Groton Open Space Association

Rell Signs Open Space Protection Legislation Championed By Wright

State Rep. Elissa Wright, D-Groton

HARTFORD – Gov. Jodi Rell has signed legislation championed by Democratic Groton State Representative Elissa Wright to ensure long term protection of land acquired by municipalities for purposes of open space, conservation and preservation.

The new law was described as follows in an official release from the House Democrats of the Connecticut General Assembly:

A provision in Public Act No.10-85, signed into law this week by Governor Rell, ensures that the public intent expressed in a vote to acquire land for specified open space, conservation and preservation purposes will be honored and that those lands will be protected into the indefinite future.

“To forestall future inconsistent uses, the property interest conveyed to a town should be able to be traced back to the referendum question endorsed by voters,” Wright said. “Responsible government, the sanctity of the vote, and clarity in property rights and land titles require no less.”

The bill, which Representative Wright championed, requires a statement to be recorded with the deed setting out the purposes for which the property was acquired and the uses to which it is limited, as well as the circumstances surrounding the acquisition, including the date of the authorizing referendum or other local legislative act, Wright said.

Formal notice to alert future generations of use restrictions on town-owned land is especially important when municipal funds are the sole funding source, Wright said. Land acquired with the aid of a state open space grant enjoys protected status in perpetuity through the requirement of a permanent conservation easement as a condition of receiving the state grant, she explained. 

“This legislation fills a gap in the statutes and protects the people’s open space, when they approve and fund the purchase of municipal open space using only local dollars,” Wright said. The bill also requires a similar statement on the land records when a town dedicates property that it already owns for open space or parkland purposes.

The issue was brought to Wright’s attention about six years ago when, as a member of the Groton Town Council, she learned that the deeds to several parcels of land acquired by the town with bond proceeds authorized and issued in accordance with an open space bond referendum approved by the voters in 1988 contained no reference to the open space, conservation and recreational purposes set forth in the referendum question. Town officials have since added notations on the land records indicating that the properties are use restricted.

The new law specifies that absence of the required notice is not evidence of the lack of a conservation or preservation restriction or open space land protection. The Attorney General can enforce the public interest if a municipality fails to comply with an open space dedication or a conservation or preservation restriction.

Wright noted as particularly gratifying the strong bi-partisan support for the bill, which had passed unanimously in the Environment Committee and in the House and the Senate.

Entitled An Act Concerning Conservation and Preservation Restrictions Held by the State, the public act also enhances the oversight and long term protection of conservation and preservation easements held by the state by strengthening the ability of state agencies that hold conservation restrictions to enforce easement terms and requirements against land use activity that violates the restrictions.  

Rep. Elissa Wright is serving her second term representing the 41^st General Assembly District of Groton.  She is vice chair of the Banks Committee and also serves on the Judiciary Committee and the Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee.