conservation easement if the owner applies and the land is under 15 acres, bordered on three or more sides by impervious surfaces, has no historic or cultural significance, and any undeveloped neighboring land meets the same size-and-border test.
AIOnce released, the property's ad valorem taxes must be based on its full just value, and the land may be developed to match the zoning designation already in place on the adjacent parcels, not necessarily its own.
AIBefore release, the applicant must secure enough mitigation credits and pay the district for them using the state's uniform mitigation assessment method, sourced from an in-state mitigation bank, to offset any wetlands on the parcel.
AIThe owner takes on responsibility for any stormwater requirements once the land is developed, must follow local stormwater ordinances, and must get the district's separate approval to modify any stormwater permit that the released easement had been a condition of.
AIThe mandatory-release mechanism does not apply to conservation easements located within residential developments, or to proprietary conservation easements that a water management district holds itself.