SECTIONS 5096.511-5096.518 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 5096.511-5096.518

5096.511. Prior to any action by an acquisition agency to approve a
major acquisition of conservation lands, the acquisition agency
shall contract for at least one independent appraisal of the fair
market value of the land. The appraisal shall be conducted by a
qualified member of the Appraisal Institute who is licensed pursuant
to Part 3 (commencing with Section 11300) of Division 4 of the
Business and Professions Code. The appraisal shall be prepared
pursuant to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice.

5096.512. (a) In addition to the review by the Department of
General Services pursuant to Section 1348.2 of the Fish and Game
Code, the appraisal prepared pursuant to Section 5096.511 shall be
reviewed by a qualified independent appraiser retained by the
acquisition agency for this purpose, and who meets the following
conditions:
(1) The review appraiser did not conduct the appraisal pursuant to
Section 5096.511 and has no financial interest in the major
acquisition.
(2) The review appraiser is licensed pursuant to Part 3
(commencing with Section 11300) of Division 4 of the Business and
Professions Code.
(b) The review appraiser shall review the appraisal and prepare an
appraisal review report that does all of the following:
(1) Summarizes the appraisal.
(2) States the basis on which the value of the land was
established.
(3) Describes the standards used to prepare the appraisal.
(4) Determines whether or not the appraisal meets the standards
established under the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal
Practice.
(c) The appraisal review report need not include any proprietary
information provided by or on behalf of the seller or that is
otherwise exempt from public disclosure pursuant to the California
Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of
Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code).
(d) (1) If a major acquisition of conservation lands will be
approved by more than one acquisition agency and each acquisition
agency complies with paragraph (2), not more than one independent
appraisal is required pursuant to Section 5096.511, and not more than
one appraisal review report is required pursuant to this section.
(2) Paragraph (1) is applicable if each acquisition agency does
all of the following:
(A) Utilizes the independent appraisal and appraisal review
report, as required by this chapter.
(B) Makes an independent determination of whether to approve the
major acquisition of conservation lands.
(C) Complies with all of the public disclosure and independent
review requirements of this chapter.

5096.513. Not less than 30 calendar days prior to holding a public
hearing for the purpose of authorizing a major acquisition of
conservation lands, an acquisition agency shall make available for
public review information, except information that is exempt from
being disclosed pursuant to the California Public Records Act
(Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1
of the Government Code) all of, that includes, but is not limited to,
the following:
(a) A copy of the independent appraisal review prepared pursuant
to Section 5096.512.
(b) A summary of the basis for the recommendation of approval for
the major acquisition of the land made by the acquisition agency.
(c) Any relevant environmental studies, documents, or other
information.

5096.514. Not more than 10 working days after the close of escrow
for a major acquisition of conservation land by an acquisition
agency, the acquisition agency shall make available to the public all
of the following information, unless it is exempt from being
disclosed pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the
Government Code):
(a) A copy of the appraisal for the conservation land approved by
the Department of General Services, and from which fair market value
was determined.
(b) A copy of all other documents relevant to the purchase of the
conservation land, including, but not limited to, environmental
assessments or other documents not already disclosed pursuant to
Section 5096.513.

5096.515. The procedures and requirements established pursuant to
this chapter are in addition to, and do not amend, modify, or
supplant, any procedures or requirements established pursuant to the
Water Security, Clean Drinking Water, Coastal and Beach Protection
Act of 2002 (Division 26.5 (commencing with Section 79500) of the
Water Code) or the California Clean Water, Clean Air, Safe
Neighborhood Parks, and Coastal Protection Act of 2002 (Chapter 1.696
(commencing with Section 5096.600)), for the acquisition of
conservation lands.

5096.516. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (c), conservation
lands may not be sold to another owner, or have possession and
control transferred to another agency, unless all of the following
occur:
(1) The selling or transferring agency prepares and makes
available to the public a detailed report that identifies why the
conservation lands no longer serve a needed conservation purpose.
(2) The selling or transferring agency holds a duly noticed public
hearing to accept public comment on the proposed sale or transfer of
conservation lands.
(3) After compliance with paragraphs (1) and (2), the selling or
transferring agency finds, based on substantial evidence, that the
property no longer serves a needed conservation purpose.
(4) The sale or transfer of the land is authorized or approved as
part of the annual Budget Act or pursuant to specific legislation
authorizing the sale or transfer.
(b) Proceeds from the sale or transfer of conservation lands shall
be used solely for one or more of the following purposes:
(1) The acquisition of conservation lands to achieve the same or
equivalent objectives as the original acquisition of the property
that was sold or transferred.
(2) To further the purposes of Division 21 (commencing with
Section 31000).
(3) The acquisition of wildlife habitat to further the purposes of
the Wildlife Conservation Law of 1947 (Chapter 4 (commencing with
Section 1300) of Division 2 of the Fish and Game Code).
(4) The acquisition of wildlife habitat to further the purposes of
Article 2 (commencing with Section 1410) of Chapter 4.3 of Division
2 of the Fish and Game Code.
(c) This section does not apply to any of the following:
(1) The sale or transfer of conservation lands solely for the
purpose of boundary adjustments or consolidation of property
ownership.
(2) The sale or transfer of lands subject to a conservation
easement to keep lands in agricultural production.
(3) The sale or transfer to other public agencies or nonprofit
organizations to improve conservation management, public access,
historic preservation, or to protect or enhance the biological value
of conservation lands.
(4) The sale or transfer of conservation lands by the State
Coastal Conservancy when the sale or transfer of interests in land is
provided for, consistent with Division 21 (commencing with Section
31000), at the time of acquisition of real property.
(5) The exchange of conservation lands for land of greater
biological value as wildlife habitat.
(6) The sale or transfer of conservation lands that have a fair
market value of less than one million dollars ($1,000,000).
(d) The requirements imposed by this section are in addition to
any other requirements imposed by law or regulation.

5096.517. (a) The Department of General Services shall convene a
workgroup to develop and adopt standards, subject to the approval of
the Resources Agency, with respect to the acquisition of conservation
lands. The workgroup shall not exceed six members and shall include,
but not be limited to, representatives from all of the following:
(1) The Department of Parks and Recreation.
(2) The Wildlife Conservation Board.
(3) The State Coastal Conservancy and one or more other state
conservancies with land acquisition responsibilities.
(b) The workgroup shall hold a public hearing to solicit public
comments prior to the adoption of standards pursuant to subdivision
(a).
(c) In developing standards for the appraisal of resource
conservation acquisitions, including both direct and state-funded
grant acquisitions, the Department of General Services and the
workgroup shall consider, by January 1, 2010, all of the following:
(1) Qualifications of the appraiser, including, but not limited
to, all of the following:
(A) The appraiser shall not engage in any appraisal activity in
connection with the purchase, sale, transfer, financing, or
development of real property if his or her compensation is dependent
on or affected by the value determined by the appraisal.
(B) The appraiser shall be appropriately licensed by the Office of
Real Estate Appraisers pursuant to Part 3 (commencing with Section
11300) of Division 4 of the Business and Professions Code.
(C) The appraisal shall be performed pursuant to the Uniform
Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice.
(D) Any additional qualifications regarding education,
certification, and years of experience deemed to be necessary by the
Department of General Services and the workgroup.
(E) This paragraph does not limit the ability of a public agency
to award a contract based on appraiser qualifications, including
designations, experience, and other factors deemed necessary to
perform an appraisal on a specific assignment, that exceed the
qualifications of this paragraph.
(2) Appraisal methodology to be used.
(3) Scope of the analysis and level of information provided in the
appraisal report, including, but not limited to, both of the
following:
(A) Verifiable data on the development potential of the land, such
as what would be required for a development project to proceed.
(B) Reports documenting suspected environmental contamination.
(4) Reference to comparable government and conservation
transactions when available.
(5) Age of the appraisal or appraisal update to be reviewed by the
department to keep an appraisal from being over one and one-half
years old.
(6) Appraisal of conservation easements, using the information
from the "Valuation of Conservation Easements Certificate Program"
created by members of the Appraisal Foundation and the Land Trust
Alliance as guidelines.
(7) Standards for the release of the appraisal review, including,
but not limited to, both of the following:
(A) Guidelines to state resource agencies for public disclosure
requirements.
(B) Improvement of the legislative notification process for better
oversight, including, when requested by the Legislature, provision
of a copy of the appraisal review for a major acquisition before the
close of escrow.

5096.518. For a charitable contribution claimed by a seller that is
over five thousand dollars ($5,000) on conservation lands acquired
using state funds, in order to substantiate the amount of the
charitable contribution deduction claimed by the seller pursuant to
Part 10 (commencing with Section 17001) or Part 11 (commencing with
Section 23001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, both
of the following requirements shall apply:
(a) The seller shall attach to his or her California income tax
return a copy of the appraisal of the charitable contribution relied
on by the acquisition agency.
(b) The appraisal attached to the return shall be prepared by an
appraiser licensed by the Office of Real Estate Appraisers pursuant
to Part 3 (commencing with Section 11300) of Division 4 of the
Business and Professions Code and shall comply with the applicable
requirements of the Revenue and Taxation Code and the Internal
Revenue Code for purposes of substantiating the amount of the
contribution for California income and franchise tax purposes and
federal income tax purposes.