There is a difficult issue being discussed by the Town Council. They are proposing to donate conservation easements on public lands in Signal Mountain to a private organization. While I absolutely support the permanent protection of our public parks, as I have fought my whole life for protection of our National Forests, National Parks and Wilderness Areas, I think that we should trust the citizens of Signal Mountain to protect their public lands rather than depending on an outside organization over which we have no control. Dr. Jeff Duncan, former Parks Board member has been a leader on this issue and has prepared the following open letter to the Council which should also be appearing in the TimesFreePress soon. It should be clear from the signers of the letter that it represents a diversity of opinions. I urge you to contact your council members at the following addresses and let them know what you think:
Bill Lusk: blusk@signalmountaintn.gov
Susan Robertson: srobertson@signalmountaintn.gov
Annette Allen: aallen@signalmountaintn.gov
Dick Gee: dgee@signalmountaintn.gov
Bill Wallace: bwallace@signalmountaintn.gov
Honna Rogers (town manager): hrogers@signalmountaintn.gov
Open Letter to Signal Mountain Town Council Regarding
Conservation Easements
March 5, 2013
On March 11, Council is scheduled to vote on donating conservation easements over Town-owned lands. Despite this, few town residents, let alone members of Council, are likely aware of the far-reaching unintended consequences of this proposed action. With this letter, we hope to shed some light on the issue which we believe is poor governance, short-sighted, and arguably illegal. Combined, let’s just say we have several decades of experience and education in the conservation arena professionally and through public service to our town, and we represent a very broad political and ideological spectrum. Despite our differences, we whole-heartedly support protecting our town’s natural resources, as do most town residents. We simply disagree with the use of conservation easements as the means of doing so for the following reasons, and we propose a viable alternative:
1.
Conservation easements
are unnecessary for protecting our parklands.
Our publically-owned lands are protected by existing ordinances, and
most are protected by deed restrictions.
The existing provisions can and should be strengthened, but not with the
wrong tool.
2.
A conservation
easement is essentially a surrendering of the development rights for a given
parcel to a land trust. Can a land trust
really understand the future needs and desires of future town residents better
than the future residents themselves? If
conservation easements are enacted, we will essentially be saying, “We know
what’s better for future residents than do the future residents themselves.”
3.
Conservation easements
are PERMANENT! Once recorded, they can never be undone.
Period. The Town's hands will forever be tied by law. The action will be
irreversible by future councils, and the land trust will be bound to defend the
easements to the fullest extent of the law, even if that means suing the Town
for some inadvertent future incursion.
4.
While perhaps not yet
tested in court, entering into a permanent agreement with a land trust may be
illegal. The State has laws against one
council contractually binding a future council.
This action, like no other in Town history, would contractually bind all
future Town Councils. Furthermore, there
may be an issue concerning surplus property regulations since this move
essentially amounts to giving away property, or at least a portion thereof.
5.
Although provisions
for recreational use can be written into an easement, we cannot predict the
future, and exactly what provisions to incorporate would require a crystal
ball. Who knows what recreation pursuits will be in 50 or 100 years? Who knows
what facilities or amenities future town residents may want to consider, say,
in the year 2063 or 2113? Should it be
for us to decide in 2013?
6.
Conservation easements
are but one tool for protecting land, and there are many more. Even our National Parks are protected not by
easements, but by legislation. Why shouldn’t we protect our parklands the same
way?
Instead of easements, we
propose creating a Signal Mountain land protection ordinance that would achieve
that same goal of protecting our lands but without disenfranchising future
generations. An assortment of cities and towns, some much like Signal Mountain
(e.g., Hamden, ME, Borough of Mountain Lakes, NJ, etc.) have adopted land
protection legislation to protect their public lands. Such an ordinance could be written to protect
our lands, and still provide future citizens with flexibility.
Although the details
would need to be developed, the ordinance could include protective conditions
much like a conservation easement, but without the need for enforcement by a land
trust. The ordinance could be written
such that it could only be amended by majority vote of two successive Town
Councils with an interceding election.
This would eliminate the idea of some future Council selling off our parklands
to Holiday Inn against the wishes of the citizens. Additional deed restrictions
(i.e., conservation easements granted by the Town to the Town, as opposed to an
outside land trust) also represent a viable land protection alternative worthy
of consideration.
As the Native American proverb suggests, and as is even suggested in the Town’s Power Point presentation posted on the Town website, “We don’t own the lands, we only borrow them from the future.” Let’s live up to that proverb. Let us trust our children, and our childrens’ children to do what’s right. We ask Council to vote against conservation easements, and instead work on more appropriate means of protecting our lands for future generations through a Town land protection ordinance. To that end, we stand united, ready, and willing to offer our assistance.
RESPECTFULLY,
Dr. Jeffrey R. Duncan
Doctorate in Ecology and Environmental Policy, Former Parks Board Member, Former Planning Commission Member, Professional Natural Resource Manager
Ms. Tish Gailmard
Former Parks Board Member, Professional Wildlife Curator, Life-long resident of Signal Mountain
Dr. Paul M. Hendricks, MD
Former Mayor, Former Planning Commission Member, Life-Member Sierra Club
Mr. Noah H. Long, Jr., Rear Admiral USNR (ret), Founding Member SM Tree Board, 25 years in commercial real estate.
