BCLT is entering the final stages of the process to purchase the remaining 46 acres of the historic Tacherra Ranch. This fully operational working family farm has provided locally produced meat, vegetables, and eggs to the Bolinas Community for over 100 years.
Funds to execute this purchase from the family come from private lenders who have given our organization a bridge loan. Previously, the BCLT purchased 20-acres of the Ranch in 2018. Nearly 60 members of our community, including some 3rd and 4th generation members of the Tacherra Family, are currently living in non-confirming structures on the remaining 46 acre parcel.
BCLT, the Tacherra family members, and the residents of the ranch are working collaboratively with the County of Marin to resolve immediate health and safety issues and plan for permanent affordable agricultural worker housing, preserve open space through agricultural use, and complete a wetland restoration to improve sensitive habitat.
Our 4 Phase Plan
Phase 1: Temporary emergency Housing
This phase of the project includes the construction of temporary emergency housing, plus a septic system, on an already disturbed area of 20 acres that the BCLT currently owns. The construction and septic zones are not delineated as wetland habitat. Construction of temporary housing means that all residents of the Tacherra Ranch will be moved off of their current location. On May 9, 2023, the county approved the emergency coastal development permit for this temporary emergency housing. The emergency housing will consist of portable homes in the form of R.V.s. This development will present a temporary visual disturbance to the community, but it is an action we are pursuing in response to the efforts led by the County of Marin to respond to this health and safety emergency.
Phase 2: Remediation, removal, and reconstruction
The remediation of the red tags on the Tacherra Ranch entails the removal of unpermitted structures and the clean up of existing waste. This phase also includes the establishment of permanent, affordable Agricultural Worker housing in the location where the families currently reside on the 46 acres. After construction of these permanent homes, all residents will move into their new facilities and the temporary emergency housing will be deconstructed. Plans and entitlements for this phase are not yet complete and will include multi-stakeholder community engagement.
Phase 3: Agricultural cooperative creation
Phase 3 will occur simultaneously with Phase 2, and marks the creation of an Agricultural Cooperative for the Bolinas community. This will serve all members of our community, including the Tacherra family, who wish to engage cooperatively in agricultural activities at the ranch. Some ideas that have been proposed thus far include community gardens, dry storage, shared solar tractor, and a communal goat herd.
Phase 4: Wetland Restoration
BCLT is committed to preserving our environmental resources. We are delighted to have the opportunity to partner with MALT, Coastal Conservancy, and other seasoned parties to develop a plan to fully restore and rehabilitate the precious wetland habitat that is located in the grazing pasture on the Tacherra Ranch along Mesa Road.
Hear from the residents of Tacherra Ranch
Hector Mora and his daughter, Estella Mora Lopez, read statements in Spanish and English from the members of the Tacherra Ranch at the May 10, 2023, Bolinas Civics Group Community meeting. This letter is an open letter from the Tacherra Ranch residents.
Estella Mora Lopez reading the open letter from the Tacherra residents in English.
Estella Mora López leyendo la carta abierta de los vecinos de Tacherra en inglés.
Hector Mora reading the open letter from the Tacherra residents in Spanish.
Héctor Mora leyendo la carta abierta de los vecinos de Tacherra en español.
“Our hardships have been hiding in your plain sight for two decades. We may make it look like everything is okay, but it’s not. Our fear of losing what little we have has also kept us from speaking up. But, now we have to, because now we have hope for a better future and that is worth taking a risk for.”
Tacherra Ranch in the News
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Click here to read the Pt. Reyes Light article written by Ben Stocking and published May 17, 2023.
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Click here to read the Pt. Reyes Light article written by Ben Stocking and published on May 10, 2023.
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Click here to read the Marin IJ article written by Richard Halstead, published October 24, 2023.
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Click here to read the Marin IJ opinion column by Dick Spotswood, published October 30th, 2024.
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Click here to read the Marin IJ Op-Ed piece, written by the Marin IJ Editorial Board. Published on October 29, 2023.
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Click here to read an update on the Bo-Linda Vista Emergency RV Park.
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Click here to read the article in Point Reyes Light.