Buy and Protect the
San Marcos Foothills

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So, you thought the San Marcos Foothills were protected? Well, you were partially right. Two hundred acres were protected by the County of Santa Barbara and constitute the San Marcos Foothills Preserve, but the rest was approved for development of single-family homes. Construction of new homes off Cieneguitas Road is being completed right now, and there are 8 more new homes are in the final stages of getting permits to build at the north end of Via Gaitero Road. Each new home would be about 5,000 square feet and would be accompanied by a guest house and associated development. All in all, the 8 new homes would occupy about 24 acres, and the remaining 80 acres would be permanent open space with a dedicated public trail. For more information about the development, click here. The part of the San Marcos Preserves that is about to be developed is what the development advertising calls "the Upper Preserve."

Final permits will be issued by the County to begin construction, probably by the end of year. Yet, there is a chance that the community of Santa Barbara could buy it from the owners, protect it, and add it to the San Marcos Foothills Preserve. We intend to pay the fair market price for the undeveloped land. However, we do not have an agreed upon selling price with the property owner at this time. The actual purchase price may be higher. Let’s raise the money together as a community and make an offer to pay fair market value for the undeveloped land.^st.

The 104-acre property is currently undeveloped and we want to keep it that way. It provides important habitat for rare birds called white-tailed kites and other wildlife as well as native grasses and wildflowers that depend on grasslands for their survival. From the property there are views of the mountains, Santa Barbara, Goleta, the ocean, and islands.

Please join us and contribute or pledge today by clicking one of the buttons below. All funds that are donated to this effort will be deposited into an account only to be used for the purpose of acquisition of the property. If the effort fails, we promise to return all funds. Alternatively, you can pledge your future support without making an actual donation now, and we will contact you for your donation when the sale is completing. Please donate or pledge to this important campaign, and invite your friends and contacts to join you. So far, we have raised an astonishing 1.3 million dollars, mostly in cash donations! With YOUR help, we have a real chance to save the San Marcos Foothills!

If you would like to discuss a significantly large donation - please contact Ken Owen.

Ken Owen
(805) 448-5726
ken@cirweb.org

To find out more about the San Marcos Foothills visit the county website and http://sanmarcosfoothills.com/