Happy Hunting Ground

Community Comments

Who's Entitled?

By Erik N. Nelson

Perhaps because there is so little developable land close to the capital, Yolo County’s attempt to acquire a vast, open ?oodplain through eminent domain has touched a major nerve in the region.
     From the bistros of Davis to the governor’s of?ce, in the tractor dealer-ships of Woodland and at the baccarat tables of Cache Creek, discontent swirls around the ultimate fate of the Conaway Ranch, 17,300 acres of open space that spread south from Interstate 5 just across the Sacramento River from Sacramento International Airport.
     Most of California’s hot-button issues — water and property rights, gambling-enriched Indian tribes in?uencing state policy, developers affecting land-use decisions, wildlife habitat conservation and ? ood control — join the mind-numbing debate over what’s best for Conaway’s soggy rice paddies and nondescript alfalfa ?elds.
     The fuss might seem simpler if Yolo County was condemning the farm of a family that had worked the acreage with their own hands for genera-tions. But, unlike celebrated eminent domain cases throughout the nation, this battle doesn’t feature hulking big government against grandma on her front-porch swing. This is a cash-strapped local government versus a group that includes savvy investors, developers with deep pockets and a stable of attorneys at the ready.
     The ranch’s owners include some of the region’s biggest real-estate developers, including Steve Gidaro, John Reyen, Carl Panattoni and Jack Sweigart. Together they call themselves the Conaway Preservation Group. Previous owners commuted from Southern California to enjoy the property until selling it 16 years ago to an earlier group of investors that included Gidaro and an ill-fated investment arm of PG&E.

Status Quo vs. Status Quo
Continued...

• Share
  • Digg This
  • del.icio.us
  • Newsvine
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Furl It
  • !Y My Web
  • Google
• Email
• Print

Recommend This

Community Comments