HF 2421

as introduced - 79th Legislature (1995 - 1996) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to land use; establishing a purchase of 
  1.3             development rights pilot program under the board of 
  1.4             government innovation and cooperation; appropriating 
  1.5             money; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
  1.6             Statutes, chapter 465. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [465.89] [DEFINITIONS.] 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [TERMS DEFINED.] The definitions in this 
  1.10  section apply in sections 465.891 to 465.894. 
  1.11     Subd. 2.  [BOARD.] "Board" means the board of government 
  1.12  innovation and cooperation. 
  1.13     Subd. 3.  [COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.] "Comprehensive plan" means 
  1.14  a local comprehensive plan meeting the requirements of Minnesota 
  1.15  Statutes, sections 394.21 to 394.37 for counties, sections 
  1.16  462.351 to 462.364 for statutory and home rule charter cities 
  1.17  and towns, and sections 473.175, 473.851 to 473.871 for local 
  1.18  governments in the metropolitan area, as defined in section 
  1.19  473.121, subdivision 2. 
  1.20     Subd. 4.  [CONSERVATION EASEMENT.] "Conservation easement" 
  1.21  means a conservation easement as defined in section 84C.01. 
  1.22     Subd. 5.  [DEVELOPMENT.] "Development" means the 
  1.23  subdivision and partitioning of eligible land or the conversion 
  1.24  of eligible land to competing noneligible land uses. 
  1.25     Subd. 6.  [ELIGIBLE LAND.] "Eligible land" means land that 
  1.26  is: 
  2.1      (a) used for the production of livestock, dairy animals, 
  2.2   dairy products or poultry products, fur-bearing animals, 
  2.3   horticulture or nursery stock, fruit, vegetables, forage, 
  2.4   grains, timber, trees, or bees and apiary products, or that is 
  2.5   wetland, pasture, forest land, wildlife land, or that otherwise 
  2.6   depends on the inherent productivity of the land; and 
  2.7      (b) is designated as land eligible to participate in the 
  2.8   PDR program in the approved comprehensive plan. 
  2.9      Subd. 7.  [LOCAL GOVERNMENT.] "Local government" means a 
  2.10  statutory or home rule charter city, town, or county. 
  2.11     Subd. 8.  [PDR.] "PDR" means purchase of development rights 
  2.12  under the program established in sections 465.89 to 465.894. 
  2.13     Sec. 2.  [465.891] [PDR PROGRAM.] 
  2.14     The board shall establish a pilot PDR program to determine 
  2.15  the best means of preserving eligible land from development, 
  2.16  controlling urban sprawl, and protecting eligible land as 
  2.17  open-space land.  The board shall report to the legislature its 
  2.18  recommendations for a PDR program based on its evaluation of the 
  2.19  pilot program.  The board shall submit the report to the 
  2.20  legislature, as provided in section 3.195, by January 15, 1999. 
  2.21     Sec. 3.  [465.982] [PROCEDURE.] 
  2.22     Subdivision 1.  [GENERAL.] In order for a landowner to sell 
  2.23  to the state the development rights to the land and establish a 
  2.24  permanent conservation easement on the land, the requirements in 
  2.25  this section must be met. 
  2.26     Subd. 2.  [IDENTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE LAND; CRITERIA.] The 
  2.27  comprehensive plan must identify eligible land, if any, within 
  2.28  the jurisdiction of the local government according to the 
  2.29  criteria adopted by the board for designating eligible land.  At 
  2.30  a minimum, the criteria must require that the land be at least 
  2.31  40 contiguous acres and threatened by development or urban 
  2.32  sprawl. 
  2.33     Subd. 3.  [BOARD APPROVAL OF COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.] The local 
  2.34  government must submit the comprehensive plan to adjacent local 
  2.35  governments for coordination with their plans, if any, and then 
  2.36  to the board for review and approval.  The board may not approve 
  3.1   a plan unless it is satisfied that the plan has been coordinated 
  3.2   with adjacent local governments' plans.  "Adjacent local 
  3.3   governments" includes the county if the plan is a city's or 
  3.4   town's plan and the cities and towns in the county if the plan 
  3.5   is the county's.  The board also shall review the comprehensive 
  3.6   plan to determine whether the plan's designation of eligible 
  3.7   land meets the criteria adopted by the board.  The board's 
  3.8   review and approval is in addition to any other review and 
  3.9   approval required under law. 
  3.10     Subd. 4.  [NOTICE TO OWNERS.] The local government must 
  3.11  notify owners of eligible land that their land is eligible to 
  3.12  participate in the PDR program. 
  3.13     Subd. 5.  [APPLICATION.] An owner of eligible land may 
  3.14  apply to the board, in the manner prescribed by the board, to 
  3.15  sell the development rights of the eligible land and create a 
  3.16  permanent, recorded conservation easement. 
  3.17     Subd. 6.  [APPRAISAL; NEGOTIATION.] The owner and the board 
  3.18  shall negotiate the sale of the development rights after 
  3.19  appraisal of the land by an independent appraiser knowledgeable 
  3.20  about the area involved and the potential for development. 
  3.21     Subd. 7.  [RECORDING OF CONSERVATION EASEMENT.] The 
  3.22  conservation easement determined by agreement between the owner 
  3.23  and the board shall be recorded. 
  3.24     Sec. 4.  [465.893] [RULES.] 
  3.25     The board may adopt rules to administer the PDR program. 
  3.26     Sec. 5.  [465.894] [RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL.] 
  3.27     If the owner of eligible land determines to sell the land, 
  3.28  the owner must first offer to sell the development rights to the 
  3.29  board.  The board must begin negotiation to buy the rights or 
  3.30  reject the offer within 90 days of receiving the offer. 
  3.31     Sec. 6.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  3.32     $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the board 
  3.33  of government innovation and cooperation for the purposes of 
  3.34  this act.