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Legal
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More than most land preservation programs, the language in the deed
of easement and the policies of the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation
Program are largely determined by statutory language and regulation. Because the law and regulations change over
time and because the provisions applying to your property may be unique, to
establish what restrictions apply to your district or easement property, you
should first consult your deed of easement.
While the Foundation strives to keep its regulations consistent with
the law, when the statutory language in the Annotated Code of Maryland
conflicts with the regulatory language in COMAR, the statutory language
applies. |
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FACT SHEETS: AGENDAS: MINUTES: LEGAL DOCUMENTS: FORMS: REPORTS: CONTACT INFORMATION: LINKS: |
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Maryland Annotated Code. Title 2.
Department of Agriculture.
Subtitle 5. Maryland Annotated Code. Title 5.
State Planning. Subtitle
5. Governmental Coordination,
Cooperation, and Assistance in Planning.
§ 5-408. Certification of
County Agricultural Land Preservation Programs. The Annotated Code is the compilation of legislation that composes |
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Code of Maryland
Regulations (COMAR). Title 15.
Department of Agriculture.
Subtitle 15. Code of Maryland
Regulations (COMAR). Title 14. Independent Agencies. Subtitle 24. Office of Planning. Chapter 08.
Guidelines for the Certification of County Agricultural Land
Preservation Programs. (COMAR 14.24.08.01-.12
updated COMAR is the compilation of regulations that interprets and
supplements the Annotated Code. The
regulations in Title 15 provided here are those that most directly apply to
the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Program. There may be some additional regulatory
language addressing the Program more indirectly. When identified, those regulations will be
added to those posted here. |
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Current Standard
Deed of Easement
(revision of May 2006). This deed of
easement will be used for the FY 2006 easement offer cycle. No offers will be made in the FY 2006
easement offer cycle incorporating federal funds, so no federal easement
language will be included in this year's Deed of Easement. This deed of easement is the legal agreement between the landowner
and the Foundation that restricts the future uses of the landowner's
property. Essentially, the landowner
is selling development rights and imposing certain other restrictions on the
property to benefit of the State of Someone seeking information on the restrictions applying to a
specific property should consult that property’ deed of easement recorded
among the County’s public land records. Easement language has evolved over time in response to statutory and
regulatory changes, changes in policies adopted by the Foundation’s Board of
Trustees, and the Foundation’s experience administering the Program. Further, some easements include additional
restrictions at the request of the landowner, county, or Board of Trustees,
for example, eliminating the termination clause to meet IRS standards for the
deduction of any charitable element of the easement transaction or
eliminating additional development rights.
Finally, the Foundation draws on multiple funding sources, some of
whom require specific easement language that differs from the standard deed
of easement. Please note that all
deeds of easement acquired by an options contract approved by the Board of
Public Works after |
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Current
Federal Deed of Easement (Adobe Acrobat/pdf format)
(version approved by the Natural Resource Conservation Service, July 2007;
revision, July 17, 2007) – for offers including Federal Funds incorporating
Federal easement language required by the Cooperative Agreement for Fiscal
Years 2004-2005. This deed of easement
has been revised for the FY 2007 easement offer cycle to incorporate changes
required in the FY 2004-5 Cooperative Agreements, the grants currently being
matched against State and local funds in the 2007 easement acquisition round. The Foundation was unable to settle any
easements using federal funds since December 31. As of This deed of easement is the legal agreement between the landowner
and the Foundation that restricts the future uses of the landowner's property
when the offer includes funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program (FRPP). The Foundation’s participation in the
Federal Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program requires that easements
purchased with federal funds include additional or alternative easement
language fulfilling the conditions of its cooperative agreement with the
federal government. The FRPP is highly
selective in the properties it funds; if your property receives federal
funding, its soils are generally considered highly productive and meet other
federal criteria. Federal language to be included represents the contingent material
interest that the Federal Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program has in the easement by virtue of the investment of its
funds (such as inspection and enforcement rights). For example, while the additional language
requires that conservation practices conform to Natural Resources Conservation
Services standards, the soil erosion and water quality plan required by the
Foundation is already drawn up by the local Soil Conservation District
following these standards. The language in Federally-funded easements has evolved over
time. If you are seeking
information on the Federally-funded restrictions applying to a specific
property, you should consult that property’s deed of easement recorded among
the County’s public land records. |
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Current
District Agreement (Adobe Acrobat/pdf format) (revision
approved by the Board of Trustees in September, 2003; revision, December
2003). When a landowner petitions to create an agricultural preservation
district, this is the agreement to restrict development on the property that
is signed by the Foundation and the landowner and recorded in the county land
records. While petitions to create an
agricultural preservation district are accepted any time, if you intend to
apply to sell an easement by the July 1 deadline, you should petition the
county to establish the district no later than May 1 to meet the requirement
to have the district approved before the easement application deadline. See Forms for links to the relevant
applications and other forms necessary to submit a petition to establish an
agricultural district. As of |
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These
are public documents and are provided for general information purposes
only. If you have a question about a
specific law, regulation, or provision of the district agreement, option
contract, or deed of easement, please consult legal counsel. Last revision: June 11, 2008. |
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STATE OF MARYLAND http://www.malpf.info/laws.html |
