                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

OPEN-SPACE LANDS PRESERVATION TRUST FUND (§ 10.1-1801.1)

A. The Foundation shall establish, administer, manage, including the creation of
reserves, and make expenditures and allocations from a special nonreverting fund
in the state treasury to be known as the Open-Space Lands Preservation Trust
Fund, hereinafter referred to as the Fund. The Foundation shall establish and
administer the Fund solely for the purpose of providing grants in accordance
with this section to localities acquiring fee simple title or other rights,
interests, or privileges in property, to localities for persons conveying
conservation easements to nonprofit land trusts, or to persons conveying to the
Foundation fee simple title or other rights, interests, or privileges in
property on agricultural, forestal, or other open-space land pursuant to the
Open-Space Land Act (&#xA7; 10.1-1700 et seq.) and, if applicable, the Virginia
Conservation Easement Act (&#xA7; 10.1-1009 et seq.).

B. The Fund shall consist of general fund moneys, gifts, endowments or grants
from the United States government, its agencies and instrumentalities, and funds
from any other available sources, public or private.

C. Any moneys remaining in the Fund at the end of a biennium shall remain in the
Fund, and shall not revert to the general fund. Interest earned on moneys
received by the Fund shall remain in the Fund and be credited to it.

D. The purpose of grants made from the Fund shall be to aid (i) localities
acquiring fee simple title or other rights, interests, or privileges in
property; (ii) persons conveying to the Foundation fee simple title or other
rights, interests, or privileges in property; or (iii) localities to provide
funding for projects approved by the Foundation to persons conveying
conservation easements to nonprofit land trusts so long as such easement has a
local coholder. Such grants may be used for the costs associated with the
conveyance of the property interest, which may include legal costs, appraisal
costs, or all or part of the value of the property interest. In cases where a
grant is used to purchase all or part of the value of a property interest,
moneys from the Fund may also be used by the Foundation to pay for an appraisal,
provided that the appraisal is the only appraisal paid for by the Foundation in
the acquisition of a particular property interest. To be eligible for a grant
award, the property interest shall be (a) compliant with the Open-Space Land Act
(&#xA7; 10.1-1700 et seq.) or (b) a conservation easement under the Virginia
Conservation Easement Act (&#xA7; 10.1-1009 et seq.), so long as the holder of
such easement is accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission or its
designated subsidiary entity at the time of the grant award. If the Land Trust
Accreditation Commission accreditation is not available at the time of the grant
application for such holder under clause (b), the Foundation shall evaluate such
holder on a case-by-case basis consistent with its established guidelines. For
the purposes of this subsection, &#8220;local coholder&#8221; means the
governing body of the locality in which the easement is located, a public
recreational facilities authority, any other local entity authorized by statute
to hold open-space easements, or a soil and water conservation district, if
authorized to hold an easement under the Open-Space Land Act.

E. The Foundation shall establish guidelines for submittal and evaluation of
grant applications. In evaluating grant applications, the Foundation may give
priority to applications that:

   1. Request a grant to pay only legal and appraisal fees for a property
   interest that is being donated by the landowner;

   2. Request a grant to pay costs associated with conveying a property interest
   on a family-owned or family-operated farm; or

   3. Demonstrate the applicant&#8217;s financial need for a grant.

F. No open-space land for which a grant has been awarded under this section
shall be converted or diverted from open-space land use unless:

   1. Such conversion or diversion is in compliance with subsection A of &#xA7;
   10.1-1704; and

   2. Any open-space easement on the land substituted for land subject to an
   easement with respect to which a grant has been made under this section meets
   the eligibility requirements of this section.

G. Up to $100,000 per year of any interest generated by the Fund may be used for
the Foundation&#8217;s administrative expenses.

HISTORY: 1997, c. 338; 1999, c. 927; 2000, c. 181; 2003, cc. 78, 90; 2009, c.
599; 2020, c. 567; 2023, c. 389.