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704.06 Conservation
easements; creation; acquisition; enforcement.--
(1) As used in this
section, "conservation easement" means a right or interest in
real property which is appropriate to retaining land or water areas
predominantly in their natural, scenic, open, agricultural, or wooded
condition; retaining such areas as suitable habitat for fish, plants, or
wildlife; retaining the structural integrity or physical appearance of
sites or properties of historical, architectural, archaeological, or
cultural significance; or maintaining existing land uses and which
prohibits or limits any or all of the following:
(a) Construction or
placing of buildings, roads, signs, billboards or other advertising,
utilities, or other structures on or above the ground.
(b) Dumping or placing
of soil or other substance or material as landfill or dumping or placing of
trash, waste, or unsightly or offensive materials.
(c) Removal or
destruction of trees, shrubs, or other vegetation.
(d) Excavation,
dredging, or removal of loam, peat, gravel, soil, rock, or other material
substance in such manner as to affect the surface.
(e) Surface use except
for purposes that permit the land or water area to remain predominantly in
its natural condition.
(f) Activities
detrimental to drainage, flood control, water conservation, erosion
control, soil conservation, or fish and wildlife habitat preservation.
(g) Acts or uses
detrimental to such retention of land or water areas.
(h) Acts or uses
detrimental to the preservation of the structural integrity or physical
appearance of sites or properties of historical, architectural,
archaeological, or cultural significance.
(2) Conservation
easements are perpetual, undivided interests in property and may be created
or stated in the form of a restriction, easement, covenant, or condition in
any deed, will, or other instrument executed by or on behalf of the owner
of the property, or in any order of taking. Such easements may be acquired
in the same manner as other interests in property are acquired, except by
condemnation or by other exercise of the power of eminent domain, and shall
not be unassignable to other governmental bodies
or agencies, charitable organizations, or trusts authorized to acquire such
easements, for lack of benefit to a dominant estate.
(3) Conservation
easements may be acquired by any governmental body or agency or by a
charitable corporation or trust whose purposes include protecting natural,
scenic, or open space values of real property, assuring its availability
for agricultural, forest, recreational, or open space use, protecting
natural resources, maintaining or enhancing air or water quality, or
preserving sites or properties of historical, architectural,
archaeological, or cultural significance.
(4) Conservation
easements shall run with the land and be binding on all subsequent owners
of the servient estate. Notwithstanding the
provisions of s. 197.552,
all provisions of a conservation easement shall survive and are enforceable
after the issuance of a tax deed. No conservation easement shall be
unenforceable on account of lack of privity of
contract or lack of benefit to particular land or on account of the benefit
being assignable. Conservation easements may be enforced by injunction or
proceeding in equity or at law, and shall entitle the holder to enter the
land in a reasonable manner and at reasonable times to assure compliance. A
conservation easement may be released by the holder of the easement to the
holder of the fee even though the holder of the fee may not be a
governmental body or a charitable corporation or trust.
(5) All conservation
easements shall be recorded and indexed in the same manner as any other
instrument affecting the title to real property.
(6) The provisions of
this section shall not be construed to imply that any restriction,
easement, covenant, or condition which does not have the benefit of this
section shall, on account of any provision hereof, be unenforceable.
(7) Recording of the
conservation easement shall be notice to the property appraiser and tax
collector of the county of the conveyance of the conservation easement.
(8) Conservation
easements may provide for a third-party right of enforcement. As used in this
section, third-party right of enforcement means a right provided in a
conservation easement to enforce any of its terms granted to a governmental
body, or charitable corporation or trust as described in subsection (3),
which although eligible to be a holder, is not a holder.
(9) An action
affecting a conservation easement may be brought by:
(a) An owner of an
interest in the real property burdened by the easement;
(b) A holder of the
easement;
(c) A person having a
third-party right of enforcement; or
(d) A person
authorized by another law.
(10) The ownership or
attempted enforcement of rights held by the holder of an easement does not
subject the holder to any liability for any damage or injury that may be
suffered by any person on the property or as a result of the condition of
the property encumbered by a conservation easement.
(11) Nothing in this
section or other provisions of law shall be construed to prohibit or limit
the owner of land, or the owner of a conservation easement over land, to
voluntarily negotiate the sale or utilization of such lands or easement for
the construction and operation of linear facilities, including electric
transmission and distribution facilities, telecommunications transmission
and distribution facilities, pipeline transmission and distribution
facilities, public transportation corridors, and related appurtenances, nor
shall this section prohibit the use of eminent domain for said purposes as
established by law. In any legal proceeding to condemn land for the purpose
of construction and operation of a linear facility as described above, the
court shall consider the public benefit provided by the conservation
easement and linear facilities in determining which lands may be taken and
the compensation paid.
1(12) An
owner of property encumbered by a conservation easement must abide by the
requirements of chapter 712 or any other similar law or rule to preserve
the conservation easement in perpetuity.
History.--s. 1, ch. 76-169; s. 1, ch. 86-44;
s. 74, ch. 93-206; s. 17, ch.
97-164; s. 7, ch. 2007-204; s. 3, ch. 2009-157.
1Note.--Section
9, ch. 2009-157, provides that "[t]his act
shall take effect [June 10, 2009,]
and shall apply to property tax assessments made on or after January 1, 2010."
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