Saving Sonoma’s downtown pasture from development not a sure thing
“We’re winning the emotional battle but we’re not winning the financial one,” said Kelso Barnett about the efforts by the board of the nonprofit Blue Wing Trust to raise the necessary money to save and preserve Sonoma’s iconic downtown Mission Bell Farms horse pasture from development.?Despite almost 7,000 signatures on an online petition of community support, the group is finding that signatures aren’t money in the bank.
The Castagnasso property, dubbed Mission Bell Farms, on East Spain Street went on the market quietly last spring for $7.6 million. A deal with a developer was in the works, and Blue Wing board members had to move quickly. The Blue Wing Trust board – in its effort to further the nonprofit’s goal of preserving and restoring historic Sonoma properties – entered into contract to purchase the working Clydesdale farm in June for $7 million, board members disclosed at a meeting for potential donors on Tuesday night. They believed that they presented the best chance to preserve the downtown farmstead.
The 2.72 acre property, which is one of the largest downtown lots, includes two barns, two pastures and a turn-of-the-20th-century white farmhouse at 196 E. Spain St.
Group members say they’re battling a common misconception that the farm is already protected by a conservation easement. Efforts were made to preserve the Castagnasso property as open space back in 2007, and the City of Sonoma made a tentative financial commitment at that time. But after years of on-and-off negotiations, the deal fell apart in 2010.
And now, the Castagnasso family is eager to move to the midwest and to consolidate its Clydesdale horse-breeding operations there.
And if this current effort to preserve the open space fails, a developer interested in the property is waiting in the wings, according to Blue Wing Adobe Trust board president Patricia Cullinan. When asked how she knows this, Cullinan replied: “Because they keep calling me!”
Current zoning would allow for 30 housing units on the property. “Likely high-end houses and luxury vacation rentals,” cautioned board member Ned Forrest at the Tuesday meeting.
Kimberly and Simon Blattner, who have overseen successful capital campaigns for the Sonoma Valley Hospital, La Luz and Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, will co-chair a broad community fundraising effort in the coming weeks. But the Blue Wing Adobe Trust board has so far been unable to secure the handful of major donors that they hoped would enable them to propel the project forward. And they have a firm deadline of Nov. 30 to come up with a $2 million deposit, and the balance of the purchase price by Jan. 15.
“Nov. 30 is our ‘go - no go’ day,” said Will Honeybourne, one of the trust’s board members. “All donations until that point are refundable if we can’t make this work. But after that day, we’re committed.”
“There is a short timeline to raise the funds necessary,” added Barnett. ?The board is waiting to hear from both the Sonoma County Ag and Open Space District (about a $2.5 million matching grant) and the City of Sonoma (about a request for $1 million). Cullinan hopes the board’s request will be on a City Council agenda in October.?Cullinan said that in her meetings with both the Open Spaces grant staff and with 1st District Supervisor Susan Gorin, their first question was, “Well, how much is the City (of Sonoma) giving you?”
“Open space preservation like this is clearly articulated in the City’s General Plan,” said Forrest on Tuesday night.
“This farm, this horse pasture, is a key part of Sonoma’s brand,” said Barnett.
After renovations, the Trust plans for the property to continue to be a working farm. The house will generate rental income, as will horse boarding, and the Trust is open to possibility of synergies between tourism at the adjacent state parks and the farm.
“We will definitely keep horses on the land,” said Cullinan.
“This property is really the soul of Sonoma,” added Forrest.
But the board has a daunting task ahead. “We need money and we need it now,” said Cullinan. “We are going to need a handful of big donors, plus county and city funding, as well as broad community support in order to succeed.”
The mood on Tuesday night was cautiously optimistic. “We’re planning on being successful,” said Cullinan firmly.
For information, visit www.bluewingadobetrust.org.
Email Lorna at lorna.sheridan@sonomanews.com.
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