Wisconsin Statutes 700.40 – Uniform conservation easement act
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Terms Used In Wisconsin Statutes 700.40
- Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- Following: when used by way of reference to any statute section, means the section next following that in which the reference is made. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Person: includes all partnerships, associations and bodies politic or corporate. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- Property: includes real and personal property. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- real property: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments and all rights thereto and interests therein. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- State: when applied to states of the United States, includes the District of Columbia, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the several territories organized by Congress. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- United States: includes the District of Columbia, the states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the territories organized by congress. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
(1) Definitions. In this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) “Conservation easement” means a holder’s nonpossessory interest in real property imposing any limitation or affirmative obligation the purpose of which includes retaining or protecting natural, scenic or open space values of real property, assuring the availability of real property for agricultural, forest, recreational or open space use, protecting natural resources, maintaining or enhancing air or water quality, preserving a burial site, as defined in s. 157.70 (1) (b), or preserving the historical, architectural, archaeological or cultural aspects of real property.
(b) “Holder” means either of the following:
1. Any governmental body empowered to hold an interest in real property under the laws of this state or the United States.
2. Any charitable corporation, charitable association or charitable trust, the purposes or powers of which include retaining or protecting the natural, scenic or open space values of real property, assuring the availability of real property for agricultural, forest, recreational or open space use, protecting natural resources, maintaining or enhancing air or water quality, or preserving the historical, architectural, archaeological or cultural aspects of real property.
(c) “Third-party enforcement right” means a right provided in a conservation easement empowering a governmental body, charitable corporation, charitable association or charitable trust, which, although eligible to be a holder, is not a holder, to enforce any term of the easement.
(2) Creation, conveyance, acceptance and duration.
700.40(2)(a) (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a conservation easement may be created, conveyed, recorded, assigned, released, modified, terminated or otherwise altered or affected in the same manner as any other easement.
(b) No right or duty in favor of or against a holder and no right in favor of a person having a 3rd-party enforcement right arises under a conservation easement prior to its acceptance by that holder and recordation of that acceptance.
(c) Except as provided in sub. (3) (b), a conservation easement is unlimited in duration unless the conservation easement otherwise provides.
(d) No conservation easement may impair an interest in real property existing at the time the conservation easement is created, unless the owner of that interest is a party to the conservation easement or consents to it.
(3) Actions.
(a) An action affecting a conservation easement may be brought by any of the following:
1. An owner of an interest in the real property burdened by the conservation easement.
2. A holder of the conservation easement.
3. A person having a 3rd-party enforcement right.
4. A person authorized by other law.
(b) This section does not affect the power of a court to modify or terminate a conservation easement in accordance with any principle of law or equity.
(4) Validity of conservation easement. A conservation easement is valid even though any of the following applies:
(a) It is not appurtenant to an interest in real property.
(b) It can be or is assigned to another holder.
(c) It is not of a character recognized traditionally at common law.
(d) It imposes a negative burden.
(e) It imposes affirmative obligations upon the owner of any interest in the burdened property or upon the holder.
(f) The benefit does not touch or concern real property.
(g) There is not privity of estate or of contract.
(5) Effect on enforceable interests. Nothing in this section invalidates any interest, whether designated as a conservation easement, covenant, equitable servitude, restriction, easement or otherwise, which is otherwise enforceable under the laws of this state.
(6) Uniform application and construction. This section shall be applied and construed so as to make uniform the laws relating to conservation easements among states enacting substantially identical laws.