HB846 Virginia Land Conservation Foundation; purposes of Foundation, easements takes effect July 1, 2026. It allows the Virginia Land Conservation Board of Trustees to “waive the requirement for a holder of a conservation easement to have such easement jointly held with a public body whenever such holder acquires any interest in land other than a fee simple interest from a grant or transfer from the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation, provided that such holder is accredited by the national Land Trust Accreditation Commission or meets a similar set of standards and practices adopted by the Board of Trustees and the easement contains a third party right of enforcement, as defined in relevant law, in favor of the Department of Conservation and Recreation or another public body.”

Grant Manual page 5, Project Requirements, bullet 3 states: "All nonprofit organization projects, whether fee simple or easement, must be protected by an open-space easement held by a public body (e.g., a state agency or local governmental entity), in perpetuity pursuant to Va. Code § 10.1-1020 (A)(2). An acknowledgement letter from the public body stating that it is willing to consider holding the easement or owning the property in fee must be included with the application."

Please revise with the following or other language deemed appropriate:

All nonprofit organization projects, whether fee simple or easement, must be protected by an perpetual open-space easement held by a public body (e.g., a state agency or local governmental entity), in perpetuity pursuant to Va. Code § 10.1-1020 (A)(2). Conservation easements shall either (i) be jointly held with a public body, or (ii) the Virginia Land Conservation Board of Trustees may waive the co-holder requirement provided that a) the nonprofit holder is accredited by the national Land Trust Accreditation Commission or meets a similar set of standards and practices adopted by the Board of Trustees and b) the easement contains a third party right of enforcement held by the Department of Conservation and Recreation or another public body. An acknowledgement letter from the public body stating that it is willing to consider holding the easement, owning the property in fee, or reserving a third party right to enforcement must be included with the application. Applications proposing sole nonprofit easement holding must include documentation demonstrating eligibility under these requirements.