Pennsylvania Code › Title 7 - AGRICULTURE › Part V-C - Farmland and Forest Land › Chapter 138e - AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION EASEMENT PURCHASE PROGRAM › DEED OF AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION EASEMENT › Section 138e.241 - Deed clauses

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
The Deed of Agricultural Conservation Easement delivered in
					 connection with the purchase of an easement shall identify the owner of the
					 farmland tract as grantor and either the Commonwealth or the county, or both,
					 as grantee and contain the following provisions and additional, consistent
					 provisions approved by the State Board:
(1) A granting clause stating:
NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the sum. ______Dollars,
					 the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, Grantor does
					 voluntarily grant, bargain and sell, and convey to the Grantee, its successors
					 and assigns, and Grantee voluntarily accepts, an agricultural conservation
					 easement in the subject land, under and subject to the act and the following
					 terms and conditions:
(2) A
				  clause restricting use of the land to specific permitted acts as follows:
Permitted Acts
-During the term of the
					 agricultural conservation easement conveyed herein, the subject land shall be
					 used solely for the production for commercial purposes of crops, livestock and
					 livestock products, including the processing or retail marketing of such crops,
					 livestock or livestock products if more than 50 percent of such processed or
					 merchandised products are produced by the farm operator (hereinafter
					 "agricultural production"). For purposes of this Deed, "crops, livestock and
					 livestock products" include, but are not limited to:
(i) Field crops, including corn, wheat, oats,
				  rye, barley, hay, potatoes and dry beans;
(ii) Fruits, including apples, peaches,
				  grapes, cherries and berries;
(iii)
				  Vegetables, including tomatoes, snap beans, cabbage, carrots, beets, onions and
				  mushrooms;
(iv) Horticultural
				  specialties, including nursery stock, ornamental shrubs, ornamental trees and
				  flowers;
(v) Livestock and
				  livestock products, including cattle, sheep, hogs, goats, horses, poultry,
				  furbearing animals, milk, eggs and furs;
(vi) Timber, wood and other wood products
				  derived from trees; and
(vii)
				  Aquatic plants and animals and their byproducts.
Except as permitted in this Deed, neither Grantor nor his
					 agents, heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns, nor any
					 person, partnership corporation or other entity claiming title under or through
					 Grantor, or their agents, shall suffer, permit, or perform any activity on the
					 subject land other than agricultural production.
Construction of buildings and other
					 structures
-The construction or use of any building or other structure
					 on the subject land other than as existing on the date of the delivery of this
					 Deed is prohibited except that:
(i)
				  The erection of fences for agricultural production and protection of
				  watercourses such as lakes, streams, springs and reservoirs is
				  permitted.
(ii) The construction of
				  one additional residential structure is permitted if:
(A) The residential structure is constructed
				  and used as the landowner's principal residence or for the purpose of providing
				  necessary housing for seasonal or full-time farm employes;
(B) No other residential structure has been
				  constructed on the restricted land at any time since the granting of the
				  easement;
(C) The residential
				  structure and its curtilage occupy no more than 2 acres of the subject land,
				  and;
(D) The location of the
				  residential structure and its driveway will not harm the economic viability of
				  the subject land for agricultural production.
(iii) The construction or use of any building
				  or other structure for agriculture production, or the renovation or
				  modification of an existing agricultural structure, is permitted, but the
				  maximum building coverage may be restricted if the County Agricultural
				  Conservation Easement Purchase Program approved by the State Board (hereinafter
				  "county program") imposes such a restriction.
(iv) The replacement of a residential
				  structure existing on the restricted land on the date of the granting of the
				  easement is permitted if the preexisting residential structure is razed or
				  removed and the replacement residential structure is erected within the
				  curtilage of the residential structure it replaces.
(v) The renovation or modification of an
				  existing residential structure, or an addition to an existing residential
				  structure, is permitted if it would not increase the curtilage of the
				  residential structure.
Subdivision
-The subject land may be
					 subdivided if subdividing will not : 1) Harm the economic viability of the
					 subject land for agricultural production; or 2) Convert land which has been
					 primarily devoted to agricultural use to some other use, unless the subdivision
					 is for the purpose of the construction of a principal residence for the
					 landowner or an immediate family member and the county program permits one
					 tract to be created by subdivision for this purpose; or 3) Violate any
					 provision of the county program. If the subject land is subdivided, the deed to
					 the subdivided tract with respect to which the right to construct and use a
					 residential structure is reserved shall clearly set forth the reservation of
					 this right, and the deeds to all other parcels shall recite that no additional
					 residential structure is permitted.
Utilities
-The granting of rights-of-way
					 by the Grantor, his heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns,
					 or any person, partnership, corporation or other entity claiming title under or
					 through Grantor in and through the subject land for the installation of,
					 transportation of, or use of, lines for water, sewage, electric, telephone,
					 coal by underground mining methods, gas, oil or oil products is permitted. The
					 term "granting of rights-of-way" includes the right to construct or install
					 such lines. The construction or installation of utility lines or facilities
					 other than of the type stated in this paragraph is prohibited on the subject
					 land.
Mining
-The granting of leases,
					 assignments or other conveyances or the issuing of permits, licenses or other
					 authorization for the exploration, development, storage or removal of coal by
					 underground mining methods, oil and gas by the owner of the subject land or the
					 owner of the underlying coal by underground mining methods, oil and gas or the
					 owner of the rights to develop the underlying coal by underground mining
					 methods, oil and gas, or the development of appurtenant facilities related to
					 the removal of coal by underground mining methods, oil or gas development or
					 activities incident to the removal or development of such coal, oil or gas are
					 permitted.
Rural Enterprises
-Customary part-time or
					 off-season minor or rural enterprises and activities which are provided for in
					 the county program are permitted.
Soil and Water Conservation
-All
					 agricultural production on the subject land shall be conducted in accordance
					 with a conservation plan approved by the County Conservation District or the
					 county board. Such plan shall be updated every 10 years and upon any change in
					 the basic type of agricultural production being conducted on the subject land.
					 In addition to the requirements established by the County Conservation District
					 or the county board the conservation plan shall include an installation
					 schedule and maintenance program and a nutrient management component which,
					 when completely implemented, will improve and maintain the soil, water and
					 related plant and animal resources of the land and require that:
(i) The use of the land for growing sod,
				  nursery stock, ornamental trees, and shrubs does not remove excessive soil from
				  the subject land; and
(ii) The
				  excavation of soil, sand, gravel, stone or other materials for use in
				  agricultural production on the land is conducted in a location and manner that
				  does not harm the economic viability of the land for agricultural
				  production.