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2015 SESSION

15101119D
HOUSE BILL NO. 1572
Offered January 14, 2015
Prefiled January 7, 2015
A BILL to amend and reenact § 10.1-1701 of the Code of Virginia, relating to acquisition of open-space land.
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Patron-- Pogge
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Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 10.1-1701 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 10.1-1701. Authority of public bodies to acquire or designate property for use as open-space land.

To carry out the purposes of this chapter, any public body other than a county or municipality may (i) acquire by purchase, gift, devise, bequest, grant, or otherwise title to or any interests or rights of not less than five years' duration in real property that will provide a means for the preservation or provision of open-space land and (ii) designate any real property in which it has an interest of not less than five years' duration to be retained and used for the preservation and provision of open-space land.  Any such interest may also be perpetual.

A county or municipality may (a) acquire by purchase, gift, devise, bequest, grant, or otherwise title to or any interests or rights not to exceed five years' duration in real property that will provide a means for the preservation or provision of open-space land and (b) designate any real property in which it has an interest to be retained and used for the preservation and provision of open-space land, for a period not to exceed five years. Any extension of such an interest by a county or municipality shall be adopted only if approved in conjunction with a comprehensive plan review.

The use of the real property for open-space land shall conform to the official comprehensive plan for the area in which the property is located. No property or interest therein shall be acquired by eminent domain by any public body for the purposes of this chapter; however, this provision shall not limit the power of eminent domain as it was possessed by any public body prior to the passage of this chapter.