Bigger Lots-Smaller Stables
Coalinga in Central California, 60 miles west of Fresno has a western style culture that echoes of old Texas—-oil rich with a strong link to the cowboy.

The area, however, is thin on equestrian operations, making it ripe for Platinum Land Company, based in Simi Valley, California, to step in with Lost Hills Ranch, a residential development soon to be under construction in Coalinga.

“Owning a horse is a very big part of life in Coalinga, however there is only one boarding stable and it is very old and over subscribed,” said Bruce Beck, a spokesman for the development company. “There are more horses than places to board them in the area, which bodes well for a development of this type."

Site development for the 320-acre community will begin late this year or in early 2008. The two-year build out will result in 91 large-lot ranchettes, a 13-acre recreation and community center with a 22,000 square-foot covered equestrian arena and more than four miles of hiking and equestrian trails.

In a different design approach from Saddlebrook with its more typical lot sizes and centralized stables, the lots in Lost Hills will range from 1.5 to five acres and will allow homeowners to stable their horses on their own property.

“While this community has its roots in oil, it also has a rich cowboy history and many people here would love to own a home where they can also board their horses,” said Coalinga City Councilmember Mike Oxborrow. “More importantly, Lost Hills Ranch provides the type of housing needed for the jobs that are being created by the nearby state hospital and prison. No longer will candidates for these jobs have to look for this type of housing in Fresno or Paso Robles,” he said of the communities larger but distant neighbors.

For Platinum, there is an economic incentive to market larger lots, according to Beck.

“We believe there to be a stronger market for spacious ranchettes over tract homes,” he said. “Like golf course communities, in which it is estimated that only 25 percent of the residents golf, not every buyer will own a horse.  Some people will also buy for the open and tranquil feel of the development, which is rare at this price point in California.  Plus it will be a lot easier to sell 91 home sites than the typical six pads to an acre. We can turn this around pretty quickly,” he said.

A focal point of the community will be a one-acre, man-made pond whose water will be used for irrigation of trails, common-area landscaping as well as recreational use. Additionally, the non-potable pond water will be pumped to each ranchette for the irrigation of personal pastures and landscaping.

“By using well water on the property, the development will not tax the city’s water supply,” said Platinum Land Company CEO John Vogel. “The 320-acre development will require only a fraction of the city water required for a conventional subdivision.”

To ease the financial bite of overhead costs to the homeowners’ association, which will own the amenities, the developer is tapping into another sustainable feature. Power for the water systems and equestrian center will be supplied by state-of-the-art solar panels located on the equestrian center roofThe developers are going to great lengths on the solar technology, which has the potential to generate more electricity then they will need, according to Beck.

“They see selling back energy to the local power grid,” he said.