March Land Committee Meeting Minutes
April 7, 2009
Halff Associates Office
1201 N. Bowser Rd, Richardson, TX
Items for Follow-up
□ Don E. will rehash the Feed for Services draft and discuss the details of the Fee for Services proposal with Scott N.
□ RJ T. will look at transfer document for The Sanctuary to determine that the successor to the original Grantor had been legally listed.
□ John D. will work on DWF’s revisions to the Leo Ranch Conservation Easement document.
□ Scott N. will continue obtaining information on potential partnerships with municipalities.
Available Projects (still open for a Volunteer)
□ Investigation of Collin County bond funds and grants that are available for trails and trail enhancement plantings on conservation easement lands and/or on for open space acquisition.
□ Create a power point template for upcoming outreach presentations (based on current CCF presentation).
□ Create public/private educational presentations to market our services.
□ Develop a CCF Policy Paper addressing our Energy Development Policy.
□ Complete easement templates on 8 other easements (started by Dave Baldwin).
Attendees
John Dugdale
Don Engleman
Brett Johnson
David Morgan
RJ Taylor
Mark Yarbrough (Chair)
1. Meeting Summary
Mark Yarbrough opened the meeting about 7:45 am. Many members experienced delays in getting to meeting due to traffic.
Existing Easement Updates by RJ Taylor
The Sanctuary – vegetation management and potential
easement amendments
Chimney Rock Estates – verification of lot lines
Gardens of Connemara – updates on reserved rights and land use changes
A. Moseley – updates on land use changes and management plans
Updates on New Easements by RJ Taylor
Leo Ranch – revised CE document, Exhibit C., Exhibit D.,
endowment fees, baseline report
David Kusin – attempting to reach
Woodson Place – negotiations on endowment fees
Villas de Montalcono – attempting to reach
Elizabeth Kuebler – need to schedule site visit with client
Skip Barnett CE-1 – revised baseline report, title search,
new CE document
General Easement Issues
RJ Taylor briefly discussed some of the issues that have arisen this year on existing easements, including:
A review of Commercial Activity” as Related to Agriculture and Silviculture on the Gardens of Connemara easement;
Reserved Rights and Amendments as related to land use changes on several easements;
Discussions with the HOA from The Sanctuary Conservation Development about establishing a 10-foot buffer zone adjacent to lot lines for vegetation management of understory;
Successors to Grantor as related to Conservation Developments that have been transferred from the original Grantor to the HOA.
Targeting Interface with Municipalities – prioritizing targets
Scott N. was unable to attend the meeting, but there should be a prioritization of the list of interested municipalities to determine where and when we approach them to discuss providing CCF services. This discussion becomes even more critical after Armstrong’s departure and the Land Committee’s work towards finalizing of the Fee for Services proposal.
Easement Profile Template presented by RJ Taylor. This one-page template for easements will also be reviewed at the Outreach Committee. Much of the data is already captured in the Conservation Easements and in the baseline surveys, and it will need to be determined if up to 2 site photos are sufficient to represent the easements.
Updates on Tax Incentives - RJ Taylor and John Dugdale indicated that there is a good possibility that the tax incentives for conservation easements will be continued beyond 2009.
Outreach Plans for Reaching Large Landowners by County
RJ Taylor indicated that the following events and sources are being used to obtain landowner information and as avenues to meet potential landowners who may have interest in placing an easement on their lands:
County Appraisal Records and Databases/Maps
Agrilife Extension Events
NPAT mapping results
Training Events
Community Events
Safari Club
Personal Contacts and Referrals
Fee for Services Proposal Update
Don E. listed some of the concerns for providing services during the meeting. A rehashed version of the document will be distributed to the Committee members, with a target to present the proposal at the May CCF Board Meeting.
Discussion of Income Generation by Committee Activities
2. Wrap-Up: Next Meeting
DATE: Tuesday, May 5, 2009 (first Tuesday of month)
TIME: 7:30am
LOCATION: Dave Morgan’s Halff office-1201 Bowser Road,
Richardson, Texas.