Parks and Recreation System Master Plan Update (2016) parks_and_recreation_system_master_plan_update_oct | Page 187

donations, bargain sales, or acquisitions. They can also act more quickly than government, and
thus sometimes function to secure land and hold it until a later date when it can be transferred
or sold on to the local government.
Land trusts can provide planning assistance in identifying “limited development” options
for landowners who wish to capitalize on some of the development potential of their land
without significantly compromising its environmental and aesthetic quality. Such assistance
involves developing a land use plan which protects the most environmentally significant portion
of the property while designating less important areas to be subdivided and sold for
development. This approach typically results in substantially less development than would be
permitted by regulation. Land trusts are often able to secure easements or donations of land as
part of this process.
A related role for a land trust lies in acquiring land parcels which contain both areas
desired for preservation and areas which may be developed. By acquiring the whole parcel and
then selling the portion most suitable for development, perhaps with enhanced value through a
preliminary subdivision approval, the trust can secure protection of the more critical
preservation area while using revenue from the sale to pay off the initial acquisition cost.
There were two land trusts operating in Jefferson County at the time of the 1995 Plan.
Established in 1993, Future Fund, Inc., had a target of preserving 5,000 to 10,000 acres of land
along Floyds Fork.. Riverfields, Inc. has recently purchased land for open space on the Ohio
River. National organizations such as the Trust for Public Land may also play an important
contributory role in protecting Jefferson County open space.
Land trusts are often the most effective entity through which to implement a
conservation easement program because many individuals feel more comfortable making
donations to non-governmental organizations. However, easements can be held by both public
and private entities.
2016 Status
No county-wide nonprofit land trust has emerged since the 1995 plan but County
Judge/Executive David L. Armstrong and the Fiscal Court formed a quasi-governmental land
trust the Jefferson County Environmental Trust in 1997 to work with private landowners who
wanted to conserve their land. After merger, this land trust became the Louisville/Jefferson
County Environmental Trust and continues to work with private land owners, public agencies
and other land trusts and nonprofit organizations on land conservation issues. The Trust reviews
offers of conservation easements by private landowners and makes recommendations to Metro
Council which must approve or deny the offers. The Trust also oversees the monitoring of the
properties on which Metro Government holds easements to ensure that the terms of the
easements are upheld in perpetuity.
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VII. IMPLEMENTATION | October 2016 Update