City of Sonoma pledges $500K to help buy horse farm

The Sonoma City Council on Monday pledged $500,000 toward the purchase of a conservation easement on Mission Bell Farms, as part of an effort by a local nonprofit to buy and preserve the 2.7-acre site near the northeast corner of the Plaza.

“We think this is important to Sonoma,” urged Patricia Cullinan, of the conservation nonprofit Blue Wing Adobe Trust. And, in a 5-0 vote of approval, the city council agreed.

The property at 196 E. Spain St. – known to passersby for its bucolic stable of Clydesdale horses -- was placed for sale by owner Deana Castagnasso for $7.6 million last March. In June, the Blue Wing Adobe Trust, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving locally iconic properties, reached an agreement with the Castagnasso family to purchase the land for $7 million – with a $2 million nonrefundable deposit due Nov. 30 and the balance due mid-January.

The nonprofit has since staged a capital campaign to raise the purchase funds, with current commitments from more than 100 potential donors for more than $2.7 million. “We have a lot of possibilities that we’re talking to,” said Cullinan of the list of possible donors.

And at the Nov. 19 meeting, the city council considered a request from the Blue Wing Adobe Trust for $1 million to support the acquisition of the property.

Or, as Blue Wing Trust co-chair Kimberly Blattner stressed to the council members: “(Potential donors’) very first question is, ‘What is the city doing?’” in regards to its financial commitment to the preservation effort. “It’s a PR operation right now – we can’t go forward without you.”

The property currently consists of an 1890s-era single-family residence, two barns and several other structures located in and around the downtown’s complex of historic sites -- including the Mission San Francisco de Sonoma, the Sonoma Barracks, the Blue Wing Inn and the Sonoma Plaza, among others. The residence and barns are identified in the National Register of Historic Places as “contributing buildings” to the Sonoma Plaza National Landmark District.

The property is zoned for “medium density residential” which, if sold for development, would allow for up to 11 units per acre. According to city staff, any potential funds from the City of Sonoma would go toward the purchase of a conservation easement on the already developed portion of the parcel, a move that would permanently limit any further development – a key goal of the Blue Wing Trust.

Sonoma resident Sheila O’Neill said the city’s financial support of the purchase would help instill confidence in other donors.

“We need the city not to be the savior, but the catalyst,” said O’Neill. “If you can give your support financially as well as spiritually,” it would give the Castagnasso family, and potential donors, confidence in the Blue Wing Trust’s ability to see the deal through.

If the Trust secures the funds to meet the mid-January escrow deadline and ultimately assumes ownership of the property, it plans to operate the farm as a combination park, horse stable, wedding venue, and to rent the onsite house as either a vacation rental or a long-term residence.

Blue Wing Adobe Trust officials concede the property is in need of long-term maintenance.

“The plan is to embark on a phased program (to) repair some of the buildings to their original use, such as the chicken house, but others may be repurposed,” the nonprofit wrote in a letter to the City of Sonoma, adding that plans for several of the individual buildings are still being deliberated. The Trust plans to landscape new garden, vineyard and orchard areas. An onsite manager of the property would be housed in one of the reused buildings; and a horse-trainer could potentially use the site for one or two horses.

“It is the goal of the Blue Wing Trust to provide interpretation of the site by telling the stories of the people that lived and worked on the farm from the mission period to today,” continued the letter.

In its recommendation to the council, city staff highlighted a slight downtick in expected tourism tax revenue to the city this year and suggested meeting the Trust halfway at a $500,000 contribution from the city – an amount the council members all supported.

Councilmember Amy Harrington described the farm as “a critical asset for the people of this town.”

“It’s just too valuable for us to pass it by,” said Harrington.

Councilmember David Cook agreed with the Blue Wing supporters’ concern over the message the city sends to potential donors.

“It does show (distrust) if the city is not doing anything,” Cook said.

Cook also brought up that the $250,000 in funds the city previously dedicated to Sonoma Splash became available when the community-pool nonprofit pulled out of plans for a public swim center on Verano Avenue.

Mayor Madolyn Agrimonti echoed Cook, saying that if the city is not supportive of the Blue Wing Trust, “it’s a problem.”

However, Agrimonti, a former board member of Sonoma Splash, was hesitant that the city should touch the funds previously committed to the pool, noting the importance of Splash’s objective to teach all Sonoma Valley kids to swim by fourth grade.

“We don’t want their first (swim) experience to be drowning,” said Agrimonti.

Email Jason at Jason.walsh@sonomanews.com.