| 5. Interests acquired; permanence. The board may acquire |
real estate interests in accordance with this section directly |
from willing property owners and may make acquisition grants to |
local governments, to organizations qualified to hold |
conservation easements under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title |
33, chapter 7, subchapter 8-A and to organizations determined by |
the board to be capable of holding other less-than-fee interests |
that are designed to protect access to working waterfront |
properties. Grants made pursuant to this section are for the |
purpose of acquiring real property in both fee and less-than-fee |
simple interest, including, but not limited to, conservation |
easements, access easements and other permanent interests in |
land. The board shall include as a condition of any acquisition |
and grant made under this section the requirement that the |
protected property may not be used, altered or developed in a |
manner that precludes its use by commercial fisheries businesses. |
As an additional condition, the board must retain a permanent |
right of first refusal on any property acquired in fee or |
protected by conservation easement or other less-than-fee |
interests. Exercise of the right of first refusal must be at a |
price determined by an independent professional appraiser based |
on the value of the property to a commercial fisheries business |
at the time of exercise of the right. The board may assign this |
right to a commercial fisheries business or to a local government |
if, in the board's judgment, such an assignment is consistent |
with the purposes of this section. To the extent permissible by |
law, if the board determines that the public purposes of a grant |
made under this section are no longer served, the board in its |
sole discretion may terminate a grant agreement made under this |
section conditional on repayment of the original grant amount or |
an amount equal to that proportion of the then-current value of |
the protected real estate that represents that the ratio of the |
original grant amount to the original fee interest value at the |