Conservation 20/20 Land Aquisition

Land acquisitions for the Conservation 20/20 Program are based on a willing seller acquisition program and will not acquire properties by legal power of Eminent Domain.

Lands are nominated by willing land owners (if the nominator is other than the legal owner, it is very important that all legal property owners either sign the form or you may attach a letter signed by all of the owners indicating their willingness to sell). Willingness to sell means that the property owner will entertain an offer from the County. The offer will be based on a third party appraisal. The owners are under no obligation to accept the offer or to withhold the property from sale to other offers.

Nominations are reviewed by the Conservation 20/20 Land Acquisition and Stewardship Advisory Committee (CLASAC) based on seven criteria. This phase is called the initial screening. Nominations should meet a minimum of four, of the seven criteria in order to be eligible for a secondary review.
Seven criteria for initial review:

Contains documented environmentally sensitive lands.
Is important for water resources.
Is contiguous to natural navigable waters or protected environmentally sensitive lands.
Good potential for the long-term management and, if appropriate, public use of the natural resources.
Environmental qualities are endangered due to approved development and/or exemptions for land clearing which, if exercised, would diminish the natural resource benefits.
Owner will sell below market value.
Matching funds are available.

CLASAC presents its findings/data on nominations to the Lee County Board of County Commissioners, who review and ultimately approve land purchases.

The complete review process takes, on average, six months. If selected for acquisition, the acquisition process also takes approximately six months.

In order to nominate land for acquisition by the Conservation 20/20 Program, CLASAC has formulated an official nomination form entitled “Lee County Conservation 20/20 Program - Project Site Nomination Form.” This form must be used in order for the review process to begin on any nominated site. Please fill out this form as completely as possible. Incomplete forms may delay the processing of your nomination. Review of the asking price is one of the seven criteria. It is very important that the owner provide a response to this section on the form. Other data that should be provided with the nomination submittal, if available, are:

Copy of Appraisal Report
Copy of Boundary Survey
Wetlands/Uplands Determination
Copy of Title Policy or other title research
Listed Species Survey
Copy of Development Plans

To obtain information on nominating property to the Conservation 20/20 Program and any other acquisition questions please contact, Lynda Thompson, Lee County Division of County Lands, Conservation 20/20 Program Coordinator; Telephone (239) 479-8505.