Dear Editor,
As the managing member of the Sargent Ranch, I would like to
clarify a few points in Saturday’s article:
First: There was no
”
secret pact
”
between the Sargent Ranch and the Amah Mutsun of Mission San
Juan Bautista.
Dear Editor,
As the managing member of the Sargent Ranch, I would like to clarify a few points in Saturday’s article:
First: There was no “secret pact” between the Sargent Ranch and the Amah Mutsun of Mission San Juan Bautista. To the contrary, all elements of our agreement were disclosed in the tribe’s submission of information to the Department of the Interior.
Second: Under current county zoning laws, we already have the right to build housing on the property without the tribe’s involvement. The ranch is comprised of a minimum of 11 legal parcels and each one of these parcels can be sold and further subdivided over time into as many as 160 home sites.
Third: Contrary to your assertion, the Board of Supervisors has never formally voted on the only application we made to the county. I personally filed the application in April of 2000 for a zoning amendment that was subsequently withdrawn, after I met my wife.
Fourth: While Mr. David Fitzgerald did perpetrate a fraud on myself and all involved in the Roddy Ranch project, he and his company are no longer in business in large part due to the actions of myself and my attorneys in stopping him.
Fifth: The defunct entity Sargent Ranch Mutual Water Company was in fact created by Mr. Fitzgerald’s attorney, not I, prior to our discovery of him becoming the subject of a governmental investigation; after which all involvement with him was ceased.
Wayne F. Pierce, La Jolla
Editor’s note: Two comments: 1. According to County Planner Bill Shoe, the property could yield “approximately 130 to 150 parcels, maximum.” Other factors, however, would effectively limit the number of lots and greatly extend the time frame for development including hillside constraints and subdivision limits under the General Plan ranchlands zoning. 2. Mr. Pierce signed the Sargent Ranch Mutual Water Company formation papers.