COUNTYWIDE : Bidding on Ranch May Open Today
The County Board of Supervisors may open up the bidding today for the sale of Rancho del Rio, allegedly the former home of an international drug-trafficking ring and later the county’s symbol of its war on drugs.
Bidding for the remote, 213-acre ranch on the Orange County-Riverside County line will begin at $1.54 million. The last day for submitting an offer will be June 26, according to a proposal before the board at the meeting today.
In December, supervisors turned down the idea of using the ranch, seized in a 1985 drug raid, as a narcotics enforcement training center, saying the financially strapped county needs the cash from the sale.
The board’s decision angered Sheriff Brad Gates, who said it undercut his department’s efforts to fight drugs. In a visit to the county in 1989, President Bush visited the ranch and called its seizure “a source of hope.”
The proposal before the supervisors today also stipulates that if there are no other bids, the county will authorize the sale of the property to the county Department of Harbors, Beaches and Parks for $1.54 million.
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