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surrounding property, pushing assessed values higher, the local taxes on land under an easement should remain stable, Mr. Van Auken said. And property passed to heirs can’t be taxed on its development potential, so estate taxes on land under easement should be far less, he added.
To those considering the granting of a conservation easement, he suggested they talk first with their attorney and their tax or financial advisor. “We can’t give you legal advice. We can’t give you financial advice . . . We’re concerned with the conservation aspect.”
“At PEC, we believe that the best defense is a good offense,” said Robert Dennis, PEC’s executive director and a Flint Hill landowner whose farm is protected by a conservation easement. “Don’t wait until there’s an application for a condominium or a 7-11 in your neighborhood. Try beforehand to keep this countryside as unspoiled as it is today.”
In addition to granting a conservation easement to the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, landowners can achieve a measure of protection for rural land by joining an Agricultural and Forestal District, Mr. Dennis said. PEC envisions a Virginia Piedmont Reserve, a “carefully planned” area encompassing as many as a million acres guarded by these two preservation intiatives, he said.
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