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can be overturned by a prodevelopment successor Board in the blink of an eye. In contrast, the restrictions of a conservation easement (preventing, for example, any subdivision of a 50 acre parcel or restricting the subdivision of a 1,000 acre farm into parcels of less than 100 acres), placed by the landowner’s voluntary act, truly is forever.
Conservation easements in Rappahannock benefit not only those of us who live here. Rappahannock is a principal gateway to the Shenandoah National Park and the Skyline Drive. Thousands of visitors to those popular federally supported attractions pass through Rappahannock each year. Their enjoyable experience of nature’s wonders is enhanced by passing through the still open and rural scenery here.
It is undeniable that the existence of tax benefits for the donation of a conservation easement has been an important incentive for many landowners. Although publicity about a few abuses of the existing provisions in the Code has fueled skepticism on the part of the Joint Committee’s staff, it cannot be doubted that a perpetual restriction preventing the carving up of a parcel of land into one-acre house lots, even if zoning restrictions are reversed, represents a real and quantifiable reduction in the value of the parcel, a reduction that is donated for a charitable purpose and that, as long as the Code promotes charitable giving, is as worthy of treatment as a deductible gift as any other.
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