A California appeals court has stopped plans to build houses on a 1,400-acre ranch near Julian.
The Appellate Court ruling overturns a Superior Court decision to let the developer build homes in the bucolic valley.
The court ruled that Genesee Properties Inc., a Colorado-based development company, cannot turn the Hoskings Ranch property into 40-acre home sites.
The developer ran afoul of the Williamson Act. That law gives a huge tax break to landowners who promise to limit the use of their property for agricultural purposes.
The court decided the project did not meet that standard.
Opponents of the San Diego County-approved project said the ruling will serve as a precedent that could affect a lot of agricultural lands in California.
“If you don’t have these kinds of limitations, speculators will simply use this as a tax break and just plan to develop,” said Duncan McFetridge, the founder of Save Our Forests and Ranchlands.
The developers argued, unsuccessfully, that the homesites still allowed for agricultural uses. They did not attempt to remove the lower tax rate that was awarded under the Williamson Act.
“This ruling allows the Williamson Act to do the job it has always been intended to do and that it has done pretty well until now. The developer here was trying to create a loophole and drag this project through it,” said Gabe Ross, at attorney challenging the project in court.
The developer can appeal to the California Supreme Court.
Attorneys for the developer and San Diego County did not return calls seeking comment.
