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Board unanimously approves 2026 land plan to sell dairy parcels and buy 200 acres in Ontario for parkland
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Summary
Supervisors approved the county’s 2026 amended and restated land plan to sell remaining Prop 70 dairy properties and use proceeds to acquire about 200 acres in the City of Ontario for a planned park; the state conditionally approved the plan on March 3 and staff outlined appraisal and conservation‑easement requirements for transactions.
San Bernardino County supervisors voted unanimously to approve a 2026 amended and restated land plan that proposes selling the county’s remaining Prop 70 dairy properties and using the proceeds to acquire roughly 200 acres within the City of Ontario for a master‑planned park.
Assistant Executive Officer Chad Nottingham told the board the plan traces to Proposition 70 funding (approved by California voters in 1988), under which the county originally received $20 million to purchase nine dairy properties in the Chino Agricultural Preserve. Nottingham said state law enacted since (referenced in the presentation as SB 1124) permits sale or exchange when minimum acreage and habitat values are maintained, subject to appraisal review and conservation easements.
Nottingham said staff had submitted the 2026 plan to the state and received conditional approval on March 3. Under the board’s implementation steps, any transaction would return to the board for consideration, appraisals would be submitted to the state for review, purchased land would carry conservation easements, and a final report would be filed with the state once transactions are completed.
Supervisor Hagman congratulated staff for persevering on a long‑running effort to convert underused dairy parcels into higher‑value conservation and parkland, saying the result could be “transformational” for the West End and Chino Valley. He moved to approve the plan; Vice Chair Baca seconded. The motion passed with an affirmative voice vote recorded by the chair.
The approved plan allows staff to begin implementation steps described on the record; any actual sale or purchase will return to the board for formal approval with appraisals and conservation easements submitted as required.