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Additional Open Space Protection Mechanisms <br />Local Land Use and Environmental Regulations <br />Regulations and ordinances (e.g., waterside and wetland protection, buffers, zoning, <br />etc.) use to protect natural features and resource values. <br />Easements <br />Landowners "own" many rights associated with the land, e.g., the right to harvest <br />timber, build structures, extract minerals, or farm, subject to zoning and other laws. By <br />placing an easement on land, some of these rights are relinquished. <br />Relevant Types: <br />a) Conservation Easement — A legal agreement between a landowner and an <br />easement holder (e.g., government agency or a land trust) that permanently limits <br />uses of the land in order to protect its natural features and resource values. The <br />conservation easement is a flexible tool that protects land while leaving it in private <br />ownership. <br />b) Utility Easement — A specified distance on either side of a utility that may provide a <br />secondary use as open space. <br />Land Exchanges /Intergovernmental Transfers <br />A land exchange is the process of "trading" or "swapping" lands where lands of equal <br />value are exchanged. Land exchanges are important tools used to consolidate land <br />ownership for more efficient management while bringing important resources into public <br />ownership. <br />Subdivision Dedication <br />A developer dedicates land to for parks or open space when the land is subdivided for <br />development. <br />Density Transfer /Cluster Development/Plan Unit Development <br />A special increase beyond the density normally allowed by the zoning or subdivision <br />ordinance given in exchange for protecting an area that has resource value. <br />Open Space Acquisition Funding and Protection Strategies — Draft October 2001 12 <br />