The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously voted to begin acquiring a nearly 1,500-acre portion of the 3,654-acre ranch, with the remaining space being acquired by the Santa Clara Valley Habitat Agency.
The Conservation Fund, a national nonprofit, purchased the land for $16 million from China-based Z&L Properties - whose co-founder and former CEO Zhang Li is under scrutiny for allegations of bribery and kickbacks - and is holding the land until the local public agencies have the financing in place to purchase it. This was due to a deal that collapsed last month between Z&L and San Jose-based developer Terrascape Ventures, according to The Mercury News.
It's one of the last remaining unprotected ranches in Coyote Valley, a commanding and environmentally delicate vista, that San Jose leaders for decades eyed for industrial sites and tech campuses. In 2021, council members voted to block industrial development in Coyote Valley. County supervisors followed suit with a similar vote that year.
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