Cash-poor millionaire ranchers, the Aratas came to a deal with POST

John and Clarence Arata are some of the last old-time ranchers in San Mateo County. The fall in the fortunes of local agriculture and the rise of Bay Area property values made them a paradox:  millionaires with no cash and an annual ranching income of less than $35,000. Developers would have given them millions for their 1,161 acres, but they don’t want to sell.

Instead, they sold the development rights to the Peninsula Open Space Trust for $4.7 million. Amelia Hansen of the San Mateo County Times paints a great portrait of one local family’s approach to the land use issues that are tearing Coastsiders apart.