POST Announces Agreement to Purchase 966-acre Rancho San Vicente in South San Jose
Historic Property to Link more than 31,000 Acres of Open Space and Parkland for Public Recreation and Wildlife Habitat
May 19, 2009
Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) announced today that it has reached an agreement to purchase 966-acre Rancho San Vicente in south San Jose from Rancho San Vicente Associates, LLC, a subsidiary of New Cities Development Group, based in Monterey. The historic ranch overlooks suburban Almaden Valley and the Santa Cruz Mountain range. Once slated for up to 900 residential units and a golf course, the property is now on the fast track for preservation by POST. The nonprofit land trust expects to complete the purchase of the property in June and hopes to transfer the land to a public parks agency for permanent protection.
Located at the southern tip of Almaden Valley, Rancho San Vicente lies at the foot of the Santa Cruz Mountains just 12 miles southwest of downtown San Jose. Its rolling grasslands and rugged hillsides are resplendent with ancient oaks, rocky outcroppings of rare serpentine soils and, in springtime, blankets of colorful native wildflowers.
Acquisition by POST will remove the significant development threat to the land and help preserve its scenic beauty, natural resources and outstanding potential for outdoor recreation. “It’s amazing we can even consider protecting this place, and that a property of this size is still green and open within a major metropolitan area like the Bay Area,” said POST President Audrey C. Rust. “Rancho San Vicente offers a wonderful opportunity to establish key links between miles of trails and to open up previously closed-off vistas for the public. With its prime location and excellent access, it will be easier than ever to enjoy nature close to home, especially for residents of San Jose and Almaden Valley.”
The property sits between Almaden Quicksilver and Calero county parks and is bounded on one side by more than a mile of McKean Road, an officially designated County Scenic Road. Prominent at the end of the valley, the 1,058-ft. summit rises above quiet neighborhoods with a breathtaking 360-degree view of Calero Reservoir, Mt. Umunhum, Mt. Hamilton, downtown San Jose and, on a clear day, San Francisco. Said Rust, “If you have any question why this land needs to be protected, just walk up to the top. The view from the knoll shows the breadth of the lands that will be connected, right there in front of you.”
Part of the property lies within the city limits of San Jose, while another portion lies on unincorporated county land. Previous owners envisioned a development of up to 900 residential units and an 18-hole golf course on the land. When current owners Rancho San Vicente Associates purchased the property for $16 million in 1998, they scaled back those plans, proposing up to 300 densely packed housing units on the flat, unincorporated county land and, more recently, up to 16 large residences on individual 40-acre lots on the hillier portion within San Jose.
Once POST’s purchase of Rancho San Vicente is complete next month, the property will no longer face the threat of development. Instead, it will expand the web of lands within the Santa Cruz Mountains protected by POST and its public agency partners, including Santa Clara County Parks, Santa Clara County Open Space Authority, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and California State Parks. The property is a key link for recreation trails and wildlife corridors, with the potential to connect 31,867 surrounding acres of already protected parkland. That total includes nearly 7,500 acres to the east within Calero County Park and Rancho Cañada del Oro Open Space Preserve, and nearly 24,000 acres to the west, including Almaden Quicksilver County Park, Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve and Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve. A proposed trail route through the property has long been part of the Santa Clara County Parks Trails Master Plan.
Rancho San Vicente was once part of a far larger land grant of the same name dating back to 1842. At that time, the Mexican governor of the region granted the land to José Reyes Berryessa, a retired sergeant of the Presidio of San Francisco and early Spanish settler of the Santa Clara Valley. In 1868, a patent for Rancho San Vicente was granted to Berryessa for 4,438 acres. Since then, boundaries have shrunk and owners have changed, but the land is still as pristine as it was 150 years ago, with cattle grazing on the property since at least the 1950s.
Natural resources are abundant. The property contains 506 acres of rare and valuable serpentine soils, which are critical habitat for the Bay checkerspot butterfly, a federally threatened species. Endangered Metcalf canyon jewel flower and Santa Clara Valley dudleya also grow on the land. Ponds and streams provide habitat for endangered California red-legged frogs and tiger salamanders. Deer, coyotes, San Joaquin kit fox, bobcats and mountain lions roam the hillsides, and eagles nesting at Calero are likely visitors. A canal owned by Santa Clara Valley Water District and carrying storm water from Almaden Reservoir bisects the property. That canal flows into neighboring Calero Reservoir, a vital source of local drinking water for Santa Clara County’s 1.7 million residents.
Said Rust, “The types of natural lands we have in Santa Clara County are rarely found anywhere else, and the network of open space and parkland being created here now will serve as our legacy for generations to come.”