Virginia Code 10.1-1701: Authority of public bodies to acquire or designate property for use as open-space land
To carry out the purposes of this chapter, any public body may (i) acquire by purchase, gift, devise, bequest, grant or otherwise title to or any interests or rights of not less than five years’ duration in real property that will provide a means for the preservation or provision of open-space land and (ii) designate any real property in which it has an interest of not less than five years’ duration to be retained and used for the preservation and provision of open-space land. Any such interest may also be perpetual.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 10.1-1701
- Bequest: Property gifted by will.
- Devise: To gift property by will.
- Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
- Open-space land: means any land which is provided or preserved for (i) park or recreational purposes, (ii) conservation of land or other natural resources, (iii) historic or scenic purposes, (iv) assisting in the shaping of the character, direction, and timing of community development, (v) wetlands as defined in § Virginia Code 10.1-1700
- Public body: means any state agency having authority to acquire land for a public use, or any county or municipality, any park authority, any public recreational facilities authority, any soil and water conservation district, any community development authority formed pursuant to Article 6 (§ Virginia Code 10.1-1700
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
The use of the real property for open-space land shall conform to the official comprehensive plan for the area in which the property is located. No property or interest therein shall be acquired by eminent domain by any public body for the purposes of this chapter; however, this provision shall not limit the power of eminent domain as it was possessed by any public body prior to the passage of this chapter.
1966, c. 461, § 10-152; 1974, c. 259; 1981, c. 64; 1988, c. 891.