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2018 SESSION
18104710DBe it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 10.1-1704 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 10.1-1704. Diversion of property from open-space land use; conveyance or lease of open-space land.
A. No open-space land, the title to or interest or right in
which has been acquired under this chapter and which has been designated as
open-space land under the authority of this chapter, shall be converted or
diverted from open-space land use unless (i) the:
1. The conversion or diversion is determined by the
public body to be (a) essential to the orderly development and growth of the
locality and (b) in accordance with the official comprehensive plan for the
locality in effect at the time of conversion or diversion and (ii) there.
The [ applicant for conversion or diversion shall
submit to the ] public body [ may
require the submission of ] (i) materials, including a letter
from the governing body of the locality, demonstrating the essentiality of the
project; (ii) examples of all alternatives, including project alterations, that
were considered; and (iii) clear evidence that no feasible alternative to the
conversion or diversion of the land from open-space land use exists;
2. There is substituted other real property which
that is (a) of at least equal fair market value, (b) of substantially
greater value as permanent open-space land than the land converted or diverted,
and (c) of as nearly as feasible equivalent usefulness and location for use as
permanent open-space land as is the land converted or diverted. The fair
market value of both the land to be converted or diverted and the substitute
land shall be established by a certified general real estate appraiser with
experience in conservation easement appraisals, and the costs of the appraisals
shall be paid by the applicant. If the proposed substitute land is not adjacent
to the land to be converted or diverted, then the applicant shall provide a
clear explanation of why the acquisition of adjacent land is impossible and how
the proposed substitute land will provide replacement conservation values.
The public body shall assure that the property substituted will be subject to
the provisions of this chapter; and
3. A fund to be managed by a public body is created for the stewardship of the substitute land. [ The moneys for the creation of such fund shall be provided by the applicant for conversion or diversion. ]
B. A public body may convey or lease any real property that
it has acquired and which that has been designated for the
purposes of this chapter. The conveyance or lease shall be subject to
contractual arrangements that will preserve the property as open-space land,
unless the property is to be converted or diverted from open-space land use in
accordance with the provisions of subsection A of this section.