Lands We Seek to Protect:

Qualifying Criteria

Maui Coastal Land Trust Takes its Stewardship Role Seriously

Once the land trust accepts a conservation easement or acquires fee interest in conservation lands, the Land Trust must protect the property "in perpetuity". This is a significant commitment for the limited financial and personnel resources of the Trust, but it is a promise that can never be ignored or broken. Consequently, the members of the Land Trust's Board of Directors must carefully evaluate each proposed easement with respect to the Land Trust's conservation goals and managerial abilities. The land selection criteria described below were established:

• To ensure that the Land Trust uses its limited resources most efficiently
• To avoid projects that could create an unreasonable liability
• To ensure that the Land Trust has a rational, defensible program of conservation that benefits the public
• To provide a sound basis to say No as well as Yes to a project.

Maui Coastal Land Trust's conservation goals are sufficiently broad to include a wide variety of lands. In support of these goals, the following criteria are used to evaluate lands being considered for protection by the Land Trust.

Goals and Purposes Checklist:

To qualify for selection, property must meet all of these criteria:

• The property is located in Maui County
• The property protects and preserves coastal areas of Maui
• The protection of coastal lands be consistent with the Maui County General Plan
• Acquisition would protect coastal lands under threat from either existing or foreseeable development within the county
• Protection of this property aids sound land use planning, promotes land conservation and encourages careful stewardship of coastal lands.

Public Benefit Checklist, including natural resource value:

To qualify for selection a property must meet one or more of these criteria, although the preference would be that the project achieves several of the benefits listed below:

• Is in a relatively undisturbed natural, scenic or cultural condition and has recreational, scenic, cultural, or environmental value.
• Protects habitat significant for plants and/or animals or geologic features including sand dunes.
• Provides recreation close to larger population centers.
• Protects or prevents degradation of water quality and/or enhances or maintains the water quality of the marine environment.
• Provides public access to the coastal area including a suitable road or path from a public road or public land.
• Provides benefits to the broad community rather than a narrow segment of residents.
• Provides recreation for the public such as swimming, surfing, snorkeling, hiking, fishing, boat launch, windsurfing and/or picnicking.
• Contains significant historical, archeological or cultural features
• Has a history of cultural use.
• Is currently designated as park, open space, public/quasi public in the regional Community Plans.
• Buffers wetlands, wildlife habitats or other sensitive areas.
• Provides a buffer for, or is close or contiguous to, an existing conservation easement, park, preserve or other protected land or marine area.
• Provides scenic views from public roadways, waterways or recreational areas.
• Provides public access for education or recreation.
• Sets an important precedent for resource or open space protection in a targeted area.
• Has been reviewed and recommended for acquisition by an appropriate commission or advisory committee established for that purpose, e.g., Scenic Corridors Study, Mayor's Beach Advisory Committee, the Beach Management Plan, the Special Committee on Acquisition Criteria, etc.

Feasibility Checklist:

Factors that may preclude Trust involvement: A property may meet the selection criteria favoring a land protection proposal and still may not be accepted if one or more of the following considerations apply:

• The property's values are primarily scenic, but are not readily visible or accessible to the general public
• The property is not large enough to be significant for its purpose and there is little likelihood of adjacent properties being protected.
• There is not sufficient parking available for the public to enjoy the land.
• The proposed open space is part of a development proposal which, overall, is likely to have significant adverse impacts on coastal, conservation resources.
• Adjacent properties are being or likely to be, developed in a manner that would significantly diminish the conservation values of the property in question.
• There is reason to believe that the land/easement would be unusually difficult to manage/enforce, for example, because of multiple or fractured ownership, clouded title, property line disputes, outstanding mortgages, difficulty in accessing the and, frequent incidence of destructive trespassing, fencing restrictions, or potential danger to users.
• Sufficient monies are not provided or are not available for stewardship responsibilities and long term maintenance costs including regular monitoring, legal fees, litter removal, fencing, invasive plant removal, and for other safety considerations.
• The landowner insists on provisions in a conservation easement that the Trust believes would seriously diminish the property's primary conservation value or the Trust's ability to enforce the easement.
• The property cannot be acquired by the Trust with reasonable effort in relation to the property's conservation value.
• The property is irreparably contaminated.
• Ethical or public image problems exist in association with the acceptance of this project.
• Another entity would be better able to protect the property.

The Board's Discretionary Role

All of the preceding notwithstanding, the Board of Directors retains discretion over acquisition or disposition of lands and will evaluate each project and proposal on its own merits after careful investigation of the property, its resources, and its public benefits.

Land Acquisition for Other Purposes

The Board of Directors may choose to:

• Accept land with the understanding and agreement of the owner that it may be traded or sold to produce revenue.
• Accept land with the intention of transferring the land to the state, county or other organization if such land furthers the MCLT objectives.
• Accept land if the property is given for the purpose of producing income for the Trust's efforts.

Since the transfer of property is a legal process, an attorney handles the Land Trust's part in transactions. Donors must rely on their own attorneys, appraisers and tax specialists in order to insure that they receive personal and objective representation during negotiations and appropriate benefit from the transfer.

As the Land Trust considers each proposal for land protection, it must determine how it will hold its interest in the property. Conservation easements, outright land gifts, and trade property are the usual methods of acceptance. Other arrangements may be negotiated. For more information, please call Maui Coastal Land Trust at 244-5263. Your inquiry will be treated as confidential and without further obligation.