NR 51.005 NoteNote: The following information is from ch. Adm 92. Under s. Adm 92.01 (14), “an owner occupant who voluntarily sells a property to a displacing agency not vested with eminent domain power” is not a displaced person and is not entitled to relocation assistance. Tenants who occupy a property are entitled to relocation assistance even if the owner is voluntarily selling the property. Under s. Adm 92.01 (14) (b) 4., a “tenant-occupant of a dwelling who has been promptly notified that he or she will not be displaced by the project” but who can remain permanently on the property subject to normal rental conditions and provisions may not be a displaced person who qualifies for relocation assistance so long as they are not required by the sponsor to move. Under s. Adm 92.01 (33), relocation assistance shall apply to all stewardship grants where the total of stewardship grants and all other public financial assistance or direct government acquisition costs in a project are at least $25,000 for a project with total costs of less than $50,000; or at least 50 percent in a project having total costs of $50,000 or more. NR 51.005(7)(7) Sponsors may not discriminate against any person in the use and enjoyment of the property on the basis of age, race, creed, color, handicap, marital status, conviction record, arrest record, gender, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation or military status. NR 51.005(8)(8) Negotiations between the sponsor and landowner shall be conducted on a willing seller - willing buyer basis. The department may require the sponsor to inform the landowner in writing that the sponsor may apply for a stewardship grant. NR 51.005(9)(9) The department shall have access to land acquired or developed with a stewardship grant in order to monitor compliance with the grant contract or carry out any management activity necessary to ensure the public’s rights and safety. The department may require project sponsors to conduct self-inspections of these properties and periodically submit reports to the department. NR 51.005(10)(10) With prior written approval of the department, the sponsor may transfer the property acquired under this chapter to a third party that is not a creditor of the organization and that is eligible to receive a grant under this chapter, or is an agency of the state of Wisconsin or U.S. government. Department approval of the transfer is not valid until the assignment is signed by the department and recorded in the appropriate county register of deeds office. Except as provided in s. NR 51.968 (2) (b), transfers of property shall include all of the following conditions: NR 51.005(10)(a)(a) All conditions and restrictions, including public uses, imposed by the grant contract and land management plan shall run with the property. NR 51.005(10)(b)(b) Any subsequent owners shall execute an assignment that states that the new owners have received and reviewed the grant contract and land management plan and shall abide by their provisions. NR 51.005(11)(11) The department may choose to accept a transfer of property acquired under this chapter. NR 51.005(12)(12) If required by s. 23.0917 (6m) (c), Stats., grants awarded under this chapter shall be reviewed by the joint committee on finance of the state legislature. NR 51.005(12m)(12m) The department shall report to the natural resources board on all grant applications that require review by the joint committee on finance of the state legislature as required by s. 23.0917 (6m) (c), Stats. NR 51.005(13)(13) A sponsor that violates the terms of the grant contract may not be eligible to apply for future grants under this chapter until the department determines that the violation is corrected and that the sponsor is once again operating in accordance with the terms of the grant contract. NR 51.005 HistoryHistory: CR 10-127: cr. Register February 2012 No. 674, eff. 3-1-12; correction in (6) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats. NR 51.006NR 51.006 Requirements for land acquisition projects. NR 51.006(1)(1) Grant cost share. Except for grants issued under ss. 23.0917 (4m) (i) and (j), and 23.096 (2m), Stats., the department shall award grants for up to 50 percent of the acquisition cost. The remainder of the acquisition cost shall come from sponsor match. The sponsor shall indicate all known sources of sponsor match when the grant application is submitted to the department, and dedicated match shall be specifically identified. NR 51.006(2)(2) Acquisition cost calculation. The acquisition cost of donated and acquired property is either the fair market value and other costs approved by the department according to s. NR 51.002 (1), or may be the owner’s purchase price plus the annual adjustment increase, as specified in s. 23.0917 (7) (b), (c), or (d), Stats., when the seller has owned the property for less than three years. NR 51.006 NoteNote: A copy of department appraisal guidelines are available from the DNR, Bureau of Community Financial Assistance, Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707.
NR 51.006(3)(3) Property used as a portion of sponsor match. NR 51.006(3)(a)(a) With approval of the department, the sponsor may use up to 50 percent of the fair market value of a donated property or of a property purchased with other than state funds as all or part of sponsor match, but only to the extent that stewardship grant assistance is needed to acquire the subject parcel, and if the donated property is acquired by the sponsor within 3 years of the date that the subject parcel is to be acquired. NR 51.006(3)(b)(b) The amount that may be used for sponsor match shall equal the fair market value or the amount of money needed by the sponsor for the purchase, whichever is less. The grant payment may not exceed the amount of money actually needed for the purchase. NR 51.006(3)(c)(c) Donations of property are eligible as sponsor match only if the match property is eligible for the same stewardship grant program as the property being acquired. The match property shall be encumbered in perpetuity by the conditions and restrictions of that stewardship program purpose. NR 51.006(3)(d)(d) If approved by the department, any residual value from an approved property match that is not utilized as sponsor match for a grant application may be used for sponsor match in subsequent grant applications. The sponsor has 36 months following the date that the department issued the original grant under this chapter to submit future applications that will use the residual value. This paragraph shall not apply to subchapter XVII. NR 51.006 NoteNote: For example: A sponsor wishes to buy Parcel A with a fair market value of $14,000, but a purchase price of only $10,000. Parcel B, with fair market value of $20,000, has been donated to the sponsor by another landowner and the sponsor uses Parcel B as its sponsor match for grant purposes. When grant funding is provided by the department, both Parcels A and B become part of the program. The total value of both Parcel A and Parcel B is $14,000 + $20,000 = $34,000. A grant under this chapter will normally not exceed 50 percent of the total project costs, or 50 percent x $34,000 = $17,000. However, because it only cost the sponsor $10,000 to purchase Parcel A, a grant award of $17,000 would result in profit for the sponsor. Therefore, the grant award to the sponsor can only be $10,000. The remaining $7,000 in value may be used as match by the sponsor for a subsequent application within 36 months of the date the Department issues the grant contract for both Parcels A and B.
NR 51.006(3)(e)(e) Property acquired through a lawfully required subdivision parkland dedication or through condemnation is not eligible to be used as sponsor match. NR 51.006(4)(4) Signage. Sponsors shall acknowledge the state’s assistance in acquiring fee title or easement ownership of a property, and provide notice of public access with content that meets the requirements in s. 23.09165 (3), Stats., by placement of signs or in any other manner approved by the department. The department may provide one-time cost-sharing to eligible project sponsors for signage consistent with the requirements of s. 23.09165 (3), Stats., with cost-share not to exceed $1,000, even if property being signed was purchased in part with a Stewardship grant before March 1, 2012. NR 51.006(5)(5) Public access. As a condition of the grant contract, a sponsor acquiring property through title in fee simple with a grant under this subchapter shall ensure that the property is available for public access as provided in s. 23.0916, Stats. The department may grant exceptions to this access requirement in accordance with s. 23.0916, Stats., and ch. NR 52. NR 51.006(6)(a)(a) For easements acquired with a stewardship grant, the sponsor may not convert or approve conversion of land encumbered by the easement to uses inconsistent with the easement or the grant contract. NR 51.006(6)(b)(b) When a stewardship grant is awarded for acquisition of an easement, the sponsor shall prepare a baseline document, approved by the landowner and available to the department for inspection, before grant payments are made.