Your Support Helped Conserve
Two Great Natural Areas
View of Stenner Creek from Railroad Properties
Protected: Headwaters of
Stenner & Chorro Creeks
and
Preserved: The Brughelli Ranch
totaling over 700-acres
Make a donation today for additional land projects!
Year end deadline to raise $260,000 was successfully reached!
Thank You for Your Contributions
Posted: December 12, 2006
The City of San Luis Obispo and the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County announced today the successful completion of a fundraising effort to conserve over 700 acres of important landscapes as part of the visionary City Greenbelt Plan, adopted in 1994. With astounding community participation from over 200 individual donations, San Luis Obispo strides forward in preserving the quality of natural areas and the local way of life.
The purchase of the 315 acre Union Pacific Railroad Company properties on West Cuesta Ridge by the Land Conservancy will help protect valuable rare plant habitat and the headwaters of Stenner and Chorro Creeks. In addition, the successful completion of this land purchase adjacent to Camp San Luis Obispo marks the beginning of a powerful partnership between the local land trust and the National Guard Bureau. This unique relationship provides win-win solutions to the land protection goals of the military and the natural area preservation goals of local communities, and it promises greater opportunities for major conservation funding to continue right here at home.
The City of San Luis Obispo has taken a proactive approach towards the Greenbelt Plan through their purchase of an agricultural conservation easement from Ercole and Naomie Brughelli which covers 390 acres of their family ranch on Buckley Road. This purchase protects agricultural heritage while providing scenic and environmental benefits to residents, demonstrating critical foresight and essential action from local government.
“The City Council wishes to thank the many citizens who contributed to making this fundraising effort a success”, said Mayor David Romero. “We are proud of the work done by City staff and Land Conservancy staff to bring the two projects to a successful conclusion. We also want to thank Ercole and Naomie Brughelli, and their advisors Jim Brabeck, Rick Racouillat and Bob Neal for their support and perseverance in seeing this project through to a successful conclusion.”
The fundraising effort originally had sought to raise $260,000 for the two projects to augment City and Land Conservancy funds available to the two projects. This was because the two projects had short option periods, meaning that the ability to obtain grant funds from State or Federal sources would be difficult or even impossible.
City staff found during the fundraising period that there was accrued interest in the City’s open space fund that could be applied to the project, so that the amount needed to be raised could be reduced to $185,000. Last week the effort reached this milestone. Both partners anticipate finalization of the two transactions before the end of the year. Additional contributions will help cover legal fees and closing costs associated with this effort and will continue to drive additional land conservation projects in the community.
“The most gratifying aspect of this campaign has been the sheer numbers of local individuals, families, and businesses that have contributed to the project,” said Bob Hill, Conservation Director for the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County. “Time and time again the community has demonstrated a strong commitment to open space protection.”
These three parcels comprise much of the headwaters of Stenner and Chorro Creeks below West Cuesta Ridge, includes valuable rare plant and animal habitat, along with portions of the Shooters and Morning Glory Trails. Owned by Union Pacific Railroad, the parcels are essentially private in holdings located between Forest Service lands and Camp San Luis Obispo. The parcels contain 13 underlying legal lots and total approximately 315 acres.
The Land Conservancy has recently entered into a long-term partnership with Camp San Luis Obispo and the National Guard Bureau to assist them with the purchasing conservation interests through a new program called the “Army Compatible Use Buffer” program (ACUB). The program provides funds that can be used to protect lands located within three miles of Camp San Luis Obispo, and requires that all property interests be owned and managed by a qualified conservation organization. These parcels will be the Land Conservancy’s first acquisition under this new program, which is anticipated to run through the year 2013.
The purchase price for the three property interests is the appraised value of $448,000. Camp San Luis Obispo will provide $350,000 in funding, while the Morro Bay National Estuary Program will provide matching funds of $49,000 due to their interest in protecting lands in the Morro Bay watershed. The Land Conservancy has raised an additional $60,000 to close the funding gap to complete the purchase, as well as to cover the appraisal and closing costs associated with the transaction. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
View of train crossing Stenner Creek from Railroad Properties
Photo By: B.K. Richards, SLO
The City of San Luis Obispo has received an offer of a “bargain” (i.e., below market) sale from Ercole and Naomie Brughelli to preserve their 390 acre property on Buckley Road in agricultural use in perpetuity. The purchase price of the easement, $750,000, is about 75% of what an independent appraisal found the easement to be worth. The remaining $225,000 is being donated by the Brughelli family. The ranch has been in the family for generations and they wish to keep it as a viable, working farm and ranch forever. The acquisition is considered to be an important step in the implementation of the City of San Luis Obispo’s Greenbelt Protection Program, and will be the City’s second major agricultural conservation easement.
