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The Fatal Flaw In Open Space Preservation

Posted by: Chris Steins
Thanks to: transport-policy listserv
28 January 2003 - 2:00pm

How long does land preservation really last? Should a dying man's will forever constrain his property?

"Northen voluntarily gave up the rights to develop the 81-acre parcel. The agency locked those rights away in a contract called a conservation easement. Both sides figured the deal was forever. Maybe not. Northen died in 1986. The Mary Moody Northen Endowment, a nonprofit group she established in her will, owns the land now and wants to sell it for development... The Moody property is worth about $35,000 with the restrictions on it - and about $7 million without them, endowment officials say."

Full Story: Protected property?
Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch, January 24, 2003
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