Lengthy Talks to Preserve Hearst Ranch Collapse

More than a year’s worth of talks aimed at preserving the vast Hearst Ranch along California’s scenic Central Coast have broken down, even as negotiators were finalizing the details of what would have been a landmark settlement.

But Hearst Corp. officials said Monday that they have entered talks with another environmental partner and fully expect the new negotiations to succeed.

“I remain confident that we will be able to preserve the beauty of the ranch forever,” said Stephen T. Hearst, vice president and general manager of the firm’s land and livestock division. “This is not a failure from where I sit. I think this is going to come together rather quickly.”

For the first time, Hearst revealed details of a proposed final settlement. If completed, the deal would ban golf course and resort construction at famed San Simeon Point, restrict new development in Old San Simeon Village, and create 18 miles of trails running the length of the 82,000-acre ranch.

Despite the breakdown in negotiations with the Nature Conservancy and the Conservation Fund, some officials in nearby San Luis Obispo said they remain hopeful.

“I’m pretty excited” about the chances for success, said San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Shirley Bianchi.

The group that the corporation has brought in is the American Land Conservancy, which has worked on a number of properties in California.

The public commitment by Hearst not to proceed with plans to develop San Simeon Point, directly on the coast, was greeted enthusiastically by environmentalists.

At the same time, “the devil is in the details,” said Susan Jordan of the California Coastal Protection Network.

At stake is one of the largest remaining undeveloped swaths of California coastal property. For decades, Hearst officials planned to build resorts and homes on the property, which is still a working cattle ranch. For almost as long, those plans were stalled by environmental concerns.

Then last year, Hearst officials announced that they had entered into negotiations with the two conservation groups to find a way to preserve the land in exchange for either money or the rights to develop a portion of it.

It was estimated that a deal to preserve the entire ranch could involve one of the largest financial settlements of its kind in history, possibly more than $300 million. It was expected that the conservation groups would raise the money from public and private sources.

However, no one suggested Monday that money had been the stumbling block.

The negotiations were at times difficult. Several times deadlines were missed and negotiations had to be restarted, according to insiders. What caused the final breach is uncertain. All the parties involved had previously agreed that the negotiations were confidential, but a spokeswoman for the Nature Conservancy said it was Hearst that called off the talks. The group issued a short statement late Monday that said the breakdown had occurred “despite good-faith efforts among all parties.”

Hearst officials refused to discuss the failure, but some local officials familiar with the talks said that most of the major issues had been settled. Two sources, noting that the Nature Conservancy had gone through a period of staff turnover, speculated that that could have made the organization hesitate to sign such a huge deal.

Several environmentalists said that the American Land Conservancy, the new negotiating group, is not a pushover and that the selection did not seem to indicate that Hearst was shopping for an easier partner.

But one environmentalist said the Hearst Ranch deal would be such a feather in the cap of whichever group seals it that there could be a temptation to rush to completion simply to get it done.

Kat McConnell, an environmentalist who has watched the talks, said her understanding is that Hearst is still demanding the right to develop 27 lots. Key to a final deal is where those lots will be and what will be done with them.

But she was delighted at the commitment to put San Simeon Point off limits. “If they are saying they are willing to abandon all those resort sites, that is definitely good news,” she said.

Hearst said it is also forgoing an equestrian center hotel at Pico Creek, permanently ending planning on new visitor facilities in Old San Simeon Village and preserving the working nature of the ranch.

“The Hearst Ranch is one of this country’s rare jewels,” said Harriett Burgess, president of the American Land Conservancy.

“Our goal is to protect the beauty of the ranch for all generations to enjoy,” she said.