By Spencer Soper, The
Press Democrat
Wednesday, April
20, 2005
An
$18 million plan to convert
a 1,737-acre ranch southeast
of Petaluma into a sprawling
park got the green light Tuesday
from the county open space
district.
Wearing hats and carrying
signs that said "Ole Tolay," park
supporters packed a county
Board of Supervisors meeting
to back the deal.
The county Agricultural Preservation
and Open Space District will
pay $11.7 million for the
Lakeville Highway ranch that
includes Tolay Lake, with
the remaining $6.3 million
coming from state, federal
and private sources.
John Mills, a member of the
county parks and recreation
advisory commission, said
he has given dozens of tours
of the property to promote
its potential as a new park.
"Everyone who visits the site is enamored with
its beauty, its potential and its availability," he
said.
The deal is
scheduled to close within
12 months. When completed,
it will be the second largest
in the county park system
behind the 1,753-acre Hood
Mountain Regional Park.
With a 200-acre lake, several
miles of trails to ridgetops
overlooking San Pablo Bay,
abundant wildlife and Native
American artifacts, the park
will become a regional destination
with offerings that rival
Spring Lake, county officials
said.
"This is a great acquisition with tremendous
potential," said county Supervisor
Mike Kerns, whose district
includes the property.
The county park system has
$1.2 million earmarked to
build trails and develop the
property into a park.
Rita Cardoza, a member of
the family that owns the
land, choked back tears Tuesday
recalling how 30 years ago
the land was slated for a
huge wastewater reservoir
to irrigate south county farms.
She said she was grateful
the land would be preserved
for future generations to
enjoy.
"We have an opportunity for a new beginning," she
said.
The vote ends a year-long
fund-raising effort to secure
funding to buy the ranch.
The open space district entered
a year-long option to buy
the land last year, hoping
to secure half the cost from
outside sources.
The
fund-raising campaign came
up $2.7 million short, but
county supervisors voted 4-0
Tuesday to fill the gap. Supervisor
Mike Reilly was absent.
"Now is
the time for a south county regional park and this is the place for it," Supervisor
Paul Kelley said.
The open space district was
created in 1990 when voters
approved a quarter-cent sales
tax to pay for its operations.
The sales tax generates about
$17 million annually.
The Tolay Lake ranch is
the latest in a series of
big-ticket purchases by the
open space district. They
include a $20.8 million deal
approved this month to add
3,373 acres to Sonoma Coast
State Beach and the $9.1 million
purchase of 1,290 acres of
the historic Beltane Ranch
in Sonoma Valley, approved
in 2003.
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