Open Space District acquisition permanently protects Sonoma’s signature mountain

Swift action by a collaboration of local agencies set the stage for the transfer to the public domain of a property whose summit affords 360-degree views extending to the Pacific Ocean, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, San Francisco Bay and the coast range.
The 238-acre Sonoma Mountain Ranch, on which the 2,463-foot peak is located, became available in late September, with the sale conditioned on closing the $9,950,000 deal before the end of 2008.
This left little time for interested buyers to act. But recognizing the significance of the Sonoma Ranch property to links with the Bay Area Ridge Trail and other areas protected by land trusts, the Open Space District collaborated with the Sonoma Land Trust and the California State Coastal Conservancy to structure the opportunity acquisition.
Wendy Eliot, conservation director of the Sonoma Land Trust, led negotiations for the purchase, which was made possible through a combination of state and local funding.
According to Eliot, Sonoma Land Trust has a productive history partnering on similar acquisitions. As a local private and nonprofit organization, the Trust can act with speed and flexibility, complementing the publicly funded agencies’ ability to bring significant funding to the table.
It usually takes about six months to fulfil all of the demands of spending public funds. Though much less time was available in this case, Eliot noted “You don’t walk away from the top of a mountain,” and processes were accelerated at all levels.
The negotiations culminated on Dec. 9 when the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, acting in its capacity as the Board of Directors of the Sonoma County Agricultural and Open Space District, approved fee title acquisition of the Sonoma Mountain Ranch property for public outdoor recreation.
Commenting on the acquisition, Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District General Manager Andrea Mackenzie emphasized the project’s links to over 3,000 acres of other protected lands. She applauded the leveraging of local and state funds, broken down as follows:
• $8.45 million from the voter- approved 0.25 percent Sonoma County Open Space sales tax.
• $1.5 million unanimously approved by the California State Coastal Conservancy board of directors from fiscal year 2008-2009 appropriation to the Conservancy from the California Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006 (Proposition 84).
Maxene Spellman, Project Manager from the California State Coastal Conservancy, concurred with Eliot’s and Mackenzie’s characterization of the parcel’s importance to the assemblage of adjacent protected lands, and noted such acquisitions are a high priority for the Conservancy.
Escrow is expected to close at the end of December. Sonoma County will then join Marin’s Mount Tamalpais, Napa’s St. Helena, and Contra Costa’s Mount Diablo in permanently protecting the natural, scenic, and recreational resources of its signature mountain.