(a) Heritage preserves shall be held by the state in trust for the benefit of the present and future generations of the people of the State of Georgia. Each heritage preserve shall be put to the designated use or uses which confer the best and most important benefit to the public. Heritage preserves shall not be put to any use other than the dedicated use or uses except pursuant to the following procedure:

(1) A state agency, department, or authority with a direct interest in the use of a heritage preserve must submit in writing a petition to the board that an imperative and unavoidable necessity for such other use exists;

(2) Upon receipt of such petition, the board shall give public hearing thereon in the county or counties in which the heritage preserve is located;

(3) The board shall consider fully all testimony relative to the proposed use and submit a recommendation to the General Assembly; and

(4) The General Assembly may then determine if such use is in the public interest and may by statute approve such other use of the heritage preserve.

(b) The State of Georgia and the Department of Natural Resources may convey fee simple title in a property dedicated as a heritage preserve under Code Section 12-3-75 for good and valuable consideration as determined by the State Properties Commission to a willing county or local government pursuant to the following procedures:

(1) The department shall submit a request in writing to the board to remove the heritage preserve dedication from the property and to convey the property to the county or local government, subject to the grant of a perpetual conservation easement to the State of Georgia and the department that is consistent with the best and most important uses established in the written recommendation and approval of the Governor dedicating the property as a heritage preserve and the conservation values identified by the department, as well as any other restrictions applicable to the property;

(2) The board shall make a determination, after a public hearing, that the removal of the heritage preserve dedication from the property and its conveyance to the county or local government subject to a conservation easement is in the best interest of the State of Georgia;

(3) The conveyance is approved by the General Assembly and the State Properties Commission; and

(4) The department shall file with the Secretary of State and the office of the clerk of the superior court of the county or counties in which the property is located a notice of the removal of the heritage preserve dedication simultaneously with the recordation of the conservation easement in the real property records of the county or counties in which the property is located.

(c) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed so as to give county or local governments the authority to assign their interests in property conveyed pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section to a private individual or entity.

(d) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed so as to compel a county or local government to accept conveyance of a heritage preserve, and no conveyance shall take place without the approval of the local governing authority.

(e) In the event that a county or local government that is in receipt of property pursuant to this Code section determines that it is in the best interest of the county or local government, fee simple title to the property may, if approved by the department and the State Properties Commission, revert to the State of Georgia.