Posted on 01/01/2010 2:00:23 AM PST by nickcarraway
Metallica rock band leader James Hetfield has donated to Marin County a 330-acre agricultural conservation easement near his home on land overlooking Lucas Valley. The Marin Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously accepted donation of the easement, which precludes development on the land known as the Luiz Ranch.
"This is a really exciting offer," said Supervisor Steve Kinsey. He said Hetfield was "taking a break from heavy metal to become a heavy contributor to our agricultural conservation efforts.
"It's another indication of a continuing effort to improve our partnerships on that important ridge and I think it reflects very positively on him." The donation is adjacent to another 438.5 acres that Hetfield donated previously as an open space easement. Both donations essentially vacate development rights on the land, preserving it for open space and agriculture, while also providing a massive ring of open space around Hetfield's home and property.
"There is a philanthropic bent here, but there is clearly also a preservation of privacy, which is very important to the Hetfield family," said Scott Hochstrasser, Hetfield's land use consultant. "This donation shows the continued willingness of the Hetfield family to be a positive and progressive part of the community and a family that respects public policy and the preservation of the beauty of open space in Marin, which is their home."
donation is entirely separate from his ongoing negotiations with the county over placement of a trail along a Terra Linda hilltop that bypasses the Luiz Ranch Fire Trail, which crosses Hetfield's property. Hetfield's recent construction of a 300-foot-long fence across the trail to keep people from hiking and riding across it sparked an outcry from hikers, bikers and equestrians.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
will they no longer collect taxes on this land?
agricultural conservation efforts??
Does that mean we don’t grow food? or something?
Has to be one of the most beautiful areas of The USA.
Well, the article suggests that some of it may be set aside for agriculture, in fact.
However, this will change when environmentalists find some ‘species’ of ‘unique’ beetle or something and then the EPA will step-in and make this a Wildlife Preserve. The Granola-Eaters will still use the trails, though.
Sad but True.
>Metallica have been taking a break from Heavy Metal since the late 90’s.
Right after Cliff died, they were on permanent vacation from “heavy metal”.
Putting land aside for preservation raises the price of other land and thus house prices. Why do people think it is noble to price the middle class out of housing? One reason California had so many interest-only mortgages, which were later defaulted upon because the “owners” had no equity, is that many people could not afford the payments on amortizing mortgages, because house prices were so high. Thomas Sowell has discussed this.
He should donate land for peace!!!
From what I know about Marin County, it is a very, very rich place. I can understand perfectly why someone who lives there would want to prop up real estate prices. It helps to keep out the riff-raff.
“Metallica have been taking a break from Heavy Metal since the late 90’s.”
They haven’t had a good album since Master of Puppets. And Justice for All was overrated garbage. Everything else, well, at least garbage can be somewhat reused as fertelizer.
The riff-raff go to Novato.
and nothing else matters...
“will they no longer collect taxes on this land?”
Bingo! We have a winner!
Counties across the land are using this as a means to get control of land. “Give it to us or we will tax it from you!”
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am all for “open space”. I think we bunch ourselves too close together when we build cities and a few acres here and there really help to open things up, add some privacy, and help prevent congestion.
Here out West we don’t have too many natural barriers such as rivers, lakes, swamps, and ponds to naturally provide separation so have to artificially do it through open spaces. Denver is a perfect example of congestion. Everything is packed tight, yet, there are miles and miles of open space surrounding Denver.
‘And Justice For All’ was good...
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