(a) If the current owner of any land on which an open space easement is in effect wishes to cancel the easement, such owner shall notify the commissioner of the owner’s request in writing at least ninety (90) days in advance of the proposed date of cancellation.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 11-15-108

  • Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) The commissioner shall cancel the easement on behalf of the state only if all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The easement has been in effect for a period of at least ten (10) years;
(2) The commissioner determines that the open space is not needed in that location and that the public interest would be better served by the cancellation of the easement;
(3) The appropriate planning commission having jurisdiction over the land in question adopts a resolution stating that the open space is not needed in that location and that the public interest would be better served by the cancellation of the easement;
(4) The commissioner finds that there exists no overriding state concern to maintain such open space; and
(5) The owner has paid to the county and municipality in which the land is situated an amount equal to the difference between the taxes actually paid during the ten (10) preceding years and the taxes computed during the ten (10) preceding years on the basis of fair market value and classification of the land as if the easement had not existed, as provided for in § 67-5-1009.
(c) The commissioner, upon determining that all five (5) of the conditions in subsection (b) have been satisfied, shall cancel the easement on behalf of the state and shall duly notify the register of deeds and the assessors of property for the county and municipality in which the land is situated.
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