Thursday, September 16, 1999
Land conservancy forms in county
BY RACHEL MELCER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A group of Hamilton County residents, weary of fighting officials over plans for their land, have decided to take it into their own hands.
The land, that is.
They are forming the Citizens' Land Conservancy of Hamilton County, Ohio, and joining the growing ranks of disgruntled property owners nationwide.
They will accept donations of property and conservation easements, as well as cash and grants to be used to buy land being threatened by development. The acreage will be preserved for posterity in its pris tine state.
“We want to preserve these wooded embankments and hills and streams for generations to come — forever,” said Tim Mara, a charter member and attorney for the conservancy.
He has filed articles of incorporation with the state and soon will seek nonprofit status for the group. Members are receiving training and information from the national Land Trust Alliance. Then their work will begin in earnest.
The conservancy is forming out of the ashes of opposition to the county's recently approved 20-year development plan for western Hamilton County.
Its charter members feel rebuffed by county commissioners' approval of the document that they say will bring rapid growth to their quiet hills and farm fields. They will likely be among the first to seek conservation easements to protect their land.
And, if funds are donated or become available through grants, they may be able to compete with the lucrative offers of developers.
“We keep saying that we should have done this 10 years ago,” said Clare Johnson, a Colerain Township resident and vocal member of Concerned Citizens of Western Hamilton County.
“Development is going on now, already. The last five years has seen more green space disappear — I don't have figures, but all you have to do is drive down the road to see it.”
People who worry that their heirs might one day be tempted to sell off their land, or be forced to in order to pay inheritance tax, can eliminate the possibility with easements.
And they can guard against rising property tax assess ments by removing the possibility of development and, in effect, devaluing their own land. Even donation of the easement is tax-deductible.
That strikes at officials' plans to develop the six western townships in order to boost the county tax base.
In the end, land protection rests with its owners. Those tempted by big development dollars will likely sell, while others may choose to resist.
“He or she could make a lot of money if they wanted to, but they have a greater value for the environment,” Mr. Mara said. “And there is nothing (the county) can do. It's absolute property rights.”
Nationally, about 4.7 million acres are being protected by more than 1,200 land trusts. And the movement is growing: there are 63 percent more trusts than existed a decade ago.
But county officials point out that their plans always hinged on property owners' rights.
“What we're trying to do is guide the development. ... But if somebody doesn't want to sell their land, then we work around it and we just don't use that land,” said Commissioner John Dowlin, who championed the western Hamilton County plan. “It's up to the private citizen.”
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