A Letter of Thanks
and Update

Note: This article was printed in the Telegram Tribune on February 3, 2004. It has been reprinted with the permission of American Land Conservancy. It is intended to give an update, additional information and discuss the process on which the "Hearst Ranch Conservation Project" must go through before it is completed. Other than providing this news related article for this Web Site, the American Land Conservancy has no connection to the information published on this Web Site.

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Accord is "one of the most significant deals in history"

By Harriet Burgess, President, American Land Conservancy

February 3, 2004

As President of the American Land Conservancy, I would like to update readers on the Hearst Ranch conservation project, including news on our price agreement. I also wish to express our gratitude for all the community support we’ve received during this past year to forever protect the Hearst Ranch and to leave an awe-inspiring natural legacy for future generations.

By way of background, American Land Conservancy (ALC) secured an option agreement with the Hearst Corporation early last year regarding the 82,000-acre Hearst Ranch surrounding Hearst Castle. That agreement provided the parties one year to reach an accord on all terms of a conservation transaction and to secure funding to close the deal. Together, we have made remarkable progress.

To begin, ALC and Hearst have completed our substantive negotiations, and conservation easement documents covering the entire Ranch are being finalized. The terms of the deal are consistent with the published Conservation Framework, reflect the stated desires of the community, and ensure that the ecological, agricultural, scenic, and cultural resources of the Hearst Ranch are forever protected. As promised, San Simeon Point will not be developed; no resort and no golf courses will ever be located there. Importantly, notwithstanding Hearst’s 271 certificated lots (which could translate into as many as 400 new homesites) new owner homesites on the Ranch will be forever limited to 27 sites on the interior of the Ranch (they are prohibited west of the highway). Each homesite will be placed within a five-acre building envelope and subject to strict viewshed and habitat protection criteria. The sites will also be placed near existing roads and away from sensitive resource areas. Resorts, hotels, golf courses, bed and breakfast facilities, and other commercial uses allowable under current visitor serving zoning will be forever prohibited on the entire Ranch, with the exception of a small, historically-compatible development (with no more than 100 rooms) to be located at Old San Simeon Village.

Many rumors have circulated regarding the cost of conserving the Hearst Ranch, including media reports of $250 million. I am pleased to report that ALC’s agreed-upon price is actually $80 million in cash, and $15 million in state tax credits (tax credits are a necessary component to this price formula—if credits are unavailable the cash portion will be higher). The difference between the price that ALC will pay and the approved fair market value represents a very large charitable donation by the Hearst Corporation. ALC appraisers have indicated that land prices continue to rise in the region at a rate of one and a half percent per month. The price we negotiated, therefore, will thus grow farther and farther away from value, and although Hearst has indicated a willingness to extend the option briefly beyond the deadline, there is no obligation for the landowner to extend the option at this price indefinitely. Thus, we are vigilantly working with state and private funding entities, to ensure we don’t miss this window of opportunity.

It goes without saying that before any funds are spent by any public agency on this (or any other) conservation project, the public will have an opportunity to review the details of the transaction and to comment at publicly-noticed meetings. This is required by state law.

The public will have much to gain by this conservation transaction. As promised, the public benefits will include approximately 20 miles of the California Coastal Trail located west of Highway 1. Additionally, all lands west of the highway will be covered by the conservation easement and publicly accessible, at levels to protect the resources and ensure a positive visitor experience. Over 1100 acres west of Highway One will be purchased outright – a hard-fought term of the negotiations, pursued in large part because of the will of the community. Your scenic vistas will be retained, and the ecology and rangeland resources of Hearst Ranch will remain intact.

The conservation easement will also contain restrictions relating to agricultural uses on the Ranch. A detailed agricultural management plan will be prepared to guide management of the Ranch, which will include requirements for regular monitoring and – if necessary -- enforcement. The Ranch is the largest and most historically significant coastal cattle ranch in the state. The agreement will ensure that ongoing cattle operations will continue thereby protecting both the natural and historic heritage that makes the Central Coast so special.

The conservation easement also requires the creation of a baseline inventory of the entire Ranch. The “baseline” is critical to document the existing resources on the Ranch, so that the easement can be monitored and enforced, and so the management plan can be crafted to ensure the continued protection of the Ranch’s resources. The baseline is nearly complete, created by experts hired by ALC in the fields of botany, wildlife biology, rangeland resources, hydrogeology, cultural resources, and fisheries. ALC has also contracted with a firm to create cutting-edge, detailed aerial digital imagery of the entire property. As a result of this work, the Hearst Ranch can be closely monitored in-perpetuity, with changes detectable down to nearly the individual tree level.

In short, in concert with the community and the landowner, ALC has reached agreement on a conservation transaction that meets and often exceeds industry standards, for a price that will be well-below market value (and relatively inexpensive on a per-acre basis compared to recent deals completed elsewhere in the state). The process has been long, intense, sometimes contentious, and always challenging as ALC and Hearst have hammered out one of the most significant conservation deals in history. We have emerged extremely proud of the outcome, grateful for all the support this community has provided, and appreciative of the landowner’s willingness to consider the needs of the community throughout negotiations.

For more information about the Hearst project and the American Land Conservancy, visit our website at www.alcnet.org. or email us at ranchquestions@alcnet.org. We invite you to join us in our effort to conserve the jewel of the Central Coast.

Harriet Burgess
President
American Land Conservancy