Circle X Ranch : 2 Parks Agencies Clear Way to Buy 1,655-Acre Tract

A dispute between two state parks agencies over the financing of a planned $5.85-million purchase of ranch land in the Santa Monica Mountains was resolved Thursday, paving the way for public acquisition of the scenic ridge-top tract, officials said.

The state Coastal Conservancy dropped a requirement that the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy use its cash reserves to guarantee a loan that would enable the Mountains Conservancy to purchase the 1,655-acre Circle X Ranch south of Newbury Park.

The Mountains Conservancy last year sought to buy the land, which provides sweeping views of the ocean, from the Los Angeles Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America but lacked the funds.

The Boy Scouts wanted to sell the land to raise funds for construction of a waterfront camp and sports center in San Pedro, raising concerns among conservancy board members that it might be bought by developers.

In November, the Coastal Conservancy agreed to loan the full purchase price to the Mountains Conservancy, but demanded that its partner put aside a $900,000 cash reserve to guarantee that the loan would be repaid on schedule.

The Mountains Conservancy, according to Executive Director Joe Edmiston, argued that its cash reserves were already locked into other projects, and that his organization would be able to cover the payments by selling hundreds of acres of less attractive holdings.

After an appearance by Edmiston at a special meeting Thursday in Sacramento, the Coastal Conservancy board voted unanimously to drop the demand for the cash reserve, said Dewey Schwartzenburg, a spokesman for the board.

The deal for the land should be closed by early February, Schwartzenburg said. “It’s just a matter of issuing the check,” he said.

$3 Million From Land Sale

The first installment of the loan repayment should go to the Coastal Conservancy this summer, Edmiston said. The Mountains Conservancy expects to get at least $3 million by selling a 292-acre tract that was once part of Camarillo State Hospital’s grounds, he said.

The Circle X Ranch, along Yerba Buena Road adjacent to Point Mugu State Park, includes a bunkhouse, six campgrounds and 22 miles of hiking trails and fire roads.

The recreation area there will be owned and managed by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, a joint venture of the Mountains Conservancy and the Thousand Oaks-based Conejo Recreation and Park District.