The 1,000-plus-acre Naples/Santa Barbara Ranch property on the Gaviota Coast may be purchased by the Land Trust of Santa Barbara County, after decades of environmentalists trying to stop development on the land. 

The Land Trust will enter escrow to purchase the property, but it needs another $16 million to make the deal happen, according to Vanessa Stowers, development and communications director. 

“Once the needed funds are raised and the deal closes — as early as December 2026 but could be extended into early 2027 — the Land Trust will undertake a two-year natural resource assessment and planning process for the 1,000-plus-acre property,” the organization said in a press release Thursday.

The nonprofit organization is partnering with the Wild America Fund on the property purchase. 

The Land Trust plans to eventually develop a preserve there, including trails, nature-based recreation and other public access, while protecting natural and cultural resources, according to the press release. 

“For decades, this community worked toward protecting Naples. Advancing this project means that hope now has a closing date,” Land Trust Executive Director Meredith Hedricks said in a statement. “This is one of the rarest opportunities in California conservation: a chance to finally resolve one of the longest-running land-use conflicts (on) the Gaviota Coast and permanently preserve a property with such significant biodiversity.” 

The property was listed for sale at $70 million earlier this year, and the listing is “currently under contract,” according to the Coastal Ranch, Kerry Mormann & Associates real estate site. 

Environmentalists have spent decades trying to stop development at Naples on the Gaviota Coast. 

The Santa Barbara Ranch Project was approved in 2008 to develop 71 lots, but it was never built. County supervisors rescinded the coastal portion of the development agreement, and the property has switched hands after a previous owner faced foreclosure about 10 years ago. 

Last year, the county’s zoning administrator approved a coastal development permit to build a 6,500-square-foot home, a guest house, a barn and a garage on the property. Many speakers objected to the county using the 16-year-old environmental impact report for the permit review, Noozhawk reported at the time. 

Wild America Fund CEO Michael Bell said the purchase will permanently protect the Santa Barbara Ranch property. 

“The Gaviota Coast holds some of the richest, most imperiled biodiversity on the planet, set within one of the most competitive and complex real estate markets in the country. Wild America Fund is proud to partner with the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County in an effort to finally protect this special place,” Bell said in a statement. 

“It’s one of the most consequential conservation actions we can take, and we should seize it,” Assemblyman Gregg Hart, D-Santa Barbara, said in a statement. 

The Land Trust created a Save Naples Campaign website that outlines the “once in a generation conservation opportunity,” fundraising efforts and the “140 years of land use conflict” for the property.