1. NOTICE OF PROPOSED LAND TRANSFER

Complete Address of Property:  Portion of 64 Center Street, Hartland

  

Number of acres to be transferred: 2.439 acres (in exchange for 11.275 acres)

Click to view map of property location

Description of Property

Brief Description of Historical and Current Uses: In 2009, during a routine inspection of Tunxis State Forest, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (“DEEP” or the “Department”) discovered that there were encroachments onto State land by Daniel Nelson, who lives at 58 West Center Street, Hartland.  The encroachments included a crushed stone driveway, a frame garage, a canopy, concrete pavers, man-made ponds, a stone retaining wall, clay and PVC piping, flood lights, and an ATV trail.

While there were several encroachments, they did not extend very far onto State land.  Further, DEEP believes that Mr. Nelson did not knowingly encroach.  Removing the encroachments, especially the retaining wall and the manmade ponds that do not extend far onto State land would be extremely difficult and expensive. 

In order to resolve this issue, an exchange was requested to eliminate the need to remove the encroaching structures.  DEEP evaluated this request pursuant to DEEP’s 2008 Directive – Exchanges of Land or Interests in Land (the “Directive”).  The Directive states that land or interests in land shall not be exchanged, except in extenuating circumstances and only when all of the following criteria are met:

• The exchange is not contrary to the terms or conditions under which the acquisition, gift, or bequest of such land or interest in land was accepted;
• The land or interest in land has been evaluated by Department personnel and determined not to be integral or significant to the resource management programs of the Department;
• Appraisals have determined that the fair market value of the land or interest in land to be received by the Department is equal to or greater than the fair market value of the land or interests in land being conveyed out by the Department;
• The land or interests in land to be received by the Department provides substantially greater utility to the resource management programs of the Department than the land or interests in land being conveyed out by the Department;
• The Commissioner has determined that any proposed use of the land or interests in land to be exchanged, if known at the time of the exchange, is consistent with the State Conservation and Development Policies Plan; and
• Except in extraordinary circumstances, the land or interest in land being conveyed out by the Department will be conveyed subject to: 1) a conservation or other easement or similar encumbrance in favor of the state ensuring that any restriction on such land or interest in land that was in effect immediately prior to the exchange remains in effect after the exchange; and 2) a reverter clause stipulating that the land or interest in land will revert back to the DEEP if the easement or similar encumbrance is violated or not upheld. Any finding of extraordinary circumstances shall not apply to land subject to Conn. Gen. Stat. § 23-8a.

Mr. Nelson proposed exchanging approximately 11.275 acres of other lands he owns in Hartland that abuts Peoples State Forest and is located off of Center Hill Road for approximately 2.439 acres of the State-owned Tunxis State Forest.

DEEP evaluated this proposal and determined by that:

• the to be conveyed that has been impacted by the encroachment is not subject to any terms or conditions that would prevent an exchange;
• the land to be conveyed is not integral or significant to the resource management programs or other DEEP business purposes, and the land being exchanged provides substantially greater utility to DEEP’s resource management programs;
• the value of the land being exchanged is greater than that to be conveyed; and
• the land being conveyed by DEEP will be conveyed with a conservation restriction and reverter clause. 

The property to be transferred contains the following:

Buildings in use
Buildings not in use
Wooded land
 Nonagricultural fields
 Active agriculture
 Paved areas
 Ponds, streams or other water

Water Supply:   Public water supply   On-site well    Unknown
Waste Disposal:    Served by sewers    On-site septic system    Unknown

of Form

The Connecticut Conservation and Development Policies Plan identifies the property as being in the following categories:

Regional Center
Neighborhood Conservation Area
Growth Area
 Rural Community Center
 Rural Area
 Conservation Area

 Preservation Area

 Existing Preserved Open Space

The property is in the following municipal zone:

Not zoned
Residential
Industrial
 Commercial
 Institutional
 Other: 
 Not known 

Value of property, if known: $15,000

If checked, value is not known.

Type of Sale or Transfer:

Sale or transfer of property in fee

Sale or transfer of partial interest in the property (such as an easement).  Description of interest:

         

Proposed recipient, if known:  Daniel Nelson

Proposed use by property recipient, if known:  Continue existing residential and recreational uses with no additional development, pursuant the conservation restriction and reverter clause described below. 

The agency is proposing to transfer the property with the following restrictions on future uses: The property will be transferred with a conservation restriction preventing any additional improvements on the property and a reverter clause that will cause the conveyed land to revert to DEEP if the conservation restriction is violated or not upheld.

Reason the State of Connecticut is proposing to transfer this property:  The property owner is willing to transfer 11.275 acres of other nearby land, with an appraised value of $65,000, which will provide better access to a section of Tunxis State Forest in exchange for 2.439 acres of land valued at $15,000 that is of substantially less utility, even before impacted by an encroachemnt.  The 11.275 acres are shown on the survey by following this link.

Comments from the public are welcome and will be accepted until the close of business on: March 5, 2015

Comments may include information that you have about significant natural resources or recreation resources on the property, as well as your recommendations for means to preserve such resources.

Written comments* should be sent to:

Name:	Patrick O’Brien
Title:	Bureau of Assets Management
Agency:	Office of Policy and Management
Address:	450 Capitol Avenue MS#52 ASP
	Hartford, CT 06106-1379
E-Mail:	Patrick.Obrien@ct.gov

*E-Mail submissions are preferred.

What Happens Next

When this comment period closes, the proposed land transfer can take one of three tracks:

1.   If no public comments are received, the sale or transfer can proceed with no further public comment and no further notices in the Environmental Monitor, unless the Department of Environmental Protection elects to conduct a review of the property (see #3).

2.   If public comments are received, the Office of Policy and Management will respond to those comments.  The comments and responses will be published in the Environmental Monitor.  Fifteen days after publication of the comments and responses, the proposed sale or transfer can proceed, unless the Department of Environmental Protection elects to conduct a review of the property (see #3).

3.   If the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) elects to conduct a further review of the property, it may submit to the Office of Policy and Management a report with recommendations for preserving all or part of the property.  The report and recommendations will be published in the Environmental Monitor, and there will be a 30-day public comment period.  The DEP will publish its responses to any comments received and its final recommendation about the property in the Environmental Monitor.  The Office of Policy and Management will then make the final determination as to the ultimate disposition of the property, and will publish that determination in the Environmental Monitor.  Fifteen days after publication of that final determination, the sale or transfer can proceed.

To find out if this proposed transfer is the subject of further notices, check future editions of the Environmental Monitor.  Sign up for e-alerts to receive a reminder e-mail on publication dates.