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Bankruptcy Afflicts 33,000 Acre Country Club/Housing Tract on East Side of Mount Hamilton, West of Modesto

http://www.sacbee.com/103/story/1307281.html

http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/real_estate/archives/016072.html

3 posh projects go bust as Valley dreams bite the dust

By Dale Kasler and Jim Wasserman, Sacramento Bee

Oct. 12, 2008 | Page 22A

In the Central Valley these days, the bankruptcies and foreclosures don't just affect individual homeowners.

They swallow entire developments – and the people who conceive them....

Diablo Grande is located between the Mount Hamilton natural area and Modesto

Donald Panoz – pharmaceutical executive, land developer and owner of an auto-racing business – endured eight years of environmental lawsuits and spent $120 million bringing Diablo Grande to life.

His goal: a luxury hideaway in the dusty hills west of Patterson, the self-proclaimed "apricot capital of the world." A vineyard and winery, plus two 18-hole courses, became part of the vision.

But the 33,000-acre site was also geared to the Bay Area transplants flocking to Valley towns in search of cheaper housing.

That made it vulnerable. Once housing prices softened in the Bay Area, buying a home in the Valley made less sense, said Dean Wehrli of Sullivan Group Real Estate Advisors in Elk Grove.

Diablo Grande "was absolutely ripe to be hit hard by the downturn," he said.

More than 450 houses were built when the project sputtered earlier this year. Both golf courses closed temporarily. A Chapter 11 filing came in March.

The project is trying to get back on its feet. A Los Angeles developer named World International LLC bought it for $20 million and pledged to build a resort spa, equestrian center and Spanish-style shopping village. It said last week it plans to rename the development to give it "a fresh start."

Meanwhile, a rash of foreclosures among the finished houses lured bargain hunters.

East Bay couple Karen Cinfio and David Rose bought a million-dollar home with panoramic views out of foreclosure for $375,000.

"I kind of refer to the people who lived here first, they were kind of like the Donner Party," Cinfio said as she stood by her backyard pool. "They paved the trail."

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Big South San Francisco Bay ranch preserved

Hewletts, Packards donate easement for families' land

Tanya Schevitz, Chronicle Staff Writer

Monday, January 21, 2008

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/21/MNT0UIP4K.DTL

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2008/01/21/MNT0UIP4K.DTL&o=0

for map of property

San Jose -- A huge stretch of land near Mount Hamilton that is nearly the size of San Francisco has been donated as a conservation easement by the Hewlett and Packard families to protect the property from development, the Nature Conservancy said Sunday.

The protection of the 28,359-acre San Felipe Ranch from development will complete a 70-mile long corridor of protected natural lands that extends from Pacheco Pass to Livermore Valley, according to the conservancy.

The land, which has oaks, year-round streams, seasonal ponds and wildflower meadows, was volunteered as a conservation easement by the families about 10 years after the conservancy identified the ranch's "combination of the large amount of intact flourishing habitat and the location" as one of its top priorities for protection in the Mount Hamilton range just outside San Jose, according to a statement by the conservancy.

The "Mediterranean habitat" of the ranch is an even more threatened habitat than tropical rainforests, the organization's Web site says.

Representatives from the California chapter of the Nature Conservancy did not return calls Sunday night. But information on the organization's Web site said that the land's location just 4 miles from the Highway 101 corridor has put it at risk for the creeping housing developments that have been built nearby.

"Over the past 10 years, as we've worked with ranchers and other partners to protect the private lands that connect the parks, I've watched intense urban development push right up to the borders," Mike Sweeney, executive director for the California chapter of the Nature Conservancy, said in a statement. "The past has given us a pretty good preview of what the future could be like without protection."

When land is put under a conservation easement, it remains as private property but has permanent restrictions in place to protect the natural state and prevent "incompatible activities," such as urban development, according to the conservancy statement.

Only a small portion of the ranch has been developed, and the easement strictly limits further development to a concentrated area around the existing developed headquarters.

The property will remain as a working cattle ranch, which the Nature Conservancy's Web site says is compatible with the needs of the plants and animals on the land because the cattle help maintain the ecosystem as the native elk and pronghorn once did.

The ranch is an important ecological link in the area, the conservancy's Web site says, because it sits among Henry W. Coe State Park, Joseph D. Grant County Park and Anderson Lake County Park. Including the ranch in protected lands will allow wildlife to roam freely through the area.

Members of the donating families said that the land, which they have owned since the 1950s, was dear to their parents.

"Our fathers loved this land for its wide open spaces, its wildlife and native flora and the ranching tradition," said Julie Packard in the Nature Conservancy's statement. "We wanted to ensure their legacy of protection and stewardship for this land continues into the future."

Protecting the Heart of Mount Hamilton

Fanning out from the southeastern border of urban San Jose, the Mount Hamilton landscape is a 700,000 acre stretch of open rangeland and wilderness where tule elk, bobcats, mountain lions and kit foxes roam.

At the heart of Mount Hamilton lies 28,359-acre San Felipe Ranch. Maintained as a working ranch for some 50 years, San Felipe is now protected by a Nature Conservancy easement. With its key location between two county parks and one state park, the ranch is the missing link in a corridor of protected lands that stretches 70 miles from Pacheco Pass to Livermore Valley.

A Slice of Old California

There was a time when California was known for its open ranges and rolling oak woodlands, not its high-cost housing market and sprawling suburbs interlaced with five-lane freeways.
Today, most signs of the "Old West" have disappeared. Farms and ranches have been replaced with subdivisions and housing developments. And unique habitats like oak woodlands — considered to have the richest species abundance of any habitat in the state — have been reduced to a fraction of their original range.

But not at San Felipe Ranch. An active cattle ranch maintained by its owners, the Hewlett and Packard families, San Felipe looks much like it did when it was first founded in the 1800s following the Los Huecos land grant. Badgers, burrowing owls and western pond turtles find residence in the ranch's open meadows, forests and streams. And rare native grasses, wildflower fields and oak woodlands flourish here. “Going out to the ranch is like stepping back in time," says Mary Jaffe, a member of the Hewlett family. “Our two extended families were highly motivated to protect this special California landscape from development."

Keeping Wilderness Connected

Since 1998, The Nature Conservancy has been working to keep the Mount Hamilton landscape safe from the chopping block. The area has come under increasing pressure for proposed light-rail lines, freeways, water projects and housing developments.

“Over the past 10 years, I’ve watched intense urban development push right up to the borders of the Mount Hamilton area,” says Mike Sweeney, executive director for The Nature Conservancy in California. “The past has given us a pretty good preview of what the future could be like without protection.”

San Felipe Ranch is located just four miles from the Highway 101 corridor, making it vulnerable for the rural housing developments that have cropped up nearby. Its location among Henry Coe, Joseph D. Grant and Anderson Lake Parks will preserve an important wildlife corridor and ensure that these parks don't turn into ecological islands, trapping species in a sea of concrete.
“As we look to the reality of looming threats such as climate change, corridors that allow plants and animals room to move and adapt will become increasingly vital to their survival,” says Rebecca Shaw, director of science for the Conservancy in California.

Cattle Ranches Support Mediterranean Habitat

San Felipe Ranch is nearly the same size as the city of San Francisco — and has its own international appeal. This active cattle ranch harbors one of the world's most diverse, most threatened and least protected habitats — the mediterranean habitat.

Covering just 2 percent of the planet, mediterranean habitat supports 20 percent of all known plant species. And, with just 4 percent of this habitat protected, it is even more threatened than tropical rainforests.

Much of California's mediterranean habitat is tucked away on ranches like San Felipe, in part because grazing is often compatible with the needs of the plants and animals that depend on mediterranean systems. Landscapes like Mount Hamilton were grazed for centuries by elk and pronghorn. Today, cattle help maintain the ecosystem much like the native ungulates once did, keeping invasive species from taking over and displacing native grasses.

“Cattle ranching can be a natural complement to conservation or it can be damaging,” says Shaw. “The management of the cattle operation on San Felipe is one of the former. The natural habitat and wildlife on San Felipe isn’t just surviving, it’s thriving."

Now, with a permanent conservation easement on the ranch, this slice of old California should continue to thrive long into the future.

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A Look at the Nature Conservancy's Mount Hamilton Project

http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/california/preserves/art6323.html

San Antonio Valley. Photo © Gary N. Crabbe Join Great Places! Join the Great Places Network today and receive exclusive member benefits, including monthly e-updates on our conservation work in California. Fast Facts Location: East of San Jose and the San Francisco Bay, between Highway 101 and Interstate 5, in the southern Diablo Range. Size: 1.2 million acres. At Stake: Streamside forests, oak and sycamore woodlands, vast grasslands and seasonal wetlands that support migrating birds, bobcats, mountain lions, endangered San Joaquin kit foxes, tule elk, red-legged frogs, western pond turtles, steelhead and endangered bay checkerspot butterflies. Threats: Expanding development, incompatible agricultural practices, proposed infrastructure projects. Results: 81,000 acres in acquisitions and easements for a total of 300,000 acres protected by the Conservancy and its partners.

Hikers in Mount Hamilton.
Photo © Grant Johnson

Encroaching development and proposed infrastructure projects threaten to fragment the last significant expanse of open space between the San Francisco Bay Area and the Great Central Valley.

Time stands still on the southeastern edge of the San Francisco Bay Area, where the wild west of Old California quietly unfolds toward the Great Central Valley. Tule elk graze in secluded valleys among colossal oaks. Rainbow trout and red-legged frogs navigate canyon streams. Cougars prowl the high ridges of the Diablo mountain range, and kit foxes scamper across open grasslands.

Straddling six counties and 1.2 million acres, The Nature Conservancy’s Mount Hamilton project supports a wide variety of natural communities that have graced Central California for centuries. But this last significant expanse of wilderness between Silicon Valley and the Central Valley is feeling the pinch of a growing population. New housing developments creep toward the project’s outer rims every year, and proposed infrastructure projects for rail lines, freeways and water projects threaten to carve the expansive wilderness into pieces. The Nature Conservancy is pursuing a number of strategies to protect Mount Hamilton and preserve its biological richness for future generations.

Ring of Conservation

The Conservancy launched its Mount Hamilton project in 1998 with the acquisition of two large ranches totaling 61,000 acres. Since then, we have worked cooperatively with landowners to acquire land or restrict development on key private properties situated among the region’s many public parks. As these private and public parcels merge into larger, contiguously conserved landscapes, they will eventually form a ring of protection around Mount Hamilton. This will allow ranchers to preserve their way of life and give native plants and animals the open space they need to survive. Protection of Mount Hamilton’s watersheds provides the additional benefit of keeping the region’s water supply clean.

Lifeline for Wildlife

The Nature Conservancy is also working with partners to preserve the upper Pajaro River floodplain. Located between Gilroy and Hollister, this 20,000-acre spread of agricultural lands, perennial streams and seasonal wetlands is the most defensible, undeveloped wildlife corridor remaining between the inland Diablo Mountains and the coastal Santa Cruz mountain range. Preserving it will allow animals to travel safely between the two ranges, giving large mammals the territory they need to maintain a genetically diverse population.

Here, the Conservancy’s strategy is two-fold: to protect the immediate banks of the upper Pajaro River, and to create an additional buffer by limiting the use of adjacent lands to wildlife-friendly agriculture.

Smart Planning

As California’s population grows, demands for new public works projects increase as well. Three such projects — proposals for new reservoir, a new freeway and a new high-speed rail line — threaten to fragment the Mount Hamilton wilderness and undermine the long-term health of its native plants and animals. The Nature Conservancy is working with many organizations and to ensure that the environmental impacts of these proposed projects are scientifically rigorously studied, and that the projects — should they go forward — be sited along existing transportation corridors or in already-developed areas.

With your help, The Nature Conservancy can preserve a vital part of Old California for future generations, while allowing a new California to blossom.