Rancho Guejito


Rancho Guejito is a Mexican land grant in Southern California, approximately seven miles east of Escondido. It is among the last Mexican land grants still a single parcel of land.

History

In 1845, the Rancho Guejito y Cañada de Palomia was granted by Mexican Governor Pio Pico to customs inspector and Justice of the Peace José María Orozco.
Subsequent owners purchased adjacent properties, expanding the total acreage to about.
The rancho was nearly purchased in the 1970s by the State of California for $10 million. However, the purchase was vetoed by the governor. In 1974, industrialist Benjamin Coates purchased the land for $10 million. Since then, the land has remained mostly undeveloped and used as a cattle ranch.
After Coates died in 2004, ownership of the land passed to The Rodney Company, headed by Coates's daughter Theodate Coates.
Between 2003 and 2007, approximately 93 percent of the area was burned in several wildfires. An October 22, 2007 fire that began on the tract was dubbed the "Guejito Fire." The Guejito Fire merged into the Witch Fire early on October 22, which went on to burn homes in Rancho Bernardo and resulted in two deaths.

Modern development of the Rancho

In 2009, representatives from The Rodney Co. contacted the county to discuss plans for developing the tract. Representatives proposed building approximately 10,000 homes and preserving about 16,000 of the in its natural state. Conservationists and residents of nearby communities have opposed development of the land.
In 2012, San Diego County fined the Rancho Guejito Corporation $150,000, the maximum allowed by law, for illegally constructing a road on the property.