Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Easement Process topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee outlines conservation‑easement workflow, including 'show‑stopping' public‑access rule
Summary
Members recorded a multi‑step easement workflow: initiation, show‑stopping public‑access rule, a 4–10 page co‑occurrence assessment integrating NH WAP and added benefits, negotiation and due diligence, Baseline Documentation Report completion, and annual monitoring and deed registration at the Carroll County Registry.
Ned Beecher summarized a proposed conservation‑easement workflow the committee agreed to use when evaluating possible projects. The process begins with initiation—either a landowner approaches the committee or the committee approaches an owner of a unique property—followed by an early check of "show‑stopping" rules. One such rule is Tamworth’s policy requiring public access to conserved land, with only limited short‑term exceptions for agriculture or forestry; if a project cannot meet those rules it cannot proceed.
If initiation and show‑stoppers are cleared, the committee will prepare a 4–10 page co‑occurrence assessment documenting the data layers and weightings (including integration of the NH WAP and any added benefits or concerns such as impaired waters or hazardous waste). If the committee decides to proceed it will negotiate terms (gift, bargain sale, or full market sale), set a project timeline, inform the Select Board, complete due diligence (title, survey, testing, baseline documentation), draft and finalize the conservation easement with town attorney review, register deeds at the Carroll County Registry, and assign annual easement monitoring.
