Sargent Ranch Property Partially Sells After Land Use Battle

A 2,467-acre chunk of pristine land in Santa Clara County will remain untouched after previous plans to build a sand and gravel quarry.

The nonprofit Peninsula Open Space Trust spent $25.1 million to buy more than one-third of the Sargent Rach property along Highway 101 south of Gilroy, The Mercury News reported. The Palo Alto-based environmental group previously spent $15.6 million to buy 1,340 acres of the 6,500-acre space from Sargent Ranch Partners in October.

Sargent Ranch Partners, headed by San Diego businessman Howard Justus, has asked the Santa Clara County Planning and Development department to suspend its review of the quarry project’s environmental impact statement, according to director Jacqueline Onciano. Under county law, officials must receive a formal letter of withdrawal on the project, which the firm hasn’t submitted.

It’s unclear whether the quarry project is officially dead or if the group plans to sell the remaining acreage. In 2019, Justus said the plan would provide “a consistent and reliable sand source for the South Bay at a fraction of the carbon footprint” and simultaneously “conserve an incredible piece of property.”

Peninsula Open Space Trust is “pleased to have had the opportunity to collaborate with the previous landowner to have achieved such a positive outcome,” Gordon Clark, president of the organization, said in a statement.

Sargent Ranch Partners purchased the property in 2013 from developer Wayne Pierce, who planned to build golf courses, hotels and a casino on the site before filing for bankruptcy. Justus’ firm announced plans for the quarry in 2015.

The Peninsula Open Space Trust has been in the business of preserving land in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties for decades. In April, the nonprofit acquired more than 200 acres on the edge of Coyote Valley for $5.5 million.

The Peninsula Open Space Trust is also charged with selling the home of Intel co-Founder Gordon Moore, located on the 1,315-acre Phleger Estate in Woodside, which the group acquired for preservation in 1991. The organization transferred 1,252 acres of the property to the National Park Service in 1995.

— Chris Malone Méndez