Long Green Valley Association v Bellevale Farms
About This Legal Opinion
Maryland’s second highest court held that a purchased agricultural preservation easement does not create a charitable trust in Maryland nor does it create general beneficial interests in the public. The adjacent neighbor (one of the appellants) has a rebuttable presumption that they have standing to enforce the easement under Maryland’s land use laws. The Court noted that this case brought two points of first impression for decision: what easement enforcement rights does the public have and whether the charitable trust doctrine applies. The Appeals Court reviewed the Appellants’ three common law bases for standing: third party beneficiary, charitable trust, and special harm – rejecting the first two but accepting the third for the Yoders only.
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