Surprising New Twist to Tres Hermanos Saga

As reported in yesterday's San Gabriel Valley Tribune, an unexpected left-field turn of events concerning the Tres Hermanos Ranch in Tonner Canyon, directly north of Carbon Canyon, emerged recently when the City of Commerce made overtures to purchase the ranch for $42 million.

The story is convoluted and complex, but seems to involve an effort from a utility firm, San Gabriel Valley Water and Power, formed to develop a solar farm at Tres Hermanos by contract with the City of Industry until that plan wetn awry, to work with Commerce on acquiring the ranch and revive the project.  So far, officials in Commerce have been tight-lipped about its discussions concerning the property, basically saying that they are simply exploring options.

Industry was given approval by the successor agency to its former redevelopment agency to buy the ranch but whose purchase has been stalled by litigation involving the cities of Chino Hills and Diamond Bar.  A key condition was that the ranch had to be developed for public use and there was talk about preserving portions of the nearly 2,500-acre property for open space and recreation.  That public use, for a time, was the scuttled solar farm project, though it looks like Commerce is aiming to bring it back.

Chino Hills City Manager Rad Bartlam was blunt in stating that the city would sue Commerce if it was to acquire the land and pursue the solar farm, adding that officials in Commerce would be "completely crazy" to assume otherwise.  Industry's city attorney Jamie Casso noted that the state's Department of Finance has approved the sale of the ranch to the city, noting "it's mind-boggling that anybody would think that this is possible."

An aerial photograph of Tres Hermanos from the north, taken in March 2018.

Industry, Chino Hills and Diamond Bar have recently undertaken settlement negotiation talks concerning joint control of Tres Hermanos, but Commerce claims Industry has not satisfied the terms of the sale from the successor agency and requested consideration for purchase, even though its own city council has not formally acted and two members of the council said they knew nothing about the issue.

Moreover, any sale would have to be approved by the successor agency and would also have to go out to bid, including to developers who've already made offers of up to $125 million for the ranch.  There are also other legal issues, including whether Commerce's closed door meetings are a violation of the Brown Act, requiring public transparency for certain discussions by government agencies. 

Officials from Chino Hills and Industry appeared at a Commerce council meeting just before Thanksgiving, at which officials there were poised to have a closed-door confab about Tres Hermanos, and threatened, including by letter, to sue Commerce over its proceedings.  Two Los Angeles County supervisors, Janice Hahn and Hilda Solis, have indicated they want as much preserved open space as possible in addition to raising concerns about the legality of Commerce's actions to date.

A view of the 2,500-acre ranch from the east.

As for Commerce, which gets a significant revenue stream from casinos in the city but is facing a significant loss of funds due to new state actions on gaming, it apparently is looking to utility services as a potential generation of income.  Its two months of closed doors meetings and hiring of an attorney formerly employed by Industry to work on the solar farm project have raised eyebrows, with the Tribune reporting that Anthony Bouza may have broken the law by not getting informed written consent by Industry about his possibly using confidential information that would harm a previous client (Industry) to benefit a new one (Commerce,) a point echoed by Casso.

Check back for updates as new information is forthcoming.

10 Year Freeway Complex Fire Commemoration Event This Weekend

Marking the ten-year anniversary of the Freeway Complex Fire, which roared through much of Carbon Canyon and nearby areas in November 2008 and particularly timely given the massive wildfires that have burned throughout the state this month, Hills for Everyone, the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council and the Chino Hills State Park Interpretive Association are sponsoring a commemoration event of the fire this weekend.

Held Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Chino Hills State Park Discovery Center at 4500 Carbon Canyon Road in Brea, the free event includes exhibits of photos, videos, memorabilia, posters and other materials documenting and discussing the fire.  Fire fighting vehicles will be displayed by the Chino Valley and Brea-Fullerton fire departments.

On Saturday from 1-2 p.m., there will be a special presentation by Nature of Wildworks, which will bring native wildlife to vividly show first-hand the impacts the fire, which burned more than 30,000 acres (including 95% of the state park) in four counties and destroyed over 280 houses, had on wildlife.

Sadly, devastating wildfires are becoming a normal feature of life in California as climate change, rapid population growth, and expansion of housing in wildland areas continue.  Carbon Canyon is a microcosm of the risks the interplay of these three facets pose, especially as a new 107-unit project, Hidden Oaks, is expected to be brought before the City of Chino Hills in 2019.  This event will bring needed attention to what wildfires mean, not just in looking back, but in seeing forward.