Survey says: Those lines don't align

Determining a property’s boundaries is a necessary part of a land trust’s due diligence. This document lays out how to read a survey and includes a checklist on what to check and an exercise to practice your skills.

The trial court ruled that no violations of the conservation easement had occurred, and that OCLT's demands were unreasonable and would put the farm out of business.

The court denied the land trust’s motion to dismiss because the easement required land trust to have a reasonable basis for refusing to give its consent for improvements on the property and the question of reasonableness required further development of the record.

In addition to the regular monitoring of properties and easements, each land trust should develop written policies and procedures for resolving encroachment violations. When faced with an encroachment matter, consider these steps.

This is latest in a number of cases to distinguish what kinds of activities fall within the definition of farming or agriculture.

Use the following checklist to help identify an easement violation.

Join Forrest King-Cortes, Land Trust Alliance, Colin Custer and Raffa Saposhnik, Yale School of the Environment, as they lay out what land trusts need to know about affordable housing and how land trusts can contribute solutions.