Santa Clara County’s Sargent Ranch will not become a sand and gravel quarry after a recent land purchase by the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST). The Palo Alto-based nonprofit bought 2,284 acres of rural property south of Gilroy for $23 million. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, this acquisition includes the site planned for mining and other land that had been marked for development.
With this transaction, POST continues to expand its holdings at Sargent Ranch. In May, it purchased 2,490 acres at the ranch. The previous October, it acquired the adjacent 1,340-acre Pescadero Ranch, once part of Sargent Ranch. The latest deal was made possible with support from the Santa Clara Valley Water District, Land Trust of Santa Cruz County and additional donors. POST now owns 6,114 out of 6,500 total acres at Sargent Ranch and is under contract to buy the remaining land later in the year.
Sargent Ranch Partners LLC, led by San Diego businessman Howard Justus, previously owned the land and proposed a 403-acre mining operation to extract 38 million tons of sand and gravel over three decades. This plan faced strong opposition from local residents who were concerned about noise, traffic congestion and environmental impact on the landscape. While developers have not formally withdrawn their quarry proposal, selling most of the property makes such plans unlikely to move forward. Other commercial ideas floated for the area included hotels, golf courses and a casino.
The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band played a key role in efforts to prevent development on what they call Juristac. The group has shown interest in owning or managing parts of the site and recently secured ownership of 50 acres just south of Sargent Ranch.
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