Sec. 23-8. Open spaces for recreation. State goal for acquisition of open space. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 23-8. Open spaces for recreation. State goal for acquisition of open space. (a) The Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall have power, acting by himself or with local authorities, to acquire, maintain and make available to the public open spaces for recreation. Said commissioner may take, in the name of the state and for the benefit of the public, by purchase, gift or devise, lands and rights in land and personal estate for public open spaces, or take bonds for the conveyance thereof, or may lease the same for a period not exceeding five years, with an option to buy, and may preserve and care for such public reservations, and, in his discretion and upon such terms as he may approve, such other open spaces within this state as may be entrusted, given or devised to the state by the United States or by cities, towns, corporations or individuals for the purposes of public recreation, or for the preservation of natural beauty or historical association, provided said commissioner shall not take or contract to take by purchase or lease any land or other property for an amount or amounts beyond such sum or sums as have been appropriated or contributed therefor. No provision of this section shall be construed to set aside any terms or conditions under which gifts or bequests of land have been accepted by the commissioner.

      (b) Twenty-one per cent of the state's land area shall be held as open space land. The goal of the state's open space acquisition program shall be to acquire land such that ten per cent of the state's land area is held by the state as open space land and not less than eleven per cent of the state's land area is held by municipalities, water companies or nonprofit land conservation organizations as open space land consistent with the provisions of sections 7-131d to 7-131g, inclusive. Such program shall not affect the ability of any water company to reclassify or sell any land, or interest in land, which was not acquired, in whole or in part, with funds made available under the program established under sections 7-131d to 7-131g, inclusive. The goal for state open space acquisition shall be three thousand acres acquired in 1999, four thousand acres acquired in 2000, four thousand acres acquired in 2001 and five thousand acres acquired in 2002 provided such acquisition program shall continue until the overall state goal of open space acquisition is achieved. The commissioner, in consultation with the Council on Environmental Quality established under section 22a-11 and private nonprofit land conservation organizations, shall prepare, and update as necessary, a comprehensive strategy for achieving the state goal and shall set an appropriate additional goal for increasing the amount of land held as open space by municipalities or by private nonprofit land conservation organizations and shall include in such strategy provisions for achieving such goal. Such strategy shall include, but not be limited to, recommendations regarding: (1) Timetables for acquisition of land by the state, (2) management of such land, (3) resources to be used for acquisition and management of such land, and (4) acquisition and maintenance of open space land by municipalities and by private entities. On or before January 1, 1998, and annually thereafter, the commissioner shall submit a report to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the environment regarding the strategy and the progress being made towards the goals.

      (c) To further the efforts to preserve open space in the state and to help realize the goal established in subsection (b) of this section to have at least twenty-one per cent of the state's land held by the state, municipalities, land conservation organizations and water utilities as open space, the Department of Environmental Protection shall conduct an evaluation of lands of class A water companies, as defined in section 16-1, to determine the resource value and potential desirability of such lands for purchase for open space or public outdoor recreation or natural resource conservation or preservation. The water companies and land conservation organizations shall work cooperatively with the department and provide maps and other information to assist the Department of Environmental Protection in the evaluation of these properties and said department shall develop strategies for alternative methods of funding the preservation of water company lands in perpetuity as open space.

      (1949 Rev., S. 3436; 1951, 1953, S. 1857d; 1971, P.A. 872, S. 169; P.A. 96-180, S. 84, 166; P.A. 97-227, S. 1, 5; P.A. 99-173, S. 46, 65; 99-235, S. 2, 7; P.A. 00-26, S. 3; P.A. 01-204, S. 12, 29; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-9, S. 73, 131.)

      History: 1971 act replaced references to state park and forest commission with references to environmental protection commissioner; P.A. 96-180 changed "Said commissioner" to "The Commissioner of Environmental Protection", effective June 3, 1996; P.A. 97-227 added new Subsec. (b) re state goal for the acquisition of open space and designated existing provisions as Subsec. (a), effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 99-173 amended Subsec. (b) re state goal of 11% of state land held by municipalities, water companies or nonprofit land conservation organizations as open space, effective June 23, 1999; P.A. 99-235 amended Subsec. (b) to reword the state goal of open space acquisition, to delete a reference to consistency of certain open space with Sec. 25-37c, to clarify that this section shall not affect the ability of water companies to sell land not purchased with money from the state for open space acquisition and to provide specific calendar year goals for open space acquisition, effective June 29, 1999; P.A. 00-26 amended Subsec. (b) by deleting "by the state" re land held as open space land and making a technical change; P.A. 01-204, S. 12, codified as new Subsec. (c), required the Department of Environmental Protection, in furtherance of the state's open space goal, to evaluate the lands of class A water companies to determine their resource value and potential for purchase for open space or public outdoor recreation or natural resource conservation or preservation, required water companies and land conservation or organizations to work cooperatively with the department, and required the department to develop strategies for alternative methods of funding the preservation of water company lands as open space, effective July 11, 2001 (Revisor's note: The Revisors editorially designated P.A. 01-204, S. 12 as new Subsec. (c), and deemed a reference to "public act 99-173" to be a reference to section 46 of public act 99-173 which amended Subsec. (b) of this section); June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-9 revised effective date of P.A. 01-204 but without affecting this section.

      Cited. 116 C. 120.