Santa Lucia Preserve

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The Santa Lucia Preserve
Project
Construction started1990
Opening date1999; 23 years ago (1999)
DeveloperPacific Union Co.
ArchitectHart Howerton
OperatorSanta Lucia Preserve Co. & Santa Lucia Conservancy
OwnerSanta Lucia Preserve Co. & Santa Lucia Conservancy
Websitesantaluciapreserve.com, slconservancy.com
Location
Santa Lucia Preserve is located in the United States
Santa Lucia Preserve
Coordinates: 36°31′36″N 121°52′05″W / 36.52667°N 121.86806°W / 36.52667; -121.86806Coordinates: 36°31′36″N 121°52′05″W / 36.52667°N 121.86806°W / 36.52667; -121.86806
LocationCarmel, California
Address1 Rancho San Carlos Rd
Area
 • Total8,000 ha (20,000 acres)

The Santa Lucia Preserve (sæntə luˈsiːə pɹəˈzɝv) or The Preserve (formerly Rancho San Carlos) is situated on the west coast of the United States in Carmel, California, set amongst the foothills of the Santa Lucia Range. The Preserve consists of a non-profit nature reserve, a gated community, a country club, and is the location of The Preserve Golf Club.[1]

Founded in 1990 by developer Peter Stocker and his assistant Tom Gray, they established The Preserve as a conservation community, protecting 90% of the 20,000 acre property in perpetuity through a conservation land trust, named the Santa Lucia Conservancy.[2][3][4][5] The remaining 10% would be separately owned and operated by The Santa Lucia Preserve Company, and would feature under 300 homesites, an existing Spanish-style hacienda dating to the 1920s, a 365-acre golf course designed by Tom Fazio,[6] and numerous recreational facilities. After backlash from a group of local activists, The Preserve Company and the Conservancy were able to move forward with a modified design. The property has served as a shooting location for film, television, and commercials.[7]

History[]

The history of the land on which The Preserve is situated closely matches that of California itself. First settled by the Rumsen Ohlone Native Americans, the land fell under Spanish control once colonists arrived and established the Presidio of Monterey and the Carmel Mission in the mid-1700s.[8] The Rumsen people were Christianized and incorporated into the colony as neophytes and forced laborers, and in the early 1800s the land was parceled out through Mexico’s system of land grants as two distinct ranchos: El Potrero San Carlos and The San Francisquito.[9] The ranchos were each bought and sold over the years, until they were combined into San Francisquito y San Carlos by new owner James Sargent in the 1800s. It was during this period that author Robert Louis Stevenson fell ill while on a camping trip and was nursed back to health in a cabin on the property,[10] the ruins of which remain today.[11] Sargent’s brother managed the land as a cattle ranch, before it was bought and renamed to Rancho San Carlos by George Gordon Moore, a 1920s socialite and friend to nearby newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. Rather than a working ranch, Moore outfitted the land with polo grounds, an 11-bedroom hacienda, a stocked 18-acre lake, and imported Russian boars for sport hunting.[12][13] Despite recent unsubstantiated claims that Moore inspired the literary character of Jay Gatsby,[14][15][16] Moore's polo team the San Carlos Cardinals featured polo star Tommy Hitchcock Jr.,[17] who did inspire the character of Tom Buchanan.[18][19][20] With the market crash and Great Depression, Moore was forced to sell the estate to the Oppenheimer family,[14][21] who returned the land to its ranching roots and also used the property as a family retreat for half a century.[22]

In 1990 the property was acquired by the Rancho San Carlos Partnership, a subsidiary of Pacific Union Co, itself a San Francisco-based property developer.[23] Following a helicopter crash on the property which killed co-founder Peter Stocker, execution of the project was left to his business partner Tom Gray.[24] After nearly a decade of archeological, hydrological, ecological, and topological research, as well as extensive litigation, the Rancho San Carlos Partnership established two organizations to care for the property: The Santa Lucia Preserve Company and a non-profit land trust called the Santa Lucia Conservancy. The Preserve Company would manage all lands with real estate, club amenities, and infrastructure (dubbed “Homelands” and “Rancholands”), while the Conservancy would manage the 18,000 acres of wild natural habitat (dubbed “Preserve Lands”). The logos and overall brands for both organizations were designed by American graphic designer Michael Patrick Cronan.[25] The strict style guide for future homes, as well as the design of a golf clubhouse and numerous recreational facilities were accomplished by architectural firm Hart Howerton.[26][27] In 2018, an illustrated volume on the history of Rancho San Carlos was published in collaboration with historian Mark Hugh Miller.[28][29]

Private clubs[]

The Preserve offers invite-only memberships to The Preserve Golf Club and a separate recreational ranch club. The former includes access to a private 365-acre Tom Fazio golf course,[30] which has been ranked in the top 100 U.S. courses.[31][32][33][34] In 2021, The Preserve Golf Club served as a local qualifying location for the US Open in May,[35] and hosted the California State Amateur Championship in June.[36][37] An annual invitational tournament is held in honor of the late Preserve co-founder, Peter Stocker, who perished on-property in the early days of the development.[38][39]

Santa Lucia Conservancy[]

The Santa Lucia Preserve's property boundaries and immediate neighbors. The Monterey Peninsula is visible at top left.

The Santa Lucia Conservancy has a two-part mission to protect, enhance, and restore the lands of The Santa Lucia Preserve while promoting ecologically sustainable development. Conservation efforts at The Preserve are coordinated by the Santa Lucia Conservancy, a legally distinct 501(c)(3) non-profit land trust,[40][41][42] the establishment of which had oversight and legal input from the Trust for Public Land.[43] Conducting adaptive land management across nearly 18,000 acres of the Preserve, the Conservancy’s programs include conservation grazing,[44] controlled burns and maintenance of firebreaks to build wildfire resilience and adapt to a changing climate, scientific research and monitoring of threatened and endangered species, as well as an environmental education program to both Preserve members and the local community. In partnership with local universities, the Conservancy maintains an ongoing internship program for students looking for field experience in conservation land management and ecology.[45]

In 2016, the Soberanes Fire burned along The Preserve's southwest border, with the property serving as a critical access point and staging area for firefighters.[46] At the time, the firefighting efforts were the costliest in US history.[47] In 2018, the Conservancy partnered with the Trust for Public Land and regional conservation organizations to acquire 140 acres of the Carmel River watershed. A large portion of this land was incorporated into Palo Corona Regional Park, while the Conservancy acquired 5 acres for its offices and operations.[48][49][50] In 2020, the Conservancy was awarded $2 million in state and federal grants to improve local fire resiliency.[51][52]

In 2021, The Santa Lucia Preserve achieved Firewise® Community certification, after extensive efforts between the Santa Lucia Conservancy, Santa Lucia Preserve's Community Services District, and homeowners.[53] Firewise® certification (administered by the NFPA, USDA Forest Service, and National Association of State Foresters) recognizes communities that have systematically instituted fuel management plans, use of fire-resistant building materials, strategic placement of structures, and implementation of careful landscaping with ignition-resistant plants.[54]

Filming location[]

Since at least the 1960s, the property has served as a shooting location for film, television, and commercials, including a 2020 film shot entirely within a Preserve home, notable for being the first to be written and produced entirely during the COVID-19 pandemic whilst abiding by local safety guidelines and with approval from the Screen Actors Guild.[55]

Productions Filmed On-site
Film/Television Release Year
Lancer[56] 1968
Chandler[57] 1971
Sleeper[58] 1973
The Muppet Movie[59] 1979
[60] 1994
Malcolm & Marie[61] 2020

Early criticism[]

When the property was purchased by developers in the early 1990s, some locals protested, petitioned, and sued in an effort to stop the project, with legal support from the Ventana Chapter of Sierra Club.[62][63] Besides suspicion that the development was a conservation project in name only, a marketing ploy known as green-washing, some of their specific concerns were that The Preserve would increase local traffic, put strain on water resources, worsen air quality, and that developers were planning far more development than they were declaring publicly. While one such lawsuit was successful in including a measure on the 1996 presidential ballot for Monterey County,[64] the results of which barred developers from building a 150-room hotel and shopping area on the property,[65] a modified plan eventually moved forward with support from conservationists and local officials.[66]

Sid Ormsbee Lookout[]

Historic photo of now-decommissioned Sid Ormsbee Lookout

Located within The Santa Lucia Preserve, the Sid Ormsbee Lookout is a 30 foot tall former fire tower resting atop Peñon Peak (also known as Pinyon, Penyon, and Pinion Peak), constructed in 1948 by the California State Division of Forestry, precursor to today’s Cal Fire.[67] The tower is visible throughout The Preserve and Carmel Valley. It was named for a local volunteer who was active in the California State Division of Forestry before going on to serve and eventually perish in World War II.[68] The tower was manned by alternating seasonal rangers (sometimes with their families) until the 1980’s when it was decommissioned. Today it serves as a radio relay and cell tower for The Preserve, Cal Fire, Monterey County Regional Fire District, and Monterey County Sheriff’s Department.[69] It was added to the National Historic Lookout Register in 2010.[70] A plaque commemorating its namesake is positioned at the base. Access to the public is by permission only.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Bartlett, James Y. (June 1, 2003). "The Best of the Best 2003: Golf Communities – Santa Lucia Preserve". Robb Report. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  2. ^ Gfeller, Anne (December 10, 1992). "Rancho San Carlos: Developing a Vision". Monterey County Weekly. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  3. ^ Louis, Arthur M. (June 9, 1995). "Rebel With A Cause -- To Succeed". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  4. ^ Fletcher, June (August 22, 1997). "Locals Fight 'Nature Preserve,' Saying It Will Hurt Environment". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  5. ^ Carlton, Jim (February 28, 2001). "After Years of Battle, Housing Project On Nature Preserve Can Claim Success". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  6. ^ Diedrich, Richard J. (2008). The 19th Hole: Architecture of the Golf Clubhouse. Mulgrave, Vic.: Images Publishing Group. p. 244. ISBN 9781864702231. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  7. ^ "Location: Rancho San Carlos". MontereyCountyFilmCommission.com. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  8. ^ White, Charles P. "Costanoan Rumsen Carmel Tribe". CRC.NativeWeb.org. Costanoan Rumsen Carmel Tribe. Archived from the original on October 17, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  9. ^ "History of Rancho San Carlos". Santa Lucia Conservancy.com. Santa Lucia Conservancy. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  10. ^ "Robert Louis Stevenson in California". Robert-Louis-Stevenson.org. RLS Website. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  11. ^ Pitnick, Richard (July 16, 1998). "No Place Like Home". Monterey County Weekly. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  12. ^ Dowd, Katie (December 26, 2019). "One eccentric socialite is to blame for California's wild pig problem". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  13. ^ Scutro, Andrew (November 28, 2002). "Hog Heaven". Monterey County Weekly. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  14. ^ a b Ingram, Mike. "George Gordon Moore". grahamcounty.net. Graham County, NC. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  15. ^ Phillips, Anne (October 2, 2015). "Golf Courses That Play Well and Save Water". Huffington Post. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  16. ^ Manley, Jeffrey A. (2015). "Mrs. Stitch in the First World War". Evelyn Waugh Studies. University of Leicester. 46 (1): 37. Retrieved February 26, 2021. [Moore] is said to have met Scott Fitzgerald in the post-war period, and Bailey joins in with earlier speculation that Fitzgerald used him as the model for Jay Gatsby in his 1925 novel... But Sarah Churchwell, in a recent study of Gatsby, gives no credit to George Gordon Moore as a contributor to Gatsby's character (Careless People: Murder, Mayhem and the Invention of 'The Great Gatsby'.
  17. ^ "Brilliant Throng Sees Opening of Polo Season". San Francisco Examiner. February 10, 1929. p. 66. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  18. ^ Churchwell, Sarah Bartlett (2013). Careless People: Murder, Mayhem and the Invention of The Great Gatsby. London. p. 36–37. ISBN 978-0748129294. When Scott Fitzgerald mused over the origins of The Great Gatsby twenty years later, beginning his outline in Man's Hope with the 'Glamor of Rumseys and Hitchcocks,' these were the people he was remembering.
  19. ^ O'Neill, Natalie (March 8, 2013). "Son claims his LI dad was 'Great Gatsby' inspiration – and someone stole his $750G book". New York Post. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  20. ^ Aldrich, Nelson W. (2016). American Hero: The True Story of Tommy Hitchcock. Guildford, Connecticut. pp. XXIV–XXVII. ISBN 9781493022885. Retrieved March 1, 2021. In those years Hitchcock himself was going to a good many parties. He and two friends lived in a brownstone on East 52nd Street with a man who might have sat for the portrait of Jay Gatsby. His name was George Gordon Moore, and the parties that he gave were filled with music, lovely girls, handsome men, good food and wine, frequent laughter, and tears. One could never tell whom one might meet at a George Moore party […] At these parties—the same sort of parties that Fitzgerald went to, of course—Tommy Hitchcock stood out. In the first representation that the novelist made of him, as Tom Buchanan, the resemblance to the man is distorted.
  21. ^ "George Gordon Moore Loses San Carlos Ranch". The Carmel Pine Cone. February 2, 1940. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  22. ^ "Fruit Industry Leader Dies". The San Francisco Examiner. March 4, 1950. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  23. ^ Beck, Susan (October 18, 1990). "Owners plan to preserve Rancho San Carlos' character". The Carmel Pine Cone. pp. 6–7. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
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  25. ^ "Cronan Client List". Cronan.com. Cronan Design Firm. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
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  59. ^ "THE MUPPET MOVIE". filmmonterey.org. Monterey County Film Commission. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  60. ^ "POCO LOCO". filmmonterey.org. Monterey County Film Commission. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  61. ^ Maitland, Hayley (July 9, 2020). "Zendaya Secretly Filmed A 'Marriage Story'-Esque Movie During Lockdown". Vogue. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  62. ^ Sneider, Daniel (April 30, 1996). "Green Scam or Green Model?". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  63. ^ Walton, John (2003). Storied Land: Community and Memory in Monterey. University of California Press. pp. 262–266. ISBN 0-520-22723-9. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  64. ^ "Vote Totals, Election Outcomes and Text for County Ballot Measures" (PDF). CA.gov. Center for California Studies and Institute for Social Research. 1996. p. 18. Retrieved February 11, 2021. Measure M: Shall Ordinance No. 03857 approving rezoning of portions of the Santa Lucia Preserve subdivision (also known as Rancho San Carlos) be approved? FAIL
  65. ^ Wiley, John (1998). Green Development: Integrating Ecology and Real Estate. New York: Wiley. pp. 204–206. ISBN 0471188786. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
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  70. ^ "Sid Ormsbee Lookout". nhlr.org. National Historic Lookout Register. Retrieved September 2, 2021.

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