Sec. 7-131d. Protected open space and watershed land acquisition grant program: Purposes; criteria; conditions. Charter Oak open space grant program: Criteria; conditions.
Sec. 7-131d. Protected open space and watershed land acquisition grant program: Purposes; criteria; conditions. Charter Oak open space grant program:
Criteria; conditions. (a) There is established the protected open space and watershed
land acquisition grant program. The program shall provide grants to municipalities and
nonprofit land conservation organizations to acquire land or permanent interests in land
for open space and watershed protection and to water companies, as defined in section
25-32a, to acquire and protect land which is eligible to be classified as class I or class
II land, as defined in section 25-37c, after acquisition. All lands or interests in land
acquired under this program shall be preserved in perpetuity predominantly in their
natural scenic and open condition for the protection of natural resources while allowing
for recreation consistent with such protection and, for lands acquired by water companies, allowing for the improvements necessary for the protection or provision of potable
water.
(b) Grants may be made under the protected open space and watershed land acquisition grant program established under subsection (a) of this section or under the Charter
Oak open space grant program established under section 7-131t to match funds for the
purchase of land or permanent interests in land which purchase meets one of the following criteria: (1) Protects land identified as being especially valuable for recreation, forestry, fishing, conservation of wildlife or natural resources; (2) protects land which
includes or contributes to a prime natural feature of the state's landscape, including, but
not limited to, a shoreline, a river, its tributaries and watershed, an aquifer, mountainous
territory, ridgelines, an inland or coastal wetland, a significant littoral or estuarine or
aquatic site or other important geological feature; (3) protects habitat for native plant
or animal species listed as threatened or endangered or of special concern, as defined
in section 26-304; (4) protects a relatively undisturbed outstanding example of a native
ecological community which is now uncommon; (5) enhances and conserves water
quality of the state's lakes, rivers and coastal water; (6) preserves local agricultural
heritage; or (7) in the case of grants to water companies, protects land which is eligible
to be classified as class I land or class II land after acquisition. The commissioner may
make a grant under the protected open space and watershed land acquisition grant program to a distressed municipality or a targeted investment community, as defined in
section 32-9p, for restoration or protection of natural features or habitats on open space
already owned by the municipality, including, but not limited to, wetland or wildlife or
plant habitat restoration or restoration of other sites to a more natural condition, or
replacement of vegetation, provided the total amount of grants to such municipalities
for such purposes may not exceed twenty per cent of the total amount of grants made
in any fiscal year.
(c) No grant may be made under the protected open space and watershed land acquisition grant program established under subsection (a) of this section or under the Charter
Oak open space grant program established under section 7-131t for: (1) Land to be used
for commercial purposes or for recreational purposes requiring intensive development,
including, but not limited to, golf courses, driving ranges, tennis courts, ballfields, swimming pools and uses by motorized vehicles other than vehicles needed by water companies to carry out their purposes, provided trails or pathways for pedestrians, motorized
wheelchairs or nonmotorized vehicles shall not be considered intensive development;
(2) land with environmental contamination over a significant portion of the property
provided grants for land requiring remediation of environmental contamination may be
made if remediation will be completed before acquisition of the land or any interest in the
land and an environmental assessment approved by the Commissioner of Environmental
Protection has been completed and no environmental use restriction applies to the land;
(3) land which has already been committed for public use; (4) development costs, including, but not limited to, construction of ballfields, tennis courts, parking lots or roadways;
(5) land to be acquired by eminent domain; or (6) reimbursement of in-kind services or
incidental expenses associated with the acquisition of land. This subsection shall not
prohibit the continuation of agricultural activity, the activities of a water company for
public water supply purposes or the selling of timber incidental to management of the
land which management is in accordance with approved forest management practices
provided any proceeds of such timber sales shall be used for management of the land.
In the case of land acquired under this section which is designated as a state park, any
fees charged by the state for use of such land shall be used by the state in accordance
with the provisions of title 23 or section 22a-27h.
(d) Any municipality or group of contiguous municipalities may apply to the Commissioner of Environmental Protection for a grant-in-aid of a program established to
preserve or restrict to conservation or recreation purposes the use of open space land.
Such grant shall be used for the acquisition of land, or easements, interests or rights
therein, or for the development of such land, or easements, interests or rights therein,
for purposes set forth in this section, or both, in accordance with a plan of development
adopted by the municipal planning commission of the municipality within which the
land is located. Any application for a grant-in-aid relating to land located beyond the
territorial limits of the applying municipality shall be subject to approval of the legislative body of the municipality within whose territorial limits the land is located. A municipality applying for aid under this section, may designate its conservation commission
as its agent to make such application.
(e) At closing, a permanent conservation easement, as defined in section 47-42,
shall be executed for any property purchased with grant funds, which conservation easement shall provide that the property shall remain forever predominantly in its natural
and open condition for the specific conservation, open space or water supply purposes
for which it was acquired provided any improvements or changes to the property shall
be supportive of such condition or purposes. The permanent conservation easement shall
be in favor of the state acting through the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, or
his designee, which may be a municipality or a land conservation organization. In the
case of land acquired for water supply protection, a water company may hold an easement in conjunction with the state or a nonprofit entity to protect the water supply. Such
permanent conservation easement shall also include a requirement that the property be
made available to the general public for appropriate recreational purposes, the maintenance of which recreational access shall be the responsibility of the grantee provided
such access shall not be required for land which will be classified as class I or class II
land by a water company if such access is inconsistent with the provision of pure drinking
water to the public. An exception to the provision of public recreational access may be
made at the discretion of the Commissioner of Environmental Protection when provision
for public access would be unreasonably detrimental to the wildlife or plant habitat or
other natural features of the property or, for land where development rights have been
purchased, would be disruptive of agricultural activity occurring on the land. Any instrument conveying an interest in land less than fee which interest is purchased under this
section shall provide for the permanent preservation of the land and public access consistent with the land's use or protection and with any restrictions prescribed by the
Department of Public Health in order to protect a public drinking water source.
(1963, P.A. 649, S. 2; February, 1965, P.A. 367, S. 1; 1971, P.A. 842, S. 2; 872, S. 404; P.A. 78-359, S. 1, 8; P.A. 98-157, S. 3, 15; P.A. 00-203, S. 3, 11; P.A. 01-195, S. 106, 181.)
History: 1965 act added requirement that grant-in-aid application concerning land beyond municipality's territory be
approved by municipality where land lies and specified plan of development be in accordance with plan adopted by planning
commission of municipality within which land is located, deleting restriction that municipalities may apply only for grant
involving the use of land in their own towns; 1971 acts included improvement of land, easements, etc. for purposes of Sec.
7-131c in uses of grants and substituted commissioner of environmental protection for council on agriculture and natural
resources; P.A. 78-359 substituted use of grants for "development" rather that "improvement" of land, easements, etc;
P.A. 98-157 added new provisions as Subsecs. (a) to (c), inclusive, and (e) re the protected open space and watershed land
acquisition grant program and designated existing provisions as Subsec. (d), effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 00-203 amended
Subsec. (b) by applying certain provisions to charter oak open space grant program and amended Subsec. (c) by applying
provisions to charter oak open space grant program and adding exception in Subdiv. (1) for vehicles used by water companies
and for motorized wheelchairs, effective July 1, 2000; P.A. 01-195 deleted "account" following "the charter oak open
space grant program" in Subsecs. (b) and (c), effective July 11, 2001.