Santa Clara County Victory Protects Ranchlands



by Denice Dade

The Committee for Green Foothills, along with other conservation groups, successfully lobbied the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors to stop development of two golf courses and 137 luxury estate homes on the 5,000-acre Sargeant Ranch, south of Gilroy. Wayne Pierce, luxury home/golf course developer and owner of Sargeant Ranch, submitted a General Plan amendment proposal to rezone his property from "Ranchlands" to "Hillside," eliminating some of the obstacles to development. As required for such a development in Hillside zoning, Pierce would have set aside 90% of the land as "open space." However, both golf courses — one in federally-listed red-legged frog habitat — were included in Pierce's "open space" designation.

As the impact of the development became widely known, concerted opposition mounted. The Committee for Green Foothills, Greenbelt Alliance and the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, the City of San Jose, County Planning Staff, and the San Jose Mercury News joined in opposing this project. As pressure on the Board of Supervisors increased, Pierce withdrew his proposed General Plan amendment, saving Sargeant Ranch from the bulldozers — at least, for now.

Why rezoning Ranchlands is a bad idea
Allowing a zoning change for Sargeant Ranch would establish a precedent and open the floodgates for similar General Plan amendment applications by other ranch owners wanting to cash in. With a Sargeant Ranch precedent, it would be difficult for the County to deny these requests.

When Ranchlands are rezoned as Hillside, their value skyrockets. Golf courses, country clubs, retreat centers, subdivisions, and RV parks can be built on lands zoned as Hillside. Piecemeal Ranchlands-to-Hillside rezoning would chew into the County's 320,000 acres of agricultural land, putting the County's long tradition of ranching at risk.

When Ranchlands are rezoned to allow development, their value increases astronomically — placing them far beyond the reach of conservation groups interested in acquiring private lands and converting them to public open space. The Nature Conservancy, the Land Trust for Santa Clara County and the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority cannot afford to purchase land at the escalated value of estate homes and golf courses. As a result, far less land is available to meet the public open space needs of a rapidly expanding community.

The value of Ranchlands
Ranchlands provide valuable open space. Lands free from development, to a large degree, are made up of the ranches that were established in the days of early California. Many of the broad vistas that have been converted to public open space were at one time ranches. Working ranches serve to sustain us and to provide that connection with the land that we need as a people. Ranchlands properties provide an important source for new open space. Their importance increases as we develop with greater intensity.

County protections for ranches
The County has strong ranching roots, and much of the land to the south remains as large ranches. To preserve this tradition, the County created specific Ranchlands protections in the General Plan. County ranches cannot be significantly subdivided and intense development is not allowed.

Santa Clara County has a long history of keeping urban development in cities, because it makes good economic sense. Remote development in the hills is expensive. When development is concentrated in cities, it's easier to provide fire protection, police patrols, and nearby schools. Remote developments cost taxpayers a fortune. Allowing piecemeal development of Ranchlands would break from the County's wise tradition.

Upholding the integrity of the General Plan
The strong opposition to the project convinced the Board to uphold the integrity of the County's General Plan and protect Ranchlands from intensified development. Knowing the project did not have the support of the Board, Pierce withdrew his application before the Board could publicly reject it.

It is quite possible that the Board may see a revised proposal sometime in the future. Until then, this is a great victory for open space and ranching in Santa Clara County.