Tejon Ranch

Heralded as one of the largest land use and conservation projects in California history, the Tejon Ranch deal represents one of Coblentz’s crowning achievements in this arena. We represented Tejon Ranch Co., a publicly traded company, in the negotiation of an agreement with five environmental resource organizations, including the National Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club and others, over the use of 422 square miles of largely undeveloped property along Interstate 5 approximately 60 miles north of Los Angeles.

The deal, which provides for the preservation of nearly 250,000 acres and development plans for approximately 30,000 acres, received the Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award–California’s highest and most prestigious environmental honor–recognizing exceptional leadership for voluntary achievements in conserving California’s resources, protecting and enhancing the environment, and building public-private partnerships. It permanently protects an unbroken expanse of open space more than seven times the size of San Francisco, open space that’s home to native grasslands, oak woodlands, Joshua trees and conifer forests, and protects habitats for the California condor and other threatened and endangered species.

Real estate partner Harry O’Brien was honored with the California Attorney of the Year award and was named a Top Deal Maker, and both Harry and Matt Bove were also honored with California Lawyer’s CLAY Award for their work on the historic deal.