Orange County NC Website
Draft 8/26/04 14 <br />and prosperous agriculture and rural life as indispensable to the maintenance of maximum <br />prosperity;" <br />(3) The Uniform North Carolina Conservation and Historic Preservation Agreements Act, <br />North Carolina General Statute 121-34 et seq., which provides that conservation agreements are <br />"interests in land" which maybe effective "perpetually;" which provides for the enforceability of <br />restrictions, easements, covenants or conditions "...appropriate to retaining land or water azeas <br />predominantly in their natural, scenic, or open condition or' in agricultural, horticultural, farming <br />or forest use...;" and which provides for tax assessment of lands subject to such agreements "on <br />the basis of the true value of the land and improvement less any reduction in value caused by the <br />agreement;" <br />(4) The North Carolina Conservation Tax Credit Program, North Carolina General Statute <br />105-130.34 and 105-151.12 et ,seq., which provides for state income tax credits for donations of <br />land that are useful for fish and wildlife conservation and other similar land conservation <br />purposes; <br />(5) The establishment of the North Carolina Farmland Preservation Trust Fund <br />established in 1986 (N.C.G.S. 106-744(c)) to preserve important farmland in North Carolina; <br />(6) The special use assessment of farm and forestland as set forth in North Carolina <br />General Statute 105-277.2 et seq.; and <br />(7) The zoning of the Property by Orange County as Agricultural Residential and <br />Cane Creek Critical Area, the latter to protect the public water supply watershed of the Cane <br />Creek Reservoir. <br />Grantors and Grantee have the common purpose of protecting the above-described <br />conservation values and current condition of the Property and preventing conversion of the <br />Property to nonagricultural uses, and Grantors agree to create and implement a conservation plan <br />(hereinafter the "Conservation Plan") that is developed utilizing the standards and specification <br />of the NRCS field office technical guide and 7 CFR part 12, and is approved by the Orange <br />County Soil and Water Conservation District; <br />The parties Grantee are bodies politic existing under Chapter 15.3A and Chapter 162A of <br />the North Carolina General Statutes, and are qualified to hold Conservation Easements under the <br />applicable laws of the State of North Carolina; <br />NOW, THEREFORE, for the reasons given and other good and valuable consideration <br />and in consideration of the mutual covenants, terms, conditions and restrictions contained herein, <br />the Grantors hereby grant and convey unto Grantee a Conservation Easement, of the nature and <br />character and to the extent hereinafter set forth, in respect to the Property as described in Exhibit <br />A; <br />