Foothills Forever conservancy group nears fundraising goal to buy back land from developer
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Members of Foothills Forever, an environmental coalition on a mission to save a pristine parcel near the San Marcos Foothills Preserve, reached a major milestone Thursday.
Mary Rose, a member of the the group, confirmed to NewsChannel 3 Thursday night that Foothills Forever is nearing its $18 million fundraising goal. She released the following statement:
"The Foothills Forever Fund has just today received news that a long-time local business woman, who passionately believes in the value of this amazing project, has made a $ 5 million grant through her foundation to the fundraising campaign to save the San Marcos Foothills Forever. The campaign now only has to raise an additional $1.6 million by June 1st to fund the purchase of the property!"
The developer, Charles Lande, Founder, President and CEO of Chadmar Group, agreed to halt construction on a planned and approved housing development back in March, in an effort to let the group and local environmentalists raise enough money to buy back roughly 100 acres of land.
The group now has four days to raise the remaining $1.6 million balance.
