16 U.S.C. § 460x–2 — Designation of lakeshore areas

submitted 56 years ago by Pub. L. 91-479 to r/title-16-CONSERVATION · 644 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

This section divides the Sleeping Bear Dunes Lakeshore into three zones: public-use land, environmental conservation land, and private-use land. The Secretary generally can only buy full ownership of public-use land, while conservation and private-use land get lighter restrictions if owners agree to follow the rules. Owners who don't cooperate can still have their land bought outright.

(a) Area categories; publication in Federal Register: Within thirty days after October 21, 1970 (or as soon as possible after that), the Secretary had to publish a map or description in the Federal Register, dividing the lakeshore into three categories: Category I, public use and development areas; Category II, environmental conservation areas; and Category III, private use and development areas. (b) Acquisition of lands and interests therein of category I areas: The Secretary may buy land and interests in Category I areas following the acquisition methods laid out in section 460x–7 of this title. (c) Designation of lands as within categories II and III for acquisition by Secretary; publication in Federal Register: Within one hundred fifty days after October 21, 1970, the Secretary had to publish an additional map or description, showing which Category II and III lands — if any — he planned to buy outright (in fee), using the methods in section 460x–7. (d) Acquisition of interests in lands designated as category II; limitations: Except as subsection (f) allows, once that second map was published, the Secretary could only acquire partial interests (not full ownership) in Category II land — and only interests the Secretary thought were needed to keep protecting the area's environmental quality. (e) Acquisition of interests in lands designated as category III; limitations: Except as subsection (f) allows, the Secretary could similarly only acquire partial interests in Category III land — whatever interests he thought were needed to protect land designated for acquisition. (f) Restrictions on use and development of real property in categories II and III: No later than one hundred fifty days after October 21, 1970, the Secretary had to notify owners of Category II and III property — except property already designated for full purchase — about the minimum restrictions on using and developing their land that would let them keep it. If an owner agreed to follow those restrictions, the Secretary could not buy the property or any interest in it without the owner's consent, for as long as the owner kept following the restrictions — unless the Secretary later determined the property was needed for public use or development. These same protections applied even to owners the Secretary failed to notify in time. But there was an exception: if an owner didn't agree, within 90 days of getting notice, to use the property according to the restrictions, the Secretary could then acquire the land without any limit, using any of the methods listed in section 460x–7. Finally, none of the limits in subsections (d), (e), or (f) stop the Secretary from buying full ownership without the owner's consent, whenever the Secretary judges that buying just a partial interest would cost almost as much as buying the property outright.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

(a) Area categories; publication in Federal Register

Within thirty days, or as soon as possible thereafter, after October 21, 1970, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a map or other description of the lakeshore delineating areas constituting the following categories:

Category I, public use and development areas.

Category II, environmental conservation areas.

Category III, private use and development areas.

(b) Acquisition of lands and interests therein of category I areas

Lands and interests therein designated as category I may be acquired by the Secretary in accordance with section 460x–7 of this title.

Within one hundred and fifty days after October 21, 1970, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register an additional map or other description of those lands, if any, designated as within categories II and III for acquisition by him in fee in accordance with section 460x–7 of this title.

(d) Acquisition of interests in lands designated as category II; limitations

Except as provided in subsection (f) of this section, the Secretary may, after the publication provided for in subsection (c), acquire only such interests in lands designated as category II, other than those to be acquired in fee simple, as he deems appropriate to insure the continued conservation and preservation of the environmental quality of the lakeshore.

(e) Acquisition of interests in lands designated as category III; limitations

Except as provided in subsection (f) of this section, the Secretary may, after the publication provided for in subsection (c), acquire only such interests in lands designated as category III, other than those lands to be acquired in fee simple, as he deems appropriate to protect lands designated for acquisition.

(f) Restrictions on use and development of real property in categories II and III; notification of owners by Secretary of minimum restrictions on use and development for retention of property; compliance with restrictions as barring acquisition by Secretary; applicability to owners not notified by Secretary; acquisition from owners not agreeing to use of property in accordance with notice; acquisition of fee simple title

Not later than one hundred and fifty days after October 21, 1970, the Secretary shall notify owners of real property in categories II and III, other than property designated by him for fee acquisition, of the minimum restrictions on use and development of such property under which such property can be retained in a manner compatible with the purpose for which the lakeshore was established. If the owner of any real property in categories II and III agrees to the use and development of his property in accordance with such restrictions, the Secretary may not acquire, without the consent of such owner, such property or interests therein for so long as the property affected is used in accordance with such restrictions, unless he determines that such property is needed for public use development. The foregoing limitations on acquisition shall also apply to any owners of real property to whom the Secretary did not, within the time set forth, give such a notice, except that if any property owner has not, within ninety days of the notice agreed to use the property in accordance with the notice, then the Secretary may acquire, without limitation, fee or lesser interests in property by any of the methods set forth in section 460x–7 of this title: Provided, That nothing contained in subsections (d) and (e), and in this subsection, which limits the acquisition of the fee simple title to property within the lakeshore, shall prevent the Secretary from acquiring, without the consent of the owner, the fee simple title whenever in the Secretary’s judgment the estimated cost of acquiring the lesser interest would be a substantial percentage of the estimated cost of acquiring the fee simple title.

Source credit: (Pub. L. 91–479, § 3, Oct. 21, 1970, 84 Stat. 1075.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1970Enacted · Pub. L. 91-479 · 84 Stat. 1075

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 91-479 on 1970-10-21.

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