Conservation authority accepts easement amendment excluding portion under open-space use agreement

The Albemarle County Conservation Easement Authority on an unspecified meeting date voted to accept an amendment to a proposed easement while excluding the portion of parcel 37 C 3 that is currently under an open-space use agreement, and to ask staff to work with the donor to finalize language.

Authority members debated whether the amendment reduced development potential enough to justify the county-subsidized easement. “I wasn't here when the first easement was put on. But, you know, if you compare to the to the donations that you're going to talk to talk about after this, there were 6 development rights being extinguished, 10 development rights, and 3 development rights,” said Authority member (Speaker 2), voicing concern about distinguishing development rights across parcels. Several members said they would prefer excluding 37 C 3 from the amendment and instead add about 19 acres from parcel 37 A to create a clearer, common regime for the donor's holdings.

Staff and members discussed specific conservation features and constraints on the parcels, including Ivy Creek-related water-supply concerns raised earlier in the meeting. Members also raised tax and economic questions, with one member warning against making decisions on economics alone and another noting that the amendment as revised should not increase the number of permitted dwellings beyond what was originally proposed.

After discussion, an authority member moved that the authority accept the proposed amendment but accept only the portion of 37 C 3 that is under the existing open-space use agreement and exclude related terms that would apply to that portion; another member seconded. The motion passed on a voice vote. The authority directed staff to work with the donor on the redrafted language and return to the authority if the donor is unwilling to accept the adjusted amendment, with the expectation the matter could be revisited at the authority's November meeting.

The action changes how parcel boundaries and house allowances in the easement will be described in the deed and preserves the county's existing treatment of the area currently under the open-space use agreement. The authority recorded no quantified roll-call tally in the transcript; the motion carried by voice vote.