August 24, 2015
Posted in: News Articles
State issues grant to purchase Petaluma ranch
Sonoma County’s open space district has secured a $300,000 state grant for prospective acquisition of development rights to a 230-acre cattle ranch in the rolling hills on the southwest flank of Petaluma, officials said Thursday.
The grant — from a new state fund aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions — is intended to help finance the Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District’s purchase of a conservation easement over the ranch owned by Mark and Lori Glenn, located on the D Street Extension near the city’s southern boundary.
Statewide, a total of $4.6 million in grants awarded by the California Strategic Growth Council will protect more than 14,000 acres of farmland, preventing urban sprawl and avoiding increased greenhouse gas emissions associated with development of rural land, officials said.
Misti Arias, acquisition program manager for the open space district, said there’s a twofold gain for clean air in preserving agriculture: maintaining grasslands and soil that sequester carbon and avoiding vehicle traffic by the occupants of new homes built outside cities.