'HISTORIC AGREEMENT' - Members of the media, environmentalists and representatives from Tejon Ranch Company surround Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday at the announcement of a pact that preserves nearly 90% of the natural habitat but permits development of the remaining property for residential use. ALISHA SEMCHUCK/Valley Press

Deal reached on Tejon Ranch project

90% of land to be preserved in natural state

By ALISHA SEMCHUCK
Valley Press Staff Writer

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday morning joined officials from Tejon Ranch Company, the land developer, and representatives from the Sierra Club, Audubon California, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Planning and Conservation League and the Endangered Habitats League to unveil plans that permit the development of approximately 30,000 acres, but maintain the natural integrity of another 240,000 acres for conservation purposes.

By combining dedicated conservation easements and designated open space areas, the developer agreed to protect some 178,000 acres on a permanent basis.

The agreement also provides a clause enabling the public to purchase an additional 62,000 acres for preservation with the aid of federal, state and private funds. The pact includes an easement of 10,000 acres, which will realign 37 miles of the Canada-to-Mexico Pacific Crest Trail through Tejon Ranch.

A new conservancy was formed with representation from all stakeholders to work in conjunction with the state Parks Department eventually to create a state park on the mountainous lands east of Interstate 5 near Lebec.

"I wanted to congratulate everyone that participated in these negotiations," Schwarzenegger said, adding that the accord required a lot of give-and-take. "No one got a straight 10, except the people of California."

The governor said many issues needed to be addressed, but "where there's a will, there's a way."

"The success of environmental organizations and Tejon Ranch Co. in reaching this historic agreement to protect a California treasure illustrates something that I have stressed since taking office," Schwarzenegger said. "We can protect California's environment at the same time (that) we pump up our economy."

Joel Reynolds, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said he envisioned docent-led tours on the publicly held lands with public access made possible through plans that will be developed by the newly formed conservancy.

Tejon Ranch "becomes a part of California that Californians can actually enjoy," Reynolds said.

When environmental groups initially approached the land developers, they agreed to meet for six months. Those six months stretched into two years.

"We met to understand the ecology of the land," Reynolds said. "We thank Governor Schwarzenegger for his personal commitment."

"This was a difficult agreement to get to, but the outcome was worth it," said Bill Corcoran, senior regional representative with the Sierra Club.

"The big breakthrough was to look at the ranch as a whole. Several key elements were essential for the conservation groups if we were to achieve success," Corcoran said.

Environmentalists sought "an independent and funded conservancy." They will start with $800,000 a year "to get the conservancy on its feet," he said.

That money is an advance from Tejon Ranch Company to be paid back over time without interest as transfer fees come into the conservancy.

Corcoran said the conservancy will receive 0.25% in fees every time one of the houses sells and the ownership changes title. He anticipated those fees could net the conservancy millions of dollars a year.

Other elements of the negotiations involved "an adjustment of Tejon Mountain Village, so it would be consistent with the condors' recovery," Corcoran said. Condors are endangered, he said, so that was "a key element."

The condor issue raised objections from another environmental group that was not part of the accord and was not at Thursday's news conference. The Center for Biological Diversity in San Francisco sent out an e-mail opposing the agreement.

"While there are a few aspects of today's accord we can celebrate, including the potential acquisition of 49,000 acres for a state park, this deal contains numerous poison pill provisions, including the development of Tejon Mountain Village in the heart of condor critical habitat and Centennial, the largest single development ever to be proposed in California," wrote Peter Galvin, conservation director at the center.

"We know that the environmental groups who have negotiated the accord did so with the best of intentions, but the Center for Biological Diversity could not sign off on this highly flawed agreement," Galvin wrote.

Galvin said "virtually all of the areas to be acquired or managed under the conservation easement are undevelopable, anyway."

But those who applauded the plans at the press conference pointed out that the housing development would run primarily in the western portion of the land, along Interstate 5.

They contend that area does not intrude on condor habitat and the only property that will be developed is on the existing and already approved sites.

Graham Chisholm, conservation director for Audubon California, said his agency has a 50-year relationship with condor wardens to ensure "those birds would be protected."

A key issue for the environmental agency focused on the impact of development upon species that inhabit the mountainous terrain.

The agreement resulted in "a victory not jut for the condor," but for other species as well, Chisholm said.

Corcoran said another sticking point that the developer and the environmentalists resolved regarded public access. He called that resolution a crucial factor in the agreement.

"Tejon Ranch agreed with us to pursue together a state park," Corcoran said. "That was a big step for them, and that was essential for us."

Equally significant was the need to forever provide a sufficient water supply for the natural environment - surface and groundwater for plants and animals, he said.

"Our vision has always been to preserve California's legacy and provide for California's future, and this agreement does exactly that," said Robert Stine, president and chief executive officer of the Tejon Ranch Co. "The agreement we reached is good for conservation, good for California and good for the company and its shareholders."

Gary Patton, general counsel for the Planning and Conservation League, said tensions during negotiations resulted because all involved came to the table with "different points of view."

Tejon Ranch Co. "is a Wall Street corporation" dealing with five conservation groups, he said, and the company must consider financial factors.

However, Patton said, "our purpose isn't to make money. Our purpose is to preserve and protect the natural resources of the state."