Santa Clara County supervisors approved a controversial
subdivision for one of the county’s largest remaining private
ranches just west of Gilroy.
San Jose – Santa Clara County supervisors approved a controversial subdivision for one of the county’s largest remaining private ranches just west of Gilroy.
The 3-2 vote Tuesday afternoon allows the 8,400-acre Castro Valley Ranch to subdivide 16 lots, ranging from 180 to 2,400 acres.
The property, used mainly for cattle ranching, includes grasslands, oak woodlands, fresh water marshes and redwood forests. The ranch’s creeks provide critical habitat for threatened steelhead. The land also includes a logging site and an active quarry.
Under the county’s zoning ordinance, up to three homes can be developed on each lot.
Ranch manager Don Long said the subdivision will allow estate planning, but no plans are currently in place.
Supervisors Liz Kniss and Blanca Alvarado voted against the project, with Don Gage, Ken Yeager and Pete McHugh voting in favor.
The Committee For Green Foothills opposed the project, arguing the reconfigured lots will invite growth on what they consider to be pristine land. The Amuh Mutsun Tribal Bands expressed general concerns after they claimed the ranch’s owners denied them access to the property to address cultural resources discovered on the land.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fishery Service and the California Department of Fish and Game also opposed the subdivision.
However, county planners forwarded a favorable recommendation to approve the project, arguing the ranch is “physically suitable” for the proposed housing density.
Planners noted the ranch’s average lot size – 527 acres – is more than three times greater than the minimum size allowed for agricultural ranchlands under the county’s general plan.
A number of mitigation measures addressing environmental concerns will apply to the subdivision. Homes are limited to 10-acre envelopes on each lot and must adhere to 150-foot-minimum set-backs from creeks. Additionally, the ranch will include an easement over areas where Native American artifacts have been discovered.
“A lot of people thought (the adjustments) would be growth-inducing, but we didn’t think so given all the mitigations,” said Rob Eastwood, the county’s chief planner.
The ranch included 16 lots to begin with, but in 2004 the owners asked the county’s permission to adjust the lot lines because a number of the ranch’s parcels lacked road access or were too small for building housing under county zoning ordinances.
“Of course, I’m pleased with the decision,” Long said. “It’s what we’ve been working toward the last three years.”
