The Nature Conservancy, one of the largest private environmental
protections agencies in the country, is trying to buy about 20,000
acres of land in the Soap Lake flood plain straddling Santa Clara
and San Benito counties just east of Gilroy.
The Nature Conservancy, one of the largest private environmental protections agencies in the country, is trying to buy about 20,000 acres of land in the Soap Lake flood plain straddling Santa Clara and San Benito counties just east of Gilroy.
“The upper Pajaro River flood plain is our highest priority,” said Julie Benson, spokeswoman for The Conservancy. “It’s the last remaining wildlife corridor linking the Central Valley and the San Francisco Bay Region.”
The plan has been in the works for a few years, but sources in several county agencies said this week that the Miwok casino proposal in northern San Benito County is pushing up property values around Soap Lake and hampering The Conservancy’s efforts.
“Sometimes when new developments are proposed they create hiccups, but we still try to work on solutions,” Benson said. She wouldn’t comment directly on her agency’s negotiations with area landowners, and said that The Conservancy has no particular opposition to the casino. The Conservancy, she said, wants to choke off all future development.
“Development is the real threat to this area. We identified that years ago just by looking at the growth of Salinas and Gilroy,” she said. Any new development proposal just underscores why the area is such a high priority for us. We’re opposed to any development there.”
The proposed site for the casino is located in the outer reaches of the flood plain, off Highway 25, just south of the Santa Clara County line. The land stretching to the north and east is all undeveloped agricultural land, held almost entirely by private landowners.
The Conservancy is working in conjunction with the Pajaro River Watershed Flood Prevention Authority to buy the land. The Water Authority consists of representatives from Santa Clara, San Benito, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.
The flood plain is important to all four counties because it is a natural barrier against more severe flooding down river in Santa Cruz and Monterey. Also, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties are in the process of developing a flood protection plan with the Army Corps of Engineers that incorporates the flood plain.
Water Authority member Sig Sanchez is skeptical of the casino’s impact on property values.
“I don’t think the casino is going to do a thing to Soap Lake,” he said. “How much can you develop around a casino? The chances of the land developing the next few years is low. It’s all lowlands. The cost of building there would be tremendous.”
But Santa Clara Supervisor Don Gage, a member of the Water Authority said Wednesday that buying the land is necessary to protect it from development.
“Some land is already in ownership by municipalities, but no serious efforts had been made because it wasn’t brought to anyone’s attention,” Gage said. “If someone buys 1,700 acres and subdivides into 20-acre lots and build houses, you’ll lose the flood plain and have to build a bigger levee.”
According to Gage, there’s no room in the county budget to purchase any of the land, and most of it is in San Benito County. The Conservancy relies on fundraising and grants. It recently received a $3.2 million grant from the California Department of Water Resources to preserve the land.
Last year, The Land Trust of Santa Clara County purchased 474 acres east of Highway 101, between Gilroy and San Juan Bautista, from a developer, for $6.8 million. It now owns the land in conjunction with the Santa Clara Valley Water District.
Any land bought by the Conservancy will be offered back on lease to the seller. In some cases, The Conservancy may only have to purchase the development rights from the property owner, which means that the owner retains the title to the property, but can’t develop the land.
Mike DiMarco, a spokesman for the Water District said that it’s impossible to know how much it will cost to snap up the entire 20,000 acres piece by piece. The fact some of the land is held by owners anticipating development opportunities, may add further inflationary pressure.
Across U.S. 101, for example, is Upper Sargent Ranch, comprising 5,200 acres of ranchland slated for large-scale development if the owners can convince the county to change its “ranchland” zoning. Plans for that property have included two golf courses and up to 140 luxury homes.
Gage said he hasn’t heard of any landowners asking steep prices for land, in the flood plain, but this is a new project.
“People are people,” he said. “If they can get more money, they’re going to do it. Value comes first to them.”
