a. Application
i. An Eligible Trust Recipient independently or in conjunction with the landowner may apply for a grant from the Trust by submitting an application in accordance with the rules and procedures established by the Board under this Article.
ii. Prior to the submission of its application, the Eligible Trust Recipient must obtain the written consent to the submission of the application from the owner(s) of the land that is subject to such application. In addition, the Eligible Trust Recipient must notify in writing the owner(s) of the land that is the subject of the application of the following:
1. That interests in land purchased with the Trust result in a permanent conveyance of such interests in land from the landowner to the Eligible Trust Recipient and its assigns; and
2. That it may be in the landowner's interest to retain independent legal counsel, perform appraisals, create surveys, and seek other professional advice.
The application must contain an affirmation that the consent and notice requirements of this subsection have been met.
iii. For applications involving historic resources that are not designated as historic by Greenville County, the applicant shall apply for, and be granted, such designation by the Greenville County Preservation Commission as a condition to consideration of the application under this article. In addition, the applicant shall send a copy of the application to the Greenville County Historic Preservation Commission.
v. For each grant application the applicant shall specify:
1. The purpose of the application;
3. The uses to which the land will be put;
4. The party responsible for managing and maintaining the land; and
5. The parties responsible for enforcing any conservation easement or other restrictions upon the land.
vi. Where an Eligible Trust Recipient seeks a Trust grant to acquire fee title to land, the Eligible Trust Recipient must demonstrate both the expertise and financial resources to manage the land for the purposes set forth in its application. The Board, on a case by case basis, may require an Eligible Trust Recipient acquiring fee title to land to place a conservation easement on such property to ensure its permanent protection.
vii. Where an Eligible Trust Recipient seeks a Trust grant to acquire a conservation easement, the Eligible Trust Recipient must demonstrate both the expertise and financial resources to monitor and enforce the restrictions placed upon the land for the purposes set forth in its application. The Board shall evaluate each application to determine the qualifications of the proposed managing party and to determine whether the proposed management is consistent with the purposes set forth in the application.
b. Application Review
i. The Board shall accept three rounds of applications each calendar year in accordance with the following deadlines: April 1, August 1, and November 1. The Board may cancel or defer any deadline if there are insufficient funds to award grants.
ii. The Board shall post a copy of the applications that it receives or a summary thereof on the Trust website (or the Greenville County website until such time as the Trust website is available) and shall invite and accept comments from any interested member of the public on the applications.
iii. The Board shall evaluate each application according to the criteria contained in §§ 17-106 and 17-107 of this Article, shall consider any public comments that it receives, and shall make a final decision within ninety days of its receipt of the application. The decision may be for full approval, partial approval or disapproval.
iv. In its decision the Board shall set forth findings that indicate:
2. The purpose of the grant and the use to which the land will be put;
3. The party responsible for managing and maintaining the land;
4. The party responsible for monitoring and enforcing any conservation easements or other restrictions upon the land;
5. How the parties designated in divisions (a)(v) and (a)(vi) possess the expertise and financial resources to fulfill their obligations;
6. The availability of Trust funds for the grant;
7. Any other findings or information relevant to the grant.
v. If the Board's decision is to approve the grant, the grant shall be made and the transaction closed in accordance with § 17-109(c) of this Article.
vi. The Board may only authorize grants to purchase interests in lands at or below fair market value pursuant to a certified appraisal. The Board shall establish reasonable procedures and requirements to ensure the confidentiality of appraisals.
c. Grant Award
i. The Board shall notify the Eligible Trust Recipient of its decision.
ii. If the Board decides to approve the application in whole or in part, the Eligible Trust Recipient and the owner of the interest in the land identified in the application shall have a period of sixty days from the date of the Board's decision to close the transaction.
iii. The Eligible Trust Recipient shall submit the following required documents to the Board prior to closing the transaction:
1. A certified appraisal satisfying the requirements of § 17-108(b)(vi);
2. Greenville County and the Trust shall be indemnified as to title in the amount of the grant, and this indemnification shall be secured by a title insurance policy acceptable to the Board and obtained by the grant recipient. The indemnification requirement as to title may be waived by the Board in extraordinary cases where insurable title is unobtainable, the risk of adverse claims is small, the land in question presents a particularly valuable conservation opportunity according to the criteria of § 17-106, and the cost of the interest in land acquired reflects the lack of insurable title.
3. In order to identify potential liability pursuant to applicable state or federal environmental laws or regulations, a certified environmental hazard assessment shall be conducted on lands before the disbursement of a grant from the Trust for the acquisition of all interests in such lands except as provided below in § 17-108(c)(iii)(4).
4. An application for such interest in land shall qualify as a small grant application if the amount requested is less than thirty thousand dollars ($30,000) or 10% of the appraised fair market value of either the conservation easement or fee simple acquisition, whichever value is smaller. The environmental assessment required in § 17-108(c)(iii)(3) shall be waived for applications for interest in land qualified as a small grant unless specifically required on a case-by-case basis by the Board.
iv. The Trust and Eligible Trust Recipients receiving monies from the Trust shall retain all records of acquisition of interests in land with a grant from the Trust including, but not limited to deeds, title documents, contracts, surveys, inventories, appraisals, title insurance policies, environmental assessments, and closing documents.
v. The Board shall disburse the grant from the Trust to Eligible Trust Recipient and the closing shall occur after all applicable requirements of this section are fully satisfied, provided the closing shall take place no later than one year after the Eligible Trust Recipient and owner of the interest in land decide to accept the award unless the Board, for good cause shown, extends the deadline for a period not to exceed six months.
(Ord. 5247 § 8, passed 12-15-2020)