Foothills Forever land buyback fundraising campaign extended to June 9
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Developer Charles Lande, Founder, President and CEO of Chadmar Group, and members of the Foothills Forever land conservancy group have mutually agreed to extending a June 1 fundraising deadline to June 9.
"We're grateful to the property owner for working with us and the community response," said Mary Rose, Campaign Director for Foothills Forever. "The community has shown it is an important open space and wants to continue our legacy of protecting public space."
Back in March, Lande agreed to halt construction on a planned and approved housing development near the pristine San Marcos Foothills Preserve. The move allowed the group and local environmentalists to try and raise enough money to buy back roughly 100 acres. Close to 25 acres within that zone is slated for construction.
As of this post, the group has raised $17,901,183. An additional $698,817 is needed by the new June 9 deadline.
"Over 5,000 individuals have donated to this cause. It is phenomenal in the short time we've had to do this," said Rose.
A huge donation came at the end of May from a local businesswoman who made a $5 million grant through her foundation. NewsChannel 3-12 has been told that the woman wishes to remain anonymous.
The June 9 deadline is exactly one week away.
