At last, plans for La Bajada Ranch

Santa Fe County has had a long, unusual journey with its 470-acre La Bajada Ranch out by La Cienega.

The County Commission bought it back in 2009 for $7 million. At the time, the idea was to stave off potentially dense development that was being pushed for the property.

The purchase pleased residents of La Cienega and surrounding areas, who for years had fought against the development plans. But critics argued that buying the parcel wasn’t a good move for county government, which had to tap into its reserves for the purchase and which had no specific plan for what do with the ranch.

The $7 million price tag was slightly lower than the appraised value, but more than twice the per-acre price that the previous owners had paid just a few years earlier. Now, the county finally seems to be moving forward with a plan for the ranch.

For a big piece of the property, the county has entered into an “agricultural lease” with Frank Mancuso Jr. — known as the producer of the “Friday the 13th” sequels and co-creater of “Friday the 13th: The Series” — who previously has said he wants to preserve the land and use it for a community farm that would also have an educational purpose. Under the terms, his company would pay $1,800 per year for five years, with the option to extend the lease in five-year increments ending after 25 years. Mancuso bought about 850 acres of adjacent property in 2014 and had it re-zoned for single-family homes.

It’s too early to assess this deal. Obviously, $1,800 a year isn’t much return for about half of a property that the county purchased seven years ago for $7 million. But let’s hold off on calling this a, well, horror story, based on Mancuso’s expressed good intentions and until the community value of his project becomes clear.

County officials are kicking around several other ideas for the rest of the ranch, judging from a “conceptual plan” presented to the County Commission in October. These include an open space trail network and, clustered in a 5.6acre site, “community uses” like a senior and/or community center, a fire station and a visitors’ center. The ranch property includes a compound with a 7,800-square-foot house, a swimming pool, a tennis court and other facilities. Sale or lease of the house is listed as an option.

Other ideas include residential development, possibly as part of a “sustainable development demonstration area,” and conservation of riparian habitat and archaeological sites. The county also plans to use sites on the property to “seed” its Transfer of Development Rights Bank. That program allows property owners to sell development rights to their land, but still own the property, safeguarding it as open or agricultural space. Builders can buy the development rights and use it for denser projects in other areas.

It’s good to see plans shaping up for La Bajada Ranch. Down the line, it will be time to settle up on the cost of county’s $7 million land buy versus the long-term results.