RANCHO GUEJITO: Horn adamant eminent domain off the table for historic ranch

Idea was suggested and rejected, Horn says

By DARRYN BENNETT - Staff Writer | Monday, March 31, 2008 4:41 PM PDT ∞

VALLEY CENTER ---- A county supervisor leading the effort to purchase and preserve a historic 23,000-acre ranch east of Escondido reiterated Monday that he won't use eminent domain to acquire the privately-owned land, amid speculation that it might soon be developed.

San Diego County Supervisor Bill Horn said he was misquoted last week when at least two local news media organizations reported that he said he would resort to using the controversial power to acquire Rancho Guejito if the owners couldn't be persuaded to sell the land ---- the largest piece of privately owned, undeveloped property in the county and the last intact Mexican land grant in the state.

Eminent domain essentially allows the government to take private property for public use by paying the property owner fair market value.

Horn told the North County Times last week that he'll go to great lengths to keep the land pristine and undeveloped as long as it doesn't mean using eminent domain to reach that goal.

He reiterated his position Monday.

"I am not and would not consider (using eminent domain)," he said in a phone interview. "Not under any condition."

Horn described himself as a "property rights advocate," adding that he firmly rejected a U.S. senator's suggestion last year that eminent domain could be used to acquire the ranch.

Horn declined to say which senator made the suggestion.

During his annual State of North County speech last week, Horn said he will lobby the federal government in April for roughly $100 million to help acquire the ranch. He has said he will seek another $85 million from state and county officials for the purchase.

"I hope to have willing sellers in the near future," he said Monday.

Meanwhile, Hank Rupp, a Temecula-based attorney who represents the owners of the ranch, called Horn's offers to buy the land "outrageous," saying Guejito isn't for sale at any price. Rupp said he "wouldn't be surprised" if the county tried to take the swath of land by eminent domain.

"Horn's back-pedaling," he said of Horn's denial that such a plan exists.

Environmentalists often call Rancho Guejito the "conservation jewel of San Diego County." The rugged expanse stretches from the San Pasqual Valley north to the 4,221-foot peak of Pine Mountain near the La Jolla Indian Reservation. Meadows and mesas dot the landscape. Herds of deer and packs of coyotes roam the working cattle ranch.

Benjamin Coates, a wealthy businessman, bought the property in 1974 for $10 million. Since his death in 2004, his daughter Theodate, a New York artist Rupp represents, has been managing the estate.

Contact staff writer Darryn Bennett at (760) 740-5420 or dmbennett@nctimes.com. Comment at nctimes.com.