Article 27 - Conservation Land Fund - additonal information (002) pdf file

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Canton Conservation Land Fund – May 2024 Town Meeting

A Conservation Fund is a dedicated account established by a municipality to ensure that the
Conservation Commission will have money that can be spent for any purpose stated in the
Conservation Commission Act, G.L. Ch. 40 §8C, without further authorization upon a vote of
Town Meeting or the city council.

Purposes for expenditures include the purchase of land, maintenance of or capital
improvements to such land, monitoring of conservation restrictions, and expenses directly
related to land purchases, including title searches, legal expenses of deed preparation and title
passing, investigation of land prior to purchase for conservation purposes. Other permissible
expenditures include the cost of preparing open space plans and maps; GIS expenses; vernal
pool certification; recording of votes on land transfers and other types of expenses that are
seldom foreseen and rarely within a Commission's budget. They do not include matters related
to the state Wetlands Protection Act and for which certain expenditures are subject to approval
by other municipal officials. One of the benefits to a commission, procedurally, is that the
provisions of G.L. Ch. 40 §14, requiring town meeting or city council vote to buy land, do not
apply to land acquisition through a Conservation Fund. Therefore, neither further action nor a
two-thirds vote is needed for funding of purchases made with money from the Conservation
Fund, unless the land is to be taken by eminent domain.

While other types of funds are available to communities for some of these same functions, such
as land acquisition, and monies may sometimes be donated to these other funds, a
Conservation Fund is preferable because it can be broader in scope in terms of allowable
expenditures and allows the Commission to take advantage of time sensitive acquisition
opportunities that would not be viable if it needed to wait for the annual town meeting process
or a grant funding process to be completed.

Municipal money going into the Conservation Fund must be specifically appropriated or
transferred to that fund by a majority vote of the town meeting or city council. Any portion of a
Conservation Fund earmarked by town meeting or city council for a particular purchase must
be honored.

Private donations of funds are also always welcome, and the establishment of a Conservation
Fund serves as a reminder to the community that the Commission is available to accept
donations for uses under the Conservation Fund. Private gifts require only the Select Board or
mayor's approval, and borrowed money requires a two-thirds vote. Without the fund, groups
and individuals might not think to donate, so establishing one can serve as a kind of
advertisement for the causes of Conservation Commissions and land protection opportunities
for the community.

The Commission will be seeking funds annually to supplement the Conservation Land Fund to
be able to begin to manage the over 500 acres of conservation land under its purview in town,
including addressing non-native, invasives species and trail maintenance projects.

April 24, 2024