Couple Give Land to Open Space Preserve

Conejo Valley residents can add four more acres to their precious stash of permanent open space. David and Judy Gordon of Los Angeles are donating three parcels of vacant land near the intersection of Drake Drive and Woodridge Avenue to the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency.

“We felt it helped the community to preserve that lovely area,” David Gordon said. “We live in the hills here and appreciate open space.” He added that he and his wife regularly visit Ventura County.

The donation is significant because the property--sitting on a steep slope--is next to the Hillcrest section of the North Ranch Open Space Preserve, said agency coordinator Mark Towne. Not only does it add to the preserve’s acreage, the property supports coastal sage scrub, which is a good wildlife habitat, Towne said.

David Magney, a botanist and conservation chair of the Channel Islands chapter of the California Native Plant Society, said coastal sage scrub is “a plant community at risk.” Very little of it is protected, said Magney, who is surveying the amount of the drought-resistant plant clusters in Ventura County for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

In exchange for the land, the open-space agency--run jointly by the city of Thousand Oaks and the Conejo Recreation and Park District--is paying the Gordons’ current property taxes and will pick up the tab for a title report and real estate appraisal. The agency will not spend more than $5,000 in the deal. The couple will also receive tax benefits for the donation.