POST Transfers Prime Agricultural Lands to Local Farm Family
April 4, 2006
For John Giusti, the land is his livelihood. Since 1998, the third-generation farmer has been leasing 100 acres of POST's 534-acre Purisima Farms property to grow primarily Brussels sprouts. Now, thanks to a new agreement, Giusti will own the entire property outright by purchasing the land from POST. The agreement with POST will keep these historic agricultural fields in the hands of a local farming family, protect them from rising development pressures, and preserve a highly visible expanse of breathtaking open space along the San Mateo Coast.
"Our goal for Purisima Farms has always been to put the agricultural lands back into the hands of the farmer, so we're delighted that the Giustis will be able to continue their family legacy on the land," POST President Audrey Rust said.
Plans for the protection of Purisima Farms, located five miles south of Half Moon Bay, came about thanks to POST's unique partnership with Giusti and others. POST acquired this signature coastal property in 1998 from the deBenedetti family for $3,942,500 with funding from POST supporters, the California Coastal Conservancy and the California Department of Transportation. The land has been used for agricultural purposes since at least the 1860s, when farmer Joseph deBenedetti settled in Half Moon Bay and established what would eventually become one of the country's largest producers of artichokes and Brussels sprouts. According to Rust, as many as six luxury estates could have been developed on this oceanside property had POST not acquired the land.
Under Giusti's ownership, the property will remain protected from inappropriate development by existing easements held by POST and the California Coastal Conservancy. These easements shield Purisima Farms from development by removing the potential to build all but one single-family dwelling.
Those provisions suit Giusti and his wife, Maureen, just fine, as they hope to build a single home on the property. The couple has three young children and would like to raise them on the family farm, just as Giusti was raised.
"Owning this farm is a dream come true for us," said Giusti, who learned how to work the soil from his father, Aldo, who grows Brussels sprouts and artichokes nearby. "We have had to make many sacrifices in order to make this purchase happen, but we believe that owning this property makes good sense for our family as well as our business. We hope that our children will be able to carry on with the farming tradition of this land for years to come."