§ 49-0203 — State land acquisition policy

§ 49-0203. State land acquisition policy.\n 1. The purpose of the land acquisition program of the department and\nthe office is to provide for the conservation, protection, and\npreservation of open space, natural, historic and cultural resources and\nthe enhancement of recreational opportunities.\n 2. The department and the office shall first consider in each\nacquisition whether acquisition of conservation easement or other less\nthan full fee title interests would fulfill the purposes for which the\nparticular acquisition is sought. If it is determined that a\nconservation easement or other interest would fulfill such purposes, the\ndepartment or the office will use its best efforts to acquire such\neasement or interest, where practicable.\n 3. The department and the office shall consider future physical\nclimate risk due to sea level rise, and/or storm surges and/or flooding,\nbased on available data predicting the likelihood of future extreme\nweather events, including hazard risk analysis data if applicable.\n 4. It is the policy of the state, acting through the department and\nthe office, to pursue acquisitions through voluntary agreement to the\nmaximum extent practicable to achieve the purposes of this article.\nAccordingly, the process of eminent domain shall only be used when\nreasonable efforts to obtain a voluntary agreement have been exhausted.\nNotwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the department and\nthe office shall tender to the owner of any lands proposed for\nacquisition by eminent domain an offer to purchase such lands for the\nvalue thereof as determined by the department or the office in\naccordance with section three hundred three of the eminent domain\nprocedure law. Such offer must have been made for at least ninety days\nbefore the department or office makes a finding pursuant to article two\nof the eminent domain procedure law to acquire the land by eminent\ndomain; however, such ninety day period shall not be required in those\ncases in which the respective commissioner has made a written\ndetermination that there is a significant risk of immediate and\nirreversible environmental degradation. In the event that the department\nor office undertakes the process of eminent domain and prior to the\npublic hearing required by section two hundred one of the eminent domain\nprocedure law, the respective commissioner shall give notice of such\nundertaking to the state land acquisition advisory council, created\npursuant to section 49-0211 of this title. The foregoing provisions of\nthis paragraph shall not apply to lands acquired pursuant to article\nsixteen or title thirteen of article twenty-seven of this chapter or\nlands with respect to which the owner has consented to the use of\neminent domain or where the use of eminent domain is required to quiet\ntitle.\n The commissioners shall also provide the state land acquisition\nadvisory council with the determinations and findings required by\nsection two hundred four of the eminent domain procedure law.\n