Landowners who seek conservation restrictions (sometimes called conservation easements) share OCT’s desire to protect and enhance forever the natural and scenic resources in our Orleans community. Basically, a conservation restriction (CR) is a legal agreement between you, as a property owner, and a land trust like OCT or a government entity. It is designed to permanently restrict certain uses and activities-such as development-that may take place on all or a part of a property, and thereby protect the land’s conservation values.<\/p>\nA CR agreement is tailored to your property, your interests as the landowner, and to the policies and purposes of OCT as the restriction holder. Since 1970, we have worked with more than three dozen families to place more than 100 acres under conservation restrictions. While CRs are typically donated, OCT will consider purchasing a CR under the right circumstances.
\nOCT staff monitors each CR at least once every other year, depending on how the property is used.\n
With a conservation restriction in place, you continue to own the land. You can sell it or pass it on to your heirs. The CR “runs with the land”-meaning that you, as the original owner (and all subsequent owners) must honor the restrictions to which you agreed. The CR is recorded at the Barnstable County Registry of deeds, so that all future owners and lenders will become aware of the CR when they obtain title reports.<\/p>\n\t
There are many benefits of a conservation restriction-to the property owner, the Trust, and all Orleans residents and visitors who treasure the beauty and accessibility of the wondrous natural resources around us. You could seek a CR to:<\/p>\n
Permanently protect your land from excessive or inappropriate development while retaining private ownership. Ensure that the resource value of your land will be protected in perpetuity, regardless of who owns the property in the future. Receive property tax relief and federal income tax relief. Cape Cod towns typically offer property tax reductions to landowners who place conservation restrictions on their land. See details in FAQ below.<\/p>\n
A conservation restriction offers great flexibility because it is tailored to your intent as the landowner. A CR limits uses and activities to the degree necessary to protect the significant conservation values of the property. Sometimes this entirely prohibits construction. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\tMust a CR allow public access? <\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tExpand<\/i><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t Landowners who grant CRs make their own choice about whether to open their property to the public.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\tDoes a CR on my property reduce my federal income tax? <\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tExpand<\/i><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t Donating a CR may be a tax-deductible charitable gift, provided that the CR is donated exclusively for conservation purposes to a qualified conservation organization, such as OCT.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\tHow is the income tax deduction calculated? <\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tExpand<\/i><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t To determine the value of your CR donation, you would hire an appraiser to determine the fair market value of the property “as is”-meaning without the CR in place-as well as the fair market value of the property as restricted by the CR. The difference in these two values is the value of the CR donation. The IRS imposes rules on how much can be deducted in any given year, but unused portions of the deduction can be carried forward for 5 to 15 years, depending on the circumstances. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\tCan granting a CR reduce my property taxes? <\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tExpand<\/i><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t The tax assessment on a property is usually based on its market value, reflecting the property’s development potential. If a CR reduces that potential, it will reduce the assessment and, by extension, the property taxes.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\tWill granting a CR on my property reduce my federal estate taxes?<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tExpand<\/i><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t A CR can be used as an estate-planning tool to reduce estate taxes. As the landowner, if you have restricted the property by a perpetual CR prior to death (or your executor restricts it after death), the property must be valued on the estate at its restricted value. Thus, the value of the estate will be less, and estate taxes will be reduced.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\tHow does monitoring work?<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tExpand<\/i><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t OCT will contact you beforehand to let you know when we plan to do our regular monitoring of the property. We walk boundaries of the CR and ensure that it is being used in accordance with those allowed uses provided in the document. You can decide whether you’d like to be present or not.<\/p>\n\t