Hearst offers green deal

SAN SIMEON, Calif. (AP) — The Hearst Corp. is offering California a way to permanently preserve the property surrounding Hearst Castle, a stunning stretch of land ranging from rugged beaches to thriving ranchland.

For $80 million in cash and $15 million in tax incentives, the company will sell the state 1.8 square miles of coastal land between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and place another 128 square miles of ranchland east of Highway 1 under a conservation easement that would bar most development.

Dozens of environmentalists back the plan, but others are alarmed by provisions that would allow Hearst to develop parts of the ranchland, which it will continue to own. They fear the company will add mansions and vineyards.

The worst-case scenario, they said, is that state officials trying to meet a May 31 deadline set by the corporation could approve the plan without reading all the small print — some of which the company hasn’t yet provided.

“I don’t think we can say we’re opposing it, because we don’t know what it is,” said Susan Jordan, executive director of the California Coastal Protection Network. “It’s fuzzy in areas that we consider to be of extraordinary importance.”

State officials negotiating with Hearst and the American Land Conservancy, which is brokering the proposed deal, will make sure it is fair, said Sam Schuchat, executive officer of California Coastal Conservancy.

Hearst attorney Roger Lyon said an independent appraiser has determined the land is worth more than double the asking price, but the company is willing to donate the difference.

All the details of the agreement will come out eventually, a legal requirement because it involves state money, he said.

Hearst Castle, with 165 rooms and 127 acres of gardens, terraces, and pools, became a state park in 1958, even though the rolling hills and rugged beach nearby remained in the hands of the Hearst Corp.

On the coast, sea otters and windsurfers frolic in tides that wash over rugged shoreline where elephant seals sprawl. Inland, forest and grasslands are home to cattle as well as zebras, sambar deer and other exotic species imported by William Randolph Hearst when the castle was being built.

In 1998, the California Coastal Commission rejected a Hearst proposal to build an 18-hole golf course and 650-room resort on ranch property after strong opposition from environmentalists, residents, and even some members of the Hearst family.

Hearst’s great-grandson, Hearst Corp. Vice President Stephen Hearst, began looking into selling the land and development rights after the commission decision.

Under the deal, the company would retain the right to build a 100-room resort designed decades ago by Hearst Castle architect Julia Morgan. The company also would give up the right to develop as many as 400 homes on the property, but retain the right to build 27.

Mark Massara, the Sierra Club’s director of coastal programs, said nothing in the guidelines would prevent the company from building 27 new Hearst castles.