National Scenic Byways Program LOGO: National Scenic Byways Program Lessons from the Road Case #5: Private Actions Define Byway Character While communities may limit or influence the amount and type of development along roadways, the decisions of individual property owners will define much of the corridor’s character and the traveler’s experience into the next century. Buildings, driveways, signs, screening, and landscaping have an immediate effect on the byway, and a landowner’s decision whether to hold, develop, sell or conserve the land will have a lasting effect. To manage intrinsic qualities along corridors, planners must recognize the need for complementary tools, both regulatory and voluntary, that government, institutional, and private landowners can use. Because individual landowners can so influence the character and experience of a byway, this case study will focus on the role voluntary tools can play in protecting scenic corridor resources. Top among the conservation techniques that have been proven to work for private landowners are: • Full sale or donation of development rights • Partial sale or easement • Conservation planning (also known as limited development). About Lessons from the Road This case study features lessons learned by scenic byway advocates across the country that are applicable to many scenic byway initiatives. Scenic byways are public roads with special scenic, historic, recreational, cultural, archaeological, and/or natural qualities that have been recognized as such through legislation or some other official declaration. Nomination guidelines for National Scenic Byway designation require a series of planning and management elements. Some byway efforts lead to nomination, and possibly national designation; the rest choose other paths for implementation. These case studies show how various byway managers address planning and management issues in distinctive ways. Each case study in this series concludes with a resource list of helpful publications and details on how to contact the National Scenic Byways Clearinghouse. Good luck with your byway. The Series 1. Mapping 2. Design and Maintenance 3. Assess Intrinsic Qualities 4. Telling the Story *5. Conserving Intrinsic Qualities 6. Visitor Experience & Services 7. Manage Development 8. Signage 9. Marketing 10. Public Involvement 11. Action Plans 12. State Program Management Outreach to Landowners Recognizing the value of M-22 to the region, the planning departments in Leelanau and Benzie Counties, the Leelanau Conservancy, and the National Park Service inventoried intrinsic qualities of the scenic corridor and promoted private action-—rather than regulatory action—-to protect valued resources. Professional staff and volunteers cata- logued and mapped natural, scenic, cultural, and historic features (known as intrinsic qualities) along M-22’s route. Local govern- ments, property owners, and organizations used the inventories to evaluate develop- ment projects or community actions. Staff also conducted educational work- shops to discuss the many tools available to the community for corridor resource protec- tion. A handbook entitled The M-22 Scenic Corridor—-Preserving our View from the Road complemented the public workshops. SIDEBAR: Michigan State Highway M-22 The highway has evolved during this century from a wagon track to a major transportation link between the coastal villages of Leelanau and Benzie Counties, which sit at about the little fin- ger of Michigan’s famous “mitt.” The 60-mile-long stretch of State highway is never more than 2 miles from the shore of Lake Michigan and often offers vistas of the lake. The road accommodates local traffic and more than 1.5 million visitors a year to the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore. Along the M-22 corridor, many homes are set back and separated from the highway right-of-way by undeveloped farmland, woodland, wetland, or other natural features. This strip of “greenbelt” land provides residents with a buffer from traffic noise while adding to the scenic attraction for visitors. The Handbook The handbook includes six case studies of private landowners who protected valued features of the M-22 corridor with land con- servation tools suggested by the Leelanau Conservancy. The Conservancy mailed the 15-page handbook to nearly 1,000 land- owners along the highway. It introduces a number of practical ideas and tools: -- Full sale or donation: Landowners can receive income and/or significant tax benefits by conveying land through donation or sale (at a fair market or a bargain price) to a land trust. -- Partial sale or easement: Instead of sell- ing their full interest in the land, proper- ty owners can sell only the development rights or special easements to preserve conservation values of the property while they retain title and use of the land. -- Conservation planning: Sometimes called “limited development,” this tech- nique allows landowners to apply pro- ceeds from development of a carefully selected portion of the site to cover costs of protecting scenic landscapes and nat- ural resources on the majority of the property. Conservation Easements Advantages & Options A conservation easement is a negotiated, legal agreement between a landowner and another party, such as a land trust or public agency, that permanently transfers certain land use rights from the owner to the ease- ment holder to protect specific conservation values. Conservation easements are a good tool for people who can answer yes to the follow- ing statements: -- We would like to see our land’s special qualities kept intact for future generations. -- We want to continue owning the land and pass it on to our heirs. Conservation easements also offer: Flexibility Each easement is a customized agreement between a landowner and the easement holder that limits the amount, type, and placement of future development on the land, according to the landowner’s needs. Management & Control The landowner retains ownership and con- trol of the property, but generally guarantees that certain important conservation values or land uses are permanently protected. Tax Benefits Easements can lower estate taxes, some- times enabling families to keep land in the family rather than selling to pay tax debts. And sometimes, easements can provide income tax and property tax benefits. Compliance Conservation easements are permanent and remain in force even when the land changes hands. Unlike deed restrictions which lack the oversight of a third party, the owner of the easement (often a land trust) can ensure compliance with easement condi- tions. Indeed, that is the business of effective land trusts. PHOTO: Leland Village Green BOX: Tips for Success Working with private landowners who wish to protect their land along scenic corridors is only one of several conservation tools for important resources. Land use planning and zon- ing, conservation planning, and the efforts of private conservation organi- zations must operate in concert. -- Land use agreements and trans- fers require expertise. Enlist, or contract with, the experts necessary for legal and financial tasks. -- Land use agreements and transfers usually need funding. Protection of high profile parcels are good candidates for community fundraising campaigns. -- Land use agreements and trans- fers demand both speed and patience. Family decisions may take years to crystallize, but often need quick implementation. Expect to “hurry up and wait.” A Success Story Let’s look at a conservation easement success story highlighted in the handbook that shows how cooperation among owners of relatively small parcels of land led to significant land protection along the M-22. Three families have owned neighboring second homes along the shore of Lake Michigan since the 1950s. All together, they own nearly 120 acres of forested dunes with abundant wildlife habitat and scenic frontage between their homes and the M-22. The land is used mostly for passive recreation by the families and their neighbors: hiking, cross-country skiing, and some hunting. As the waterfront throughout Leelanau County was developed, properties near the lake, or with views, rose in value. Each year, more developers called and wrote with offers to buy. As land values rose, so did annual property taxes and projected estate taxes. The question for each family became “How do we keep the land while minimizing property taxes and assure that our heirs can inherit the land without paying a large inheritance (or estate) tax?” The solution was a conservation easement, signed in 1995, permanently restricting the 120 acres from any future development. The properties’ newly limited uses lower the owners’ property taxes and the properties’ worth for estate tax calculations. These families ensured that their land, and a quarter-mile of M-22 frontage, will remain in its natural state for generations to enjoy. By working together, these three families managed to enhance their own properties while also conserving a mile of scenic woodland, recreation area, and wildlife habitat fronting M-22. LINE DRAWING (of easement): Working together, adjacent landowners can create larger open spaces worthy of protection under a conservation easement. Lessons Learned Purchase Secures Public Values Leland, Michigan straddles a strip of land between two lakes (one of which is Lake Michigan). When commercial development threatened to create a tunnel effect on the last large parcel of open land, land trust members raised money to buy the property and create a public park. Donations Can Add Up Even small parcels of land can be critical to a corridor when they are thresholds for vistas and gateways. After years of using lakefront land for canoe launching and occa- sional picnics, the Kramer family lost interest in maintaining and owning the parcel sandwiched between the M-22 and Lake Michigan. They decided to donate the land to the Leelanau Conservancy. During the assessment the Kramers were delighted to learn that this unbuildable lot was valued at $10,000-—yielding a significant tax deduction. Sale of Development Rights Development right “sticks” can be sold to public agencies, private land trusts, or even neighbors as happened along the M-22. When an owner reluctantly put on the market seven acres by a key intersection, neighbors realized how much they valued the open feel of the property. With money raised in conjunction with the Leelanau Conservancy, the neighbors bought the development rights. The result: the owner has his beloved property, the cash he needs, and a lower property tax bill; the open space is protected forever; and the neighbors keep the view along 800 feet of road frontage. Conservation Planning (or Limited Development) Development of land adjacent to a scenic corridor is part of normal economic devel- opment and can be beneficial to overall land-use objectives, particularly if proceeds from limited development of the site can pay for conservation of more sensitive portions of the site. See Rural by Design for a descrip- tion of innovative site planning that minimizes scenic and open space impacts while also maximizing return on investment for the developer. LINE DRAWING (the M22 Scenic Corridor): Creative development often clusters housing, maintains natural vegetation as a visual buffer, and allows more of the site to be conserved as a community and natural resource. SIDEBAR: Ownership: A Bundle of Rights Land ownership rights can be likened to a “bundle of sticks.” An owner may sell or give away the whole bun- dle (as in a house, the sur- rounding lot, and the right to perform all legal land uses such as agriculture and log- ging, among many others). Or the owner may wish to sell or give away only a stick or two (as in the right to subdivide and develop the property, which is known as a development right). Individuals Make a Difference Individuals can and do choose to preserve their land using a variety of conservation tools. When they do, they enhance the experience of travelers for generations to come, they advance community goals, and they help to provide a convenient, safe route of transportation for the future. Poorly planned development along highway corridors throughout America reminds us of what inappropriate growth can do to formerly scenic landscapes. Zoning and development design standards can only go so far, and can often encourage the very development communities wish to avoid. (See Rural by Design for a compelling explanation of how and why.) While conservation tools must work in concert with publicly driven initiatives, private landowners as individuals and as neighbors can control the destiny of their land and ensure that land resources remain intact. Not only are they protecting their self-interest, they are contributing to the view of their community from the road. PHOTO: The M-22 is the primary road through Leland, and private landowners’ decisions about how to manage their property sets the tone along the roadway. SIDEBAR: Additional Resources Rural by Design: Maintaining Small Town Character, Randall Arendt, APA Planners Press, Chicago, 1994. The M-22 Scenic Corridor: Preserving Our View from the Road, Leelanau Conservancy, Inc., Leelanau Conservancy, 1997. Preserving Family Lands, Stephen J. Small, Stephen J. Small, Esq., Boston, 1998. Contact the National Scenic Byways Clearinghouse for these and other resources (see below). About this series The National Scenic Byways Program of the Federal Highway Administration and the Rivers, Trails & Conservation Assistance Program of the National Park Service collab- orated to research, write, and produce Lessons from the Road. The series was written in 1998. For information on resources mentioned in this series, contact the National Scenic Byways Clearinghouse: 1-800-4-BYWAYS (1-800-429-9297), press 2, or visit our website at www.byways.org. The Rivers, Trails & Conservation Assistance Program works beyond national park boundaries to bring conservation assistance to communities, serving as a catalyst for tangible results. Opinions expressed in these case studies are not necessarily those of the USDOT/FHWA or the NPS. These documents do not constitute standards, specifications, or regulations and are distributed in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for the contents or use thereof. LOGO: U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service LOGO: U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration SIDEBAR: PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER FHWA-EP-99-011