ROCKLIN, Calif. — Time is running out on a pivotal deadline to save the last large area of undeveloped land in Rocklin, called Clover Valley.
ABC10 first brought you the story of Jessup University’s attempt to buy hundreds of acres of land for preservation back in early 2023. As reported, Jessup made the down payment. Since then, however, the university has struggled to come up with the nearly $8 million to complete the purchase.
They’re exploring all options before the payment is due next month.
Amid the hustle and bustle of Rocklin, Clover Valley is a sanctuary of peace, a more-than-600-acre stretch of land within Rocklin City limits.
“It’s like stepping back in time when you get out there,” said Jeff Darlington, executive director of Placer Land Trust. “Take a few steps down the slopes-- Rocklin fades away, the freeway noise fades away, and you're just, like, in Jurassic Park. It's just like being lost in the wilderness.”
Placer Land Trust is a non-profit that has protected more than 14,000 acres throughout the county. It’s partnering with the private, Christian Jessup University to turn Clover Valley into a preserve.
“Anybody who's been in this area knows that it's a historic area,” said Dr. John Jackson, president of Jessup University. “It's beautiful. It has Native American artifacts and a variety of other things, also some wonderfully environmentally sensitive species.”
Jessup entered into a purchase agreement with the private developer that owns Clover Valley—for 400 acres.
The $2.25 million down payment was comprised of $1 million from the city of Lincoln, $1 million from Placer County and $250,000 from Emigrant Trails Greenway Trust.
That was paid about two years ago.
Jessup then needed to raise about $8 million to complete the purchase, and time is running out.
“That's why this is so time sensitive; we have a large payment due in [late] December. We're hoping to be able to complete that payment, and then we'll own it, and then we'll work with placer Land Trust,” Jackson said.
Placer Land Trust will place a conservation easement on the land – protecting it forever – but it can only do that once Jessup owns the land outright.
“Fundraising has been a challenge. It's interesting me. I thought this was such a huge area that people wanted to preserve, but we paid interest of about $500,000 last year, and we since then have not been able to really raise much principal,” Jackson said.
Jessup and Placer Land Trust have applied for grants, with no luck, Darlington and Jackson said.
Now, they’re hoping for a last-minute major donor or an extension from the landowner.
“I'm not out of hope yet, for sure,” Darlington said. “We're pursuing an extension to next year. Give us some time. Recently, California passed Prop 4…climate bond, which can have some funding that could help with this.”
If the purchase falls through, the developer still has an entitlement to build some 500 homes.
ABC10 met with Doug Brewer and Tony Rakocija of Clover Valley Foundation – president and director, respectively.
“Our goal as a foundation is to preserve the entire valley,” Rakocija said. “That means the valley floor, the slopes and these ridges.”
They’ve been fighting against development here for some 25 years.
“Clover Valley - somehow, over the course of 60 years - has somehow escaped development,” Brewer said. “It would just be kind of heartbreaking to see this develop.”
They’re concerned about a development planned for the ridgetop of Clover Valley – more on that in a future story – but they are aligned with Placer Land Trust and Jessup in wanting to preserve the valley floor and slopes.
“It would be great if we could protect everything from the top of the ridgetops all the way down to the creek,” Darlington said. “I'm just not sure that that's a realistic goal for us right now. So we're sort of going from-- working from the bottom up.”
Anyone who wants to contribute to Clover Valley’s conservation can do so at Jessup.edu/CloverValley.
The City of Rocklin is holding an informational meeting this next Wednesday, Dec. 4, about the future of Clover Valley. That’s 5 p.m. at the Rocklin Police Department.
WATCH MORE ON ABC10 | Jessup University explores options to save Clover Valley land
