The "conservation easement" deduction is part of the GOP's current tax legislation -- but it is not a recent addition.
“TRUE”
So ordinary Americans can no longer deduct mortgage interest, medical expenses, student loans, state and local taxes, adoption expenses, etc... but the super-wealthy can continue to deduct private jets and golf courses.
Gee, do we know anyone who owns a lot of golf courses, makes a ton of money from them, and loves being able to avoid paying millions of dollars in taxes?
“The deduction in question benefits golf course owners like President Donald Trump.”
Introduction
An easement refuge is a special type of National Wildlife Refuge under the auspices of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).
Conservation easement boundary sign.
Outline
Such refuges exist on privately owned land, with the law of easements guaranteeing their status.
On an easement refuge, the Refuge boundaries encompass private land and the FWS does not own the…
Introduction
In the United States, a conservation easement (also called conservation covenant, conservation restriction or conservation servitude) is a power invested in a qualified land conservation organisation called a “land trust”, or a governmental (municipal, county, state or federal) entity to constrain, as to a specified land area, the exercise of rights otherwise held by a landowner so…
Interpreting Conservation Easements and When New Structures are Allowed
Interpreting Conservation Easements and When New Structures are Allowed
Image of tractor in field by Chesapeake Bay Program
The article is not a substitute for legal advice.
The Court of Special Appeals of Maryland recently reversed the Circuit Court for Howard County’s granting of summary judgment involving how to interpret a conservation easement. At issue in the decision is whether the easement allowed for additional residences to be built on the…
Conservation easement protects resources in Macon County
Conservation easement protects resources in Macon County
A recently conserved piece of land in Macon County, NC includes a federally significant marsh, a scenic view and a portion of the Nantahala River.
Mainspring Conservation Trusthas conserved more than 205 acres in the Rainbow Springs area of the county’s western portion, and that land is now part of a larger node of privately conserved property that totals 2,619 acres and abuts the Nantahala…
The 1972 Federal Aviation Administration Building (FAA) in Hawthorne is protected by an easement held by the Conservancy. Photo by Adrian Scott Fine/L.A. Conservancy.
The phrase “everything old is new again” is fitting for historic preservation work. Through the passage of time, places that once might have been derided and misunderstood come into their own and are “rediscovered.”
It happened with Victorian homes, for example, which were considered past their prime in the 1950s and ‘60s, and many were demolished in this time period. But those that remained came to be appreciated again by the 1970s and ‘80s. A similar storyline has followed Art Deco, Craftsman, and numerous other architectural styles. We generally lose a lot of these kinds of places as we wait for the public’s appreciation for them to catch up.
Often it is a younger generation that sees value in these “newer” buildings that are just emerging as the historic landmarks of the future. Now that the 1970s-era built environment is crossing the fifty-year threshold, enough time has passed to start understanding, recognizing, and protecting these places too.
Our Newest Conservation Easement
With the launch of our new The ‘70s Turn 50 initiative, this is a perfect time to share the news about our latest conservation easement, which happens to be a significant 1970s building.
The Federal Aviation Administration Building (FAA) in Hawthorne is one of the nation’s most significant examples of 1970s Late Modernism. It is now protected through a conservation easement held by the Conservancy. As an easement-holder, we ensure that any proposed changes to the exterior of the building and landscape conform to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation (nationally recognized preservation standards).
When the FAA was completed in 1972, the nation was in the middle of a presidential scandal, the first-ever digital watch made its debut, and NASA’s Space Shuttle Program officially launched. The FAA and similar buildings from this time period represented a stark architectural departure, with a rounded, taut glass-and-aluminum-skinned façade. It looked more like a piece of monumental sculpture than a building intended to house federal office workers. From certain angles, the reflective glass building appears to hover above the ground as if an experimental aircraft. This design is fitting given Los Angeles County’s role in the early aerospace industry.
Despite its eventual construction in the 1970s, the design for the FAA dates to 1966, by architects César Pelli and Anthony J. Lumsden of Daniel Mann Johnson & Mendenhall (DMJM). Considered the first-designed Southern California building to have a mirrored skin, the FAA was not the first built. Pelli and Lumsden collaborated on experimental developments with new types of exterior cladding or “skin.” The idea was to wrap a building’s structural frame in a glass curtain wall façade that appeared as one continuous, uniform surface.
In 1976, Progressive Architecture magazine quoted Lumsden saying the FAA was “the first building in the country, I believe, that tried to do a lightweight sculptural surface, where the building goes over the top…under the bottom, and also around the corner.” The article also describes the FAA as an “anti-gravitational mass, not unlike a dirigible airship.” Its progressive design represented a significant step in the evolution of continuous, flexible membrane facades, leading to numerous examples built throughout the U.S. and world.
Anyone driving past the FAA and its busy intersection at 15000 Aviation Boulevard likely notices how this building stands out from others. It is set back from the corner with a vast open landscape and sited as if a “machine in the garden.” It is thoroughly futuristic, even today, nearly fifty years later. In 2010, Lumsden noted how important and integral the open landscape was to the design of the building. It frames the FAA with flat open lawn areas and undulating earthen berms intended to extend the sculptural effects of the building, and serve a practical purpose of concealing surface parking. The Conservancy’s conservation easement protects both the FAA building and its landscape setting.
The FAA building features a rounded, taut glass-and-aluminum-skinned façade. Photo by Adrian Scott Fine/L.A. Conservancy.
In 2015, at age 43, the FAA was officially listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Its contribution to the field of architecture is more than worthy of this level of recognition. Though still relatively young, the FAA was in need of a significant seismic retrofit and reinvestment. After considering its options, the General Services Administration (GSA), who manages the FAA and a massive portfolio of buildings owned by the federal government, ultimately decided to close and sell the building. Due to its status as a historic building, the planned sale prompted a federal historic review process called Section 106, established as part of the National Historic Preservation Act. This affords any significant historic building passing from federal to private ownership adequate, long-term protection. In this case, the best tool to accomplish this goal is a conservation easement.
The federal government officially closed the building in 2018, relocating its office workers and leaving the building empty. For more than a year, the Conservancy worked closely with the GSA to put in place the necessary provisions before the sale of the FAA could proceed. This included valuable assistance from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. On May 3, 2019, the GSA issued bids for the purchase of the FAA, with an online auction beginning on June 3 and ending on July 9.
In late November 2019, ownership of the FAA transferred to the winning bidder, Worthe Real Estate Group, based in Santa Monica. They plan to rehabilitate the FAA building and retain its original use as an office building. The conservation easement was officially placed on the building as a condition of the sale.
The Conservancy is already working closely with Worthe as they begin planning for tenant improvements, restoration of the glass skin of the building, and necessary upgrades. We are very excited to see this building rehabilitated and put back into its original use, demonstrating how old can indeed become new again. This easement also marks the Conservancy’s first postwar historic building, let alone from the 1970s, to join our growing portfolio of conservation easements!
To learn more about the Conservancy’s easement program, visit
laconservancy.org/easements.
Roughly 14,000 acres along the Savannah River will forever remain undeveloped, thanks to this conservation team work.
Excerpt from this Mother Nature Network story:
The descendants of John Winthrop, founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony nearly 400 years ago, recently set aside 14,000 acres along the Savannah River that will forever remain undeveloped. It's the largest private conservation easement in South Carolina history.
Its significance, though, goes well beyond the creation of a natural bulwark against overdevelopment and forest loss.
A bevy of private, commercial, nonprofit and government donors, including the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, cobbled together the $12.2 million deal — with the Winthrop family donating 70 percent of the easement's cost. Timber harvesting, hunting and fishing will continue on the property, known as Groton Plantation, to the benefit of the local economy. And the 13,868-acre tract of swampy hardwoods and upland pines fills a major hole in an under-construction, 100-mile corridor along the Savannah River. Myriad threatened, endangered and at-risk species, including red-cockaded woodpeckers and gopher tortoises, will find safe haven.
Yet what makes this deal particularly eye-popping is its geographic reach. By protecting private property upstream, and the water that flows from the land into the Savannah River, communities far downstream benefit. The Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority, keen to lower water-treatment costs, chipped in more than a half-million dollars for the easement — and it's 50 miles from Groton. In all, five water utilities have joined the Savannah River Clean Water Fund with the goal of protecting 1.7 million river-buffering acres. Groton Plantation, and a smaller tract nearby, are the fund's first two successes.
The Lawrence and Martha Joseph Residence and Apartments, an important example of Storybook architecture in Los Angeles, are protected from demolition and incompatible alterations thanks to an easement held by the Conservancy. Photo by Adrian Scott Fine/L.A. Conservancy.
Saving historic places rarely takes a one-size-fits-all approach; the Conservancy most often applies a different set of tools and strategies in each case. While much of our work typically involves years of effort nudging a project toward a preservation outcome, the best way to permanently save a historic resource is through a conservation easement. An easement is a legal agreement recorded on the title of the property that runs in perpetuity with the deed, regardless of the owner.
Easements in a Nutshell
An easement is a private or partial legal interest transferred by a property owner to a qualified preservation nonprofit organization (in this case, the Conservancy) or government entity. The owner continues to own the property but transfers the specific set of rights represented by the easement to the easement-holding organization. As the easement-holder, the Conservancy is responsible for monitoring the property’s condition, reviewing any proposed changes to the property, and ensuring that any alterations conform to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation (nationally recognized and widely used preservation standards).
Since accepting our first conservation easement in 1981, we have worked to ensure long-term protection and preservation for some of the most visible landmarks throughout Greater Los Angeles. Easements come to us in various ways, sometimes as a result of an advocacy effort. When the 1931 Pellissier Building and Wiltern Theatre faced demolition in 1979, the Conservancy helped to delay demolition by negotiating with the City, providing a feasibility study for alternative use, and holding a massive public rally. Backed by hundreds of supporters, the effort lead to the Conservancy’s first major victory. Developer Wayne Ratkovich rescued the building by purchasing it, completing an extensive sensitive restoration, and donating an easement on the property to the Conservancy.
Why People Donate Easements
Many owners of historic landmarks look to conservation easements because they provide even stronger protection than traditional landmark or historic district designation. Many local preservation ordinances allow for only a delay, not denial, in the demolition of a designated landmark, as is currently the case in Los Angeles. Easements also are not subject to political issues that can threaten designated properties.
While many owners have the best intentions and wishes for their historic properties, future owners may not share the same values. As we have seen all too often, it is risky to assume that future owners will continue to preserve a historic structure, even if they voice such intentions. Residences, especially from the mid-twentieth-century, can be particularly vulnerable. As original or longtime owners move or pass away, the properties they stewarded for decades can be seen as dated, in need of too much repair, or simply inferior to the development potential of the lot.
An easement requires both current and future owners to properly maintain the property, and it provides a legal means of enforcement. Because easements are recorded on the title for the property and run in perpetuity, regardless of the owner, they serve as a vital tool to protect historic places for future generations.
Some people donate easements to take advantage of potential economic incentives. For qualified projects, an owner may be able to take a charitable contribution deduction from their federal income taxes for the value of the conservation easement, if the contribution meets Internal Revenue Service requirements.
The value of an easement for the purposes of the federal tax deduction varies by property, based on a qualified appraisal performed by a qualified appraiser. The property’s development potential can also affect the easement value. For instance, properties that theoretically could otherwise be redeveloped at a much higher density might have a higher value of the easement deduction. Anyone donating an easement should obtain solid tax and legal advice specific to their circumstances.
Conservation easement properties are generally privately owned by individuals or organizations who wish to see them preserved, not harmed, and are outstanding stewards. Though ready if necessary, the Conservancy has not yet needed to take legal action to defend and enforce any of our easements.
Every Easement Tells a Story
The Conservancy holds a façade easement on the Casa de Parley Johnson in Downey. Photo by Adrian Scott Fine/L.A. Conservancy.
Most of the Conservancy’s easements cover only the exterior of protected buildings, typically only the façades. Depending on the owner’s intent and the particular property, an easement might be much more detailed and specific. The Lawrence and Martha Joseph Residence and Apartments is a good example. Built between 1946 and 1970, this is one of the most significant examples of Storybook architecture in L.A. Nicknamed “the Hobbit Houses,” the eclectic cottages were designed by Lawrence Joseph, a former Walt Disney Studios artist who later worked on classified aircraft design projects for the Lockheed “Skunk Works” facility in Burbank. The Conservancy holds an easement protecting the original landscaping, as well as the exterior façade and interior features created by Joseph.
Not all of the Conservancy’s easement properties are located in L.A. In Downey, the Conservancy holds a façade easement on the Casa de Parley Johnson, a two-story Monterey-style residence designed and built in 1927 by noted architect Roland Coate. Built for Parley Johnson, a prominent local citrus farmer, and his wife, Geline “Gypsy” Johnson, the home and its gardens were originally situated in the center of the Johnsons’ fifty acres of orange groves. Surrounded by whitewashed walls, the house features balconies and patios integrating the interior spaces with the outdoors. Parley Johnson’s widow Gypsy lived in the house until her death in 1986, when it was bequeathed to the Assistance League of Downey.
Each of the Conservancy’s easement properties has its own unique story and significance. Thanks to the protection provided by easements, these stories can continue to inspire us for years to come. To see photos of these properties and learn about others, and to learn more about the Conservancy’s conservation easement program, visit laconservancy.org/easements.
