Protecting Hearst Castle

I am surprised that Cynthia Berryman (letter, Aug. 5) expects her experience at the Getty Center to be replicated at Hearst Castle. As elegant as it truly is, the Getty Center is the classic art museum, with objets d’art mounted on walls or in enclosures that the visitor cannot touch, many guards discreetly standing around and a layout that enhances crowd management.

The Hearst Castle was originally a very elegant private residence. The many significant elements in the rooms need to have their vulnerability to the casual visitor carefully controlled so that future visitors can experience the environment that William Randolph Hearst created. I have visited the castle many times, enjoyed the magic of the Christmas holiday season there and respect the care that is being taken with the contents. I can agree with Berryman that the relative ease of movement in the classic art museum is enjoyable, but I guarantee that stepping too close to an object will set off alarms and as many guards as you wish.

Don Thompson

Garden Grove

“Stop the Land Scam” (editorial, July 29) obscures the real story: that serious efforts are underway to explore preservation in perpetuity at the Hearst Ranch.

Filing for certificates of compliance is not at all what The Times would have its readers believe. It is a common step that has been taken by private California landowners for more than 25 years to obtain local government verification of existing lots that were created legally. Certificates of compliance are ministerial acts that neither create new legal lots nor change the existing status of Hearst’s lots. Certificates of compliance do not inflate the value of land, nor do they grant any additional development rights.

Hearst is actively pursuing a conservation solution for the Hearst Ranch. Compensation for permanently restricting development rights transferred to conservation groups will have to be supported by an independent appraisal that meets stringent standards and is acceptable to the conservation groups and any governmental bodies involved. The conservation approach Hearst is taking is consistent with its stewardship of the Hearst Ranch for 135 years. In the past, Hearst has gifted the Hearst Castle, visitor center land and the William Randolph Hearst State Beach to the state. We are working to secure an outcome that is consistent with our fiduciary obligations and that will be fair to all concerned.

Stephen T. Hearst

San Francisco