HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PROGRESSION OF DEVELOPMENT AT
HERITAGE RANCH
FROM IT'S INCEPTION UNTIL CURRENT

On May 25, 1972 Heritage Ranch was first established by recordation of the Master CC&Rs. The owner/developer of Heritage Ranch at that time was Gordon Heath.  Heritage Ranch encompasses a total of approximately 9,210 acres.  At least 5,100 acres were to be retained as open space.  The build-out at Heritage Ranch was 6,800 homes that were anticipated to occur over approximately 20 years in cluster divisions.  Cluster divisions are high concentration of houses surrounded by open space.  The map recorded with the Master CC&Rs identified a large concentration of development in what is now known as the certificate parcels.  At some point the certificate parcels were removed from the Village Reserve Line (VRL) for planning purposes. 

There were two main roads that were to be built within the boundaries of Heritage Ranch, Gateway Drive and Heritage Road.  In December 1972 a General Plan Amendment was filed by Gordon Heath moving Heritage Road to run through Monterey County Flood Control and Water Conservation District’s property.  This was conditional on a 50-year lease agreement between Heath and Monterey County allowing Heath to obtain concession rights for Nacimiento Lake Park.  Heath formed a corporation named Water World to manage that establishment.

Heath lost his interests in Heritage Ranch in 1975 to Wayne Reeder who formed Six Corporation.  By 1975 there were seven (7) Tracts developed.

In 1977 Reeder stated: “that it is not now intended that this Community reach the sprawling development size [of 6,800] as was previously planned, which is a relief to a majority of the membership who have made their feelings known in this regard.  There will be increases in construction and further development; however, it will be on a proportionately smaller and more reasonable scale.”

In 1978 the County of SLO considered taking Gateway Drive and Heritage Road over and accepting them into the public road system.  This matter was delayed after vigorous protests were heard by the Heritage Ranch community.

In September 1980 Reeder filed with the County for a Development Plan which included a reduction of build-out to 4,000 homes.  Reeder also set about to separate Heritage Ranch from Nacimiento Lake Park by re-establishing a second main road within Heritage Ranch boundaries which eventually became Heritage (Loop) Road. 

The County requested open space inventories from Reeder as he submitted developments of additional tracts within Heritage Ranch.  An early map shows a recommendation to hold three (3) certificate parcels (approximately 600 acres) aside because it appeared the developers were already short of the required 5,100 acres required by the County.

In 1981 Reeder decided to try to sell off all eighteen (18) certificate parcels, representing over 2,000 acres as private lots.  Supplemental CC&Rs were recorded and each of those eighteen (18) certificate parcels began paying assessments to the HROA on December 1, 1981.  Only four (4) of the eighteen (18) certificate parcels were actually sold.

By 1983 Reeder had made it clear that all future development efforts would preserve Heritage Ranch as a private community.  In a letter dated February 25, 1983 to property owner Gordon Laughlin, Reeder’s representative wrote: “If we discuss Six Corporation profits, what about 40 acres, on a public road, overlooking the lake, the only such thing in the area?  We could, obviously have simply accepted the then official plan, and submitted our required Phasing Plan which dealt only with timing.  No more hearings would have been required on the road to Water World, the 40-acre commercial, the government center, or the public roads.  With the Phasing Plan (now approved) and the enclosed submittal, we reverse all that, and preserve the integrity of the ranch.”

In 1984 the issue of opening Gateway Drive and Heritage Road was again reviewed by the County and with Reeder’s support the members again vigorously protested this.  This caused the County to suspend that option indefinitely – but left the door open subject to the provision that future development projects could trigger the need for public take-over at some point in the future.

In 1986 Reeder then applied for a General Plan Amendment.  The build-out was reduced by the County to 2,900 homes, primarily due to water issues.  A proposal to extend Equestrian Road was abandoned as a compromise with the community.

The County understood the required 5,100 acres of open space was to be maintained and verified with each subsequent application of a tentative map, yet by eliminating all the certificate parcels from the VRL it made both the 5,100 acres and 2,900 build-out virtually impossible to achieve.  This seemingly precipitated the need to develop various new interpretations of open space.

As tentative tract maps for Tracts 1503, 1666, 1910 and 1990 then followed, Heritage Ranch property owners demanded a plan for more marina parking and launching facilities to handle the proposed build-out.  A marina study was prepared showing three possible locations for additional launching ramps and parking facilities.  Heritage Ranch at that time informally adopted “Option #2” which provided for a second marina behind the Country Store.

Reeder and his representatives continued to make certain assurances to Heritage Ranch property owners that various parcels had or would be deeded to the HROA and kept in permanent open space.  Heritage Ranch property owners continued to use the undeveloped land for their recreational enjoyment and access to the lake.

By the late 1980s / early 1990s the Reeder Empire began to crumble leaving Heritage Ranch again victim to a second bankruptcy.  All proposed or promised parcels not already deeded to the HROA were tied up under the Reeder bankruptcy under a $50,000,000 financing scheme.

In the early 1990s the Board of Directors of Heritage Ranch met with legal counsel and considered filing a lawsuit to try to secure ownership of specific open space parcels.  It was decided to wait for a sale to occur so as not to interfere with that process.  The attorney at the time did get two parcels released, Lot 85 and 86 of Tract 693, which had been inadvertently excluded from the bankruptcy.  After payment of back property taxes, those parcels were deeded over to the HROA in 1993.

The remaining undeveloped land at Heritage Ranch was then fought over in court between two insurance companies, American Universal, Rhode Island and Diamond Benefits, Arizona.

In 1995, while the property was under American Universal’s control, the last known open space inventory was done.

In 1998 Diamond Benefits formally took ownership and control of the undeveloped land at Heritage Ranch and began to aggressively market the property to perspective developers.  During this time, up to and including early 2002, Heritage Ranch representatives did not formally meet and discuss their strategy or position in preparation for the sale of that property.

The tentative maps for Tracts 1666, 1910 and 1990 were preserved and carried over pending that sale.  The tentative map for Tract 1503 was allowed to expire.  Eventually the tentative map for Tract 1666 was also allowed to expire.

The remaining fourteen (14) certificate parcels under Diamond Benefit’s control were sold off to David Weyrich on July 18, 2000.  The remaining undeveloped land was sold off to HR Holdings and then partially to King Ventures on April 2, 2002.  Each developer then went about with their own development plans communicating directly with the County.

In late 2002, a Planning Committee was formed at Heritage Ranch and members attempted to work through various development issues being proposed by King Ventures and began a dialog on the same.  Supported were such things as:  development of the RV Storage Lot area as long as Ibis Lane was not connected and a buffer between homes existed, and development of the remainder parcel between Tract 1910 and Tract 1063 as long as Reservoir Road was not connected or used to access the same.  Not supported were such things as:  time share rentals, a public golf course, a public road, a commercial vineyard, or the extension of Equestrian Road for reasons already stated.

In 2003 the Board of Directors of Heritage Ranch felt it was necessary to file a lawsuit in attempt to ask the court to resolve or interpret numerous outstanding issues, specifically related to the determination of open space, its ownership and control and other disputes that had arisen between HROA, the developers and others.

King Ventures formally filed for a General Plan Amendment in June 2004 which included a public golf course which would be managed under the formation of a separate association.

Tract 1990 then filed a request with the County Planning Commission to have the option to create a separate association in September 2004.  Heritage (Loop) Road was to be public under this optional scenario.  Heritage Ranch brought the 1995 open space inventory into this debate, citing the numerous inaccuracies and interpretations.  The HROA then initiated a suit against Tract 1990 LLC on this matter.

After that lawsuit was filed, a settlement then resulted between the HROA and Tract 1990 LLC.  Tract 1990 LLC agreed to be part of Heritage Ranch and abandoned the idea of a separate association.  That agreement assured Heritage (Loop) Road would remain private and the open space surrounding Tract 1990 would be owned and controlled by the HROA.

Positive dialog then continued with David Weyrich, Bob Schiebelhut and John King to attempt to all work together to find a reasonable, tenable solution, to help bring stability to our community by formulating a development plan that involves all parties.  A Development Plan Agreement was formally drafted with the intent of serving as a road map for all future development at Heritage Ranch.  Your Board of Directors formally approved this agreement on April 28, 2006 by unanimous vote.  All parities agreed to meet on May 10, 2006 before Judge Picquet.  The "Judgment Pursuant To Stipulation For Entry Of Judgment" was signed by Judge Picquet and filed on May 22, 2006.  All official documents regarding this matter will be made available for down-loading from the website and/or free of charge through the Association Office.