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The
County Board approves leaving 214 private acres near Valley undeveloped.
By Tom Shaw
Almost 214 acres in western Douglas County will remain undeveloped under
a measure unanimously approved by the County Board this week. The land,
located between the Ginger Cove subdivision west of Valley and the
Platte River, will stay private property. However, the owners have given
up the right to develop it for residential or commercial purposes.
The land is owned by Ginger Woods Reserve, which was organized by
Waterloo businessman Dave Janke. Janke also is a member of the County
Planning Commission.
Janke and his partners bought the land from a family last year and
decided to grant it to the Nebraska Land Trust Incorporated. The trust
has similar agreements in other parts of the state to set up preserves
called conservation easements.
Warren Whitted, attorney for the Ginger Woods Reserve, said that the
land will remain in its current state, except for possible planting of
trees or underbrush.
Whitted said the group plans to use the land for recreational purposes
such as hunting and nature walks.
Douglas County commissioners had to sign off on the designation to
ensure that it fits with the master plan for the county. The land is in
the flood plain and has sandy soil. Other parts of land in the area have
been used in the past as gravel pits. Taxes are still paid on the land,
though the group can record the difference between the potential value
of the land and the value after the designation as a charitable donation
and receive some tax breaks. The Planning Commission recommended that
the County Board approve the plan, with Janke abstaining.
This is the third such conservation easement in Douglas County, the
second involving Janke. He earlier helped get the same designation for a
piece of land between Elkhorn and Valley.
Land was recently set aside by groups in Washington and Saunders
Counties, as well as other parts of Nebraska, Whitted said. He said that
although the land remains private property, the public benefits because
it is kept in its natural state.
END
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