Proposed RV park along Platte River dead in the water

The controversial RV park that was proposed along the Platte River near Valley has been dropped.

Brad Brown, who builds high-end homes in the Omaha area, had proposed developing what he described as Nebraska’s “premier RV park” along the river near Valley. The plan would have put about 250 RVs on land that abuts about .75 miles of riverfront immediately downstream of the Sokol Camp residential area.

The land is being sold to someone else instead, The World-Herald has learned.

Valley Mayor Cindy Grove said Brown’s attorney informed the city that “the property was no longer a strategic fit (for Brown) and he is pursuing other opportunities.”

Brown did not respond to a World-Herald request for comment.

The proposal had sparked a backlash by neighbors who said the development would bring noise, congestion and increased flood risks. The development would have been on the river side of the levee.

Mary Kroupa, a member of the Sokol Camp board, said the board has been informed that the land has been sold and will not be developed into an RV park.

“We are elated,” said Kroupa, who is the treasurer for the board and who was the lead resident in the legal fight against the RV park.

Sokol Camp residents took the City of Valley to court earlier this month over the city’s conditional approval of a conditional use permit for the RV park. The council’s vote had come after the city’s planning commission rejected the development.

Valley Attorney Jeff Farnham said the council had planned to go into executive session at Tuesday evening’s budget hearing to discuss the suit. That no longer will be necessary, he said.

Rich Tesar, who lives in the Sokol Camp and serves on the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District board, echoed Kroupa’s elation. The NRD had advised the city that the development could increase the potential for damage from flooding.

“This will put to rest a real struggle for those of us living in the Sokol Camp subdivision,” he said.