 |
|
|
Sargent Ranch
Sargent Ranch is 6,500 acres of unincorporated farmland and wildlife
habitat south of Gilroy. Several times over the last few years, developers
have made proposals to develop Sargent Ranch with luxury homes and golf
courses. Building in the unspoiled foothills of Sargent Ranch would require
a zoning change in the County’s General Plan, setting a dangerous
precedent for other such projects to follow suit. We will remain on the
lookout for proposals to develop Sargent Ranch, and to support the County’s
General Plan policies that promote development within existing urban areas,
and work with our allies toward permanent protection of the Sargent Ranch
lands.
What You Can Do
- Write the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors at 70 West Hedding
Street, San Jose, CA 95110. Urge them to uphold the County’s
General Plan and deny a zoning designation change for Sargent Ranch.
- Send a letter to the editor. Help raise community awareness by sending
a letter to the editor of the Gilroy Dispatch (editor@garlic.com)
or the San Jose Mercury News (letters@sjmercury.com).
Campaign Update
March 2007
Congressman Honda’s office said that the legislation to fast-track
recognition for the Amah Mutsun tribe no longer exists, and Honda has
no plans to reintroduce it, as it was originally an add-on to a bill
by Congressman Pombo, who is no longer in office.
January 2007
Sargent Ranch is 6,500 acres of unincorporated County land just south
of Gilroy. A Southern California developer, Wayne Pierce, bought
the land years ago with the hope of transforming the rolling hillsides
into a luxury community. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
has denied him several times. In an unsettling move, the developer
began negotiations with one faction of the Amah Mutsun Native American
tribe which claims Sargent Ranch as its ancestral land. However,
the
Amah Mutsun is a divided tribe with one side claiming the other is
fraudulent. This has sparked an investigation by the Department of
the Interior. At the same time, Congressman Mike Honda authored legislation
that would fast-track federal recognition for the Amah Mutsun tribe.
With the Democratic takeover of Congress, many bills that had idled
will start to see movement again. Honda plans to sit down with the
tribe to
get a renewed sense of their plans. The Department of Interior has
completed its investigation, but the findings remain confidential
until other agencies
review them. Honda has refused to acknowledge that federal recognition
of the tribe and development of Sargent Ranch are one issue. The tribe
can claim the ranchlands as sovereign, lease it back to the developer
who can then ignore planning laws and County supervisors and develop
the land as he sees fit.
January 2006
Congressman Honda's bill is now moving slowly though the House Committee
on Resources.
October 2005
Congressman Mike Honda has sponsored legislation that could fast-track
federal recognition of the local Amah Mutsun Indian Tribe and speed development
plans for Sargent Ranch. The tribe would still be subject to the Bureau
of Indian Affairs (BIA). Complicating this issue further is the fact that
there are two factions of the Amah Mutsun tribe, with one claiming the
other is a splinter group who has been sending fraudulent documents to
the BIA.
September 2005
Congressman Mike Honda has sponsored legislation that could fast-track
federal recognition of the local Amah Mutsun Indian Tribe. Under Congressman
Honda's legislation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) would have one
year to decide on recognition. If the Tribe is officially recognized,
they could take control of Sargent Ranch, more than 6,000 pristine acres
southwest of Gilroy. Tribal control would intensify development pressure
on Sargent Ranch because tribal lands are exempt from state and local
environmental and planning laws.
March 2005
A recent article in the Gilroy Dispatch highlighted the fact that the
owner of Sargent Ranch, Wayne Pierce, is in debt up to $35.5 million.
Sargent Ranch covers 6500 acres at the southern most point of Santa Clara
County. Over the past several years, Pierce used the ranch as collateral
to borrow millions of dollars. Since the County won't change the zoning,
Pierce has teamed up with the Amah Matsun tribe in the hopes that they
will be federally recognized and will be able to declare Sargent Ranch
as their ancestral land and therefore will not need to follow County zoning
laws. However, since Congressman Mike Honda is no longer fast tracking
the federal recognition process, it could be ten years before they are
even considered.
January 2005
Sargent Ranch continues to be targeted for development from a splinter
group of the amah Mutsun Indians.
October 2004
There is concern that Sargent Ranch has again been targeted for development,
only this time, the developer hopes to circumvent Santa Clara County regulations
by joining forces with a local Indian tribe. If a splinter group of the
Amah Mutsun Indians is recognized, they plan to convert 3,500 acres of
pristine agricultural land into sprawl housing. News of this development
and the way in which the developer is getting around county regulations
has upset many and has sparked opposition in and around Gilroy. There
are still several questions concerning the tribe's ability to be federally
recognized, but with strong local opposition to development, there may
be some reluctance to officially recognize the tribe. Greenbelt Alliance
continues to work with local allies in Gilroy to preserve one of the last
agricultural areas in Santa Clara County.
|
