Rep. Bob Morgan

Filed: 3/11/2019

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2601

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2601 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Real Property Conservation Rights Act is
5amended by changing Sections 1, 2, 4, and 6 as follows:
 
6    (765 ILCS 120/1)  (from Ch. 30, par. 401)
7    Sec. 1. (a) A conservation right is a right, whether stated
8in the form of a restriction, easement, covenant or condition,
9or, without limitation, in any other form in any deed, will,
10plat, or without limitation any other instrument executed by or
11on behalf of the owner of land or in any condemnation order of
12taking, appropriate to preserving: (i) the significant
13physical character and visual characteristics of structures
14having architectural, historical, or cultural significance,
15together with any associated real property, whether or not
16improved; or (ii) land or water areas predominantly in their

 

 

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1natural, scenic, open or wooded condition, or as suitable
2habitat for fish, plants, or wildlife; or (iii) the integrity
3of archaeological sites and the artifacts or information which
4they may contain pending properly supervised excavation and
5investigation. Without limiting the generality of the
6foregoing, the instrument conveying or reserving a
7conservation right may, with respect to either the grantor or
8grantee, require, prohibit, condition, limit or control any or
9all of the following:
10        (1) access or public visitation;
11        (2) affirmative acts of alteration, restoration,
12    rehabilitation, repair, maintenance, investigation,
13    documentation, payment of taxes, or compliance with public
14    law and regulations;
15        (3) conditions of operation, use, restoration,
16    alteration, repair or maintenance;
17        (4) acts detrimental to the preservation of a place;
18        (5) the construction, placement, maintenance in a
19    particular condition, alteration, or removal of roads,
20    signs, billboards or other advertising, utilities or other
21    structures on or above the ground;
22        (6) the dumping or placing of soil or other substance
23    or material as landfill, or dumping or placing of trash,
24    waste or other materials;
25        (7) the excavation, dredging or removal of loam, peat,
26    gravel, soil, rock or other material substance in such

 

 

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1    manner as to affect the surface or to otherwise alter the
2    topography of the area;
3        (8) the removal or destruction of trees, shrubs or
4    other vegetation;
5        (9) surface use inconsistent with preservation of
6    water or land areas, or the improvement or appurtenance
7    thereto;
8        (10) activities affecting drainage, flood control,
9    water conservation, erosion control or soil conservation,
10    or fish and wildlife habitat preservation; or
11        (11) any other acts or uses having relation to the
12    preservation of structures, sites and water or land areas
13    or the improvements or appurtenances thereto.
14    (b) A conservation right shall be taken to include a
15preservation restriction as that term is defined in Section
1611-48.2-1A of the "Illinois Municipal Code", as now or
17hereafter amended, and shall not be unenforceable on account of
18lack of privity of estate or contract or lack of benefit to
19particular land or on account of the benefit being assigned or
20assignable. Conservation rights shall be construed and
21enforced in accordance with their terms, and shall be
22transferable and transferred, recorded and indexed, in the same
23manner as fee simple interests in real property, subject only
24to the limitations provided herein.
25    Conservation rights may be released by the holder of such
26rights to the holder of the fee even though the holder of the

 

 

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1fee may not be an agency of the State, a unit of local
2government or a not-for-profit corporation or trust.
3    The holder of a grant pursuant to this Act shall not be
4required to record any instrument subsequent to the recording
5of the grant in order to maintain or continue the validity of
6the grant.
7    The holder of such rights shall also be permitted to
8transfer or assign such rights but only to another agency of
9the State, a unit of local government or to a not-for-profit
10corporation or trust.
11    (c) A conservation right may be amended or modified from
12time to time only by a written instrument executed by the
13grantor and grantee and recorded with the office of the
14recorder of deeds of the county in which the land is located.
15Either party may, in the absolute discretion of the party,
16withhold consent to any amendment or modification requested by
17the other party. An amendment or modification shall not
18materially and adversely affect the conservation purposes of
19the conservation right or facilitate the extinguishment of the
20conservation right. The consent of any party other than the
21grantor and grantee is not required for amendment or
22modification, even if the other party is entitled to enforce an
23easement under this Act or any other law. The conservation
24right may contain other requirements for amendment or
25modification, and such other requirements shall control.
26(Source: P.A. 91-497, eff. 1-1-00.)
 

 

 

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1    (765 ILCS 120/2)  (from Ch. 30, par. 402)
2    Sec. 2. Any owner of real property in this State may convey
3a conservation right in such real property to the United States
4or any agency of the federal government an agency of the State,
5to a unit of local government, or to a not-for-profit
6corporation or trust whose primary purposes include the
7conservation of land, natural areas, open space or water areas,
8or the preservation of native plants or animals, or biotic
9communities, or geographic formations of scientific,
10aesthetic, or educational interest, or the preservation of
11buildings, structures or sites of historical, architectural,
12archeological or cultural significance.
13    No conveyance of such conservation rights shall take effect
14until such conveyance is accepted by the grantee. Acceptance of
15such conservation rights may be conditioned upon any
16requirements which are deemed proper by the grantee. Such
17requirements may include the payment of funds by the grantor to
18provide for the management of such conservation rights.
19    A unit of local government, including, but not limited to,
20a county, township, forest preserve district, conservation
21district, park district, or municipality, has the authority to
22grant a conservation right on property that it owns to another
23unit of government or to any not-for-profit corporation or
24trust described in this Section.
25(Source: P.A. 91-497, eff. 1-1-00.)
 

 

 

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1    (765 ILCS 120/4)  (from Ch. 30, par. 404)
2    Sec. 4. A conservation right created pursuant to this Act
3may be enforced in an action seeking injunctive relief,
4specific performance, or damages in the circuit court of the
5county in which the area, place, building, structure or site is
6located by any of the following:
7    (a) the United States or any agency of the federal
8government, the State of Illinois, or any unit of local
9government;
10    (b) any not-for-profit corporation or trust which owns the
11conservation right;
12    (c) the owner of any real property abutting or within 500
13feet of the real property subject to the conservation right.
14Any owner of property subject to a conservation right who
15wilfully violates any term of such conservation right may, in
16the court's discretion, be held liable for punitive damages in
17an amount equal to the value of the real property subject
18thereto.
19    An action to enforce a conservation right may also be
20brought by any party entitled to enforce the conservation right
21under this Section against a nonowner who is violating the
22terms of the conservation right.
23    If the holder of a conservation right reasonably determines
24that there is a violation of the right, the holder of the
25conservation right may record a notice of violation against the

 

 

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1property for which the conservation right applies.
2(Source: P.A. 91-497, eff. 1-1-00.)
 
3    (765 ILCS 120/6)  (from Ch. 30, par. 406)
4    Sec. 6. This Act shall not be construed to imply that any
5restriction, easement, covenant or condition which does not
6have the benefit of the Act shall, on account of any provision
7herein, be unenforceable. Nothing in this Act shall diminish
8the powers granted in any other law to acquire by purchase,
9gift, grant, eminent domain or otherwise and to use land for
10public purposes. A conservation right shall not be extinguished
11by adverse possession, a claim of abandonment, or merger, and
12may be extinguished only by such procedure as may be set forth
13in the conservation right or by a release of the conservation
14right in accordance with the terms of the conservation right.
15No prescriptive easement shall be established that adversely
16impacts the conservation values protected by the conservation
17right.
18(Source: P.A. 80-584.)
 
19    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
20becoming law.".