SLO County News BlogGolf, Wine, Real Estate, Business & Travel NewsSLO Hearst Deal FinalTuesday, February 22, 2005California, Hearst seal sale of land along coastAssociated Press, Lisa Leff One of the largest land conservation deals in California history became final Friday when the state and two groups closed escrow on a $95 million agreement to preserve Hearst Ranch, the nearly pristine stretch of coastal range that surrounds Hearst Castle. Under terms of the sale, nearly all of the 82,000-acre ranch midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco will remain undeveloped, while 13 miles of coastline that has been privately held for generations will transfer to the state for public access, according to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office. "The landscape and the coastline will remain pristine," said Nita Vail, executive director of California Rangeland Trust, one of two private groups that helped secure the deal. Besides opening miles of rugged beaches along California Highway 1 in San Luis Obispo County, the accord brokered by the trust and the American Land Conservancy provides the state with an easement through the ranch that will be used to complete an 18-mile segment of the California Coastal Trail. An effort seeks to make the entire California coast from Mexico to Oregon publicly accessible. The state paid the Hearst Corp. $80 million in cash and $15 million in tax credits. In exchange, the company agreed to strictly limit development on the rest of the 128-square mile ranch surrounding the state park at Hearst Castle. The difference between the fair market price of the property, which the governor's office said was $230 million, and the amount agreed upon in the deal was counted as a charitable donation to the state by Hearst. Critics of the deal said the property's value was overappraised. Read More
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