Opinion ID: 2056206
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Foundation, Its Governing Statute, And Provisions In Effect At Deed Execution

Text: As the Court of Special Appeals explained: The Foundation is empowered [t]o acquire... easements ... to restrict the use of agricultural land ... to maintain the character of the land as agricultural land.... Md.Code (2007 Repl.Vol., 2008 Supp.), § 2-504 of the Agriculture Article (Agric.). [Footnote omitted.] See also Agric. § 2-502 (establishing the Foundation). The terms of such easements are dictated by the Agriculture Article, and require the grantors to covenant, for so long as profitable farming is feasible on the burdened land, Agric. § 2-514(a), that the land will not be used for any commercial, industrial, or residential purpose. Agric. § 2-513(b). Claggett v. Md. Agric. Land Pres. Found., 182 Md.App. 346, 352-53, 957 A.2d 1083, 1086 (2008). The General Assembly created the Foundation to acquire easements by purchase and other means to restrict the use of agricultural land and woodland as may be designated to maintain the character of the land as agricultural land or woodland[.] Md.Code (1974, 1999 Repl.Vol.), § 2-504(3) of the Agriculture Article (AG-1999). [2] In preserving agricultural land and woodland, the legislature's intent was to: provide sources of agricultural products within the State for the citizens of the State; control the urban expansion which is consuming the agricultural land and woodland of the State; curb the spread of urban blight and deterioration; and protect agricultural land and woodland as open-space land. AG-1999 § 2-501. [3] The legislature also provided for provisions to be included in those easements, expressed in AG-1999 Section 2-513. Under AG-1999 Section 2-513(b)(1), a landowner whose land is subject to an easement, may not use the land for any commercial, industrial, or residential purpose. AG-1999 Section 2-513(b)(2) allows a landowner to obtain a release for the construction of a dwelling house: Except as provided in paragraph (5) of this subsection, on written application, the Foundation shall release free of easement restrictions only for the landowner who originally sold an easement, 1 acre or less for the purpose of constructing a dwelling house for the use only of that landowner or child of the landowner subject to the following conditions:    (iii) The landowner shall pay the State for any acre or portion released at the price per acre that the State paid the owner for the easement. (iv) Before any conveyance or release, the landowner and the child, if there is a conveyance to a child, shall agree not to subdivide further for residential purposes any acreage allowed to be released. The agreement shall be recorded among the land records where the land is located and shall bind all future owners. (v) After certifying that the landowner or child of the landowner has met the conditions provided in subparagraphs (i) through (iv) of this paragraph, the Foundation shall issue a preliminary release which shall: 1. Become final when the Foundation receives and certifies a non-transferrable building permit in the name of the landowner or child of the landowner for construction of a dwelling house; or 2. Become void upon the death of the person for whose benefit the release was intended if the Foundation has not yet received a building permit as provided in this subparagraph. (vi) Any release or preliminary release issued under this paragraph shall include a statement of the conditions under which it was issued, a certification by the Foundation that all necessary conditions for release or preliminary release have been met, and copies of any pertinent documents. (vii) Any release, preliminary release, building permit, or other document issued or submitted in accordance with this paragraph shall be recorded among the land records where the land is located and shall bind all future owners. (viii) The Foundation may not restrict the ability of a landowner who originally sold an easement to acquire a release under this paragraph beyond the requirements provided in this section. (Emphasis added.) Finally, under AG-1999 Section 2-513(b)(5)(i), the Foundation may grant a modified release of up to two acres for a dwelling house if regulations adopted by the Department of the Environment or the jurisdiction in which the land is situated require a minimum lot size of at least two acres.