2005 California Civil Code Sections 815-816 CHAPTER 4. CONSERVATION EASEMENTS

815.  The Legislature finds and declares that the preservation of
land in its natural, scenic, agricultural, historical, forested, or
open-space condition is among the most important environmental assets
of California.  The Legislature further finds and declares it to be
the public policy and in the public interest of this state to
encourage the voluntary conveyance of conservation easements to
qualified nonprofit organizations.
815.1.  For the purposes of this chapter, "conservation easement"
means any limitation in a deed, will, or other instrument in the form
of an easement, restriction, covenant, or condition, which is or has
been executed by or on behalf of the owner of the land subject to
such easement and is binding upon successive owners of such land, and
the purpose of which is to retain land predominantly in its natural,
scenic, historical, agricultural, forested, or open-space condition.
815.2.  (a) A conservation easement is an interest in real property
voluntarily created and freely transferable in whole or in part for
the purposes stated in Section 815.1 by any lawful method for the
transfer of interests in real property in this state.
   (b) A conservation easement shall be perpetual in duration.
   (c) A conservation easement shall not be deemed personal in nature
and shall constitute an interest in real property notwithstanding
the fact that it may be negative in character.
   (d) The particular characteristics of a conservation easement
shall be those granted or specified in the instrument creating or
transferring the easement.
815.3.  Only the following entities or organizations may acquire and
hold conservation easements:
   (a)  A tax-exempt nonprofit organization qualified under  Section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and qualified to do business
in this state which has as its primary purpose the preservation,
protection, or enhancement of land in its natural, scenic,
historical, agricultural, forested, or open-space condition or use.
   (b) The state or any city, county, city and county, district, or
other state or local governmental entity, if otherwise authorized to
acquire and hold title to real property and if the conservation
easement is voluntarily conveyed.  No local governmental entity may
condition the issuance of an entitlement for use on the applicant's
granting of a conservation easement pursuant to this chapter.
   (c) A federally recognized California Native American tribe or a
nonfederally recognized California Native American tribe that is on
the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage
Commission to protect a California Native American prehistoric,
archaeological, cultural, spiritual, or ceremonial place, if the
conservation easement is voluntarily conveyed.
815.4.  All interests not transferred and conveyed by the instrument
creating the easement  shall remain in the grantor of the easement,
including the right to engage in all uses of the land not affected by
the easement nor prohibited by the easement or by law.
815.5.  Instruments creating, assigning, or otherwise transferring
conservation easements shall be recorded in the office of the county
recorder of the county where the land is situated, in whole or in
part, and such instruments shall be subject in all respects to the
recording laws.
815.7.  (a) No conservation easement shall be unenforceable by
reason of lack of privity of contract or lack of benefit to
particular land or because not expressed in the instrument creating
it as running with the land.
   (b) Actual or threatened injury to or impairment of a conservation
easement or actual or threatened violation of its terms may be
prohibited or restrained, or the interest intended for protection by
such easement may be enforced, by injunctive relief granted by any
court of competent jurisdiction in a proceeding initiated by the
grantor or by the owner of the easement.
   (c) In addition to the remedy of injunctive relief, the holder of
a conservation easement shall be entitled to recover money damages
for any injury to such easement or to the interest being protected
thereby or for the violation of the terms of such easement.  In
assessing such damages there may be taken into account, in addition
to the cost of restoration and other usual rules of the law of
damages, the loss of scenic, aesthetic, or environmental value to the
real property subject to the easement.
   (d) The court may award to the prevailing party in any action
authorized by this section the costs of litigation, including
reasonable attorney's fees.
815.9.  Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to impair or
conflict with the operation of any law or statute conferring upon any
political subdivision the right or power to hold interests in land
comparable to conservation easements, including, but not limited to,
Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 6950) of Division 7 of Title 1
of, Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 51050), Chapter 6.6
(commencing with Section 51070) and Chapter 7 (commencing with
Section 51200) of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of, and Article
10.5 (commencing with Section 65560) of Chapter 3 of Title 7 of, the
Government Code, and Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 421) of
Chapter 3 of Part 2 of Division 1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
815.10.  A conservation easement granted pursuant to this chapter
constitutes an enforceable restriction, for purposes of Section 402.1
of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
816.  The provisions of this chapter shall be liberally construed in
order to effectuate the policy and purpose of Section 815.