Virginia Code 28.2-613: Duration of lease.
Each assignment of general oyster-planting ground shall continue in force for 10 years from the date of assignment, unless the assignment is terminated. The interest in such ground is chattel real.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 28.2-613
- Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
- Commission: means the Marine Resources Commission. See Virginia Code 28.2-100
- Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- Personal representative: includes the executor of a will or the administrator of the estate of a decedent, the administrator of such estate with the will annexed, the administrator of such estate unadministered by a former representative, whether there is a will or not, any person who is under the order of a circuit court to take into his possession the estate of a decedent for administration, and every other curator of a decedent's estate, for or against whom suits may be brought for causes of action that accrued to or against the decedent. See Virginia Code 1-234
- Resident: means any person who maintains his principal place of abode in Virginia with the intent to make Virginia his domicile. See Virginia Code 28.2-200
- Testate: To die leaving a will.
Upon the death of the renter, testate as to the lease, it shall vest in the named beneficiary subject to the rights of creditors, if he is a resident of this Commonwealth, provided that he files an application for transfer with the Commission within 18 months after the date of death. If the named beneficiary is not a resident he shall have 18 months after the date of death to transfer the lease to a qualified holder.
Upon the death of the renter, intestate as to the lease, the lease shall vest in the personal representative, who shall transfer the lease to a qualified holder within 18 months.
If there is no qualification on the renter’s estate within one year of his death, the Commission may within six months thereafter transfer the lease to a qualified holder upon receipt of a transfer duly executed by all of the lawful heirs of the renter.
If there is no transfer under any of the above, the ground shall become vacant and open to assignment.
Upon expiration of the initial or any subsequent term of the assignment, the Commission shall, on application of the holder, renew the assignment for an additional 10-year term. The Commission shall not renew or extend an assignment where there has been no significant production of oysters or clams, no reasonable plantings of oysters, clams or cultch or no significant oyster or clam aquaculture operation, during any portion of the 10-year period immediately prior to the application for renewal, unless the Commission finds that there was good cause for the failure to produce or plant oysters, clams or cultch or finds that the assignment is directly related to and beneficial to the production of oyster-planting grounds immediately adjacent to the assignment. In determining whether there was good cause for the failure to produce or plant oysters, clams, or cultch, in addition to other factors, the Commission shall decide whether the renewal is in the public interest considering the factors in subsection A of § 28.2-1205, the prevalence of the diseases MSX and Dermo, the public benefits and impacts of shellfish aquaculture, and whether the oyster-planting ground has traditionally produced commercial quantities of oysters or clams. The Commission shall set by regulation a fee structure for renewal fees to be paid by applicants. Such fees shall seek to reflect the cost to the Commission of processing the renewal application, but shall not exceed $300.
Code 1950, § 28-124; 1954, c. 352; 1958, c. 183; 1960, c. 517; 1962, c. 406, § 28.1-109(12); 1964, c. 393; 1966, c. 684; 1970, c. 726; 1972, c. 644; 1973, c. 14; 1978, cc. 546, 548; 1980, cc. 34, 609; 1984, c. 259; 1992, c. 836; 1996, c. 985; 1997, c. 259; 2019, c. 164.