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.flie i. u-1 leold PAGE 6 Sunday, July 15, 2001 Agreement will conserve estate of X20 acres near Siler City By ROB SHAPARD chh4herald- sun.com; 732 -6397 SILER CITY — All 320 acres of Ann Von Gruenigen's Chatham County'farm are under a conservation ease- ment, including her homestead, cattle pastures and forested land. Von Gruenigen donated the easement to the Triangle Land Conservancy in December, and the Chatham County Commissioners officially thanked her for that move Monday. The easement means Von Gruenigen essentially has agreed never to develop the property, which is about five miles south of Siler City. The Triangle Land Con- servancy holds the easement in perpetuity, but Von Gruenigen retains ownership of the property and she can continue uses like agriculture and cutting timber. 'T have always been bothered by development," Von Gruenigen said Friday. "I've been a conservationist since I was a child. I can't remember when I wasn't. "When I saw things developing around here, I became aware of the danger that this land is in," she said. Von Gruenigen, 67, grew.up in northern Ohio, but she was living in Raleigh when she bought the Chatham farm in 1974. She retired after teaching English, writing and public speaking at N.C. State University. "I'm not a city person," Von Gruenigen said. She raises beef cattle on part of the farm, known locally as the Johnson homestead, named after the fam- ily that moved there in the late 1800s, Von Gruenigen said. By donating the easement, she gets both state and fed- eral tax benefits. For starters, the overall value of the property is decreased, which is beneficial when estate taxes are fig- ured, said Kevin Brice, the TLC's associate director. In terms of income taxes, the value of the donated easement counts as a deduction at the federal level. That value is calculated as the difference between the assessed value of her farm as it is now and another assessment of the farm as if it were fully -developed, Von Gruenigen said. And for state taxes, North Carolina has a program that gives landowners a tax credit of 25 percent of the value of the donation. The credit is capped at $250,000 for an individual and $500,000 for a corporation, Brice said. Von Gruenigen said that, with Chatham County con- tinuing to grow, she hopes other landowners will set up easements. "If we could have pockets of conserved land, I think that in itself would be one of the biggest deter- rents to a developer," she said. "If you have 100 acres [of conserved land] here and a couple hundred acres there, it's just not going to look as inviting." 25