At first glance, protecting certain
features of a piece of land from development
may not seem to be in a
developer's best interest. However, at
closer look, a builder or developer
might find it desirable and profitable
to preserve certain portions or natural
features of a parcel of land while
developing the rest.
How can this be done? One option
is the conservation restriction. With
this legal device, a developer surrenders
to a third party, generally a "holding
organization," such as a government
entity or a nonprofit
organization, the right to change certain
characteristics of a property. In
this way, a conservation restriction
can be used to preserve desirable features
of a property or certain of its
improvements.
Conservation restrictions are