CITY OF INDUSTRY >> The City of Industry secured 2,500 acres of ranch land outside its borders eyed for a solar farm for less than half the appraised value after agreeing to forever protect the land from housing development.

In a surprise move, the seven-member state oversight board tasked with selling off the land accepted the discounted bid Thursday in a narrow vote that granted Industry officials a major victory in their multimillion-dollar quest to build what could become one of the larger solar projects in Southern California.

Industry had offered $100 million for Tres Hermanos Ranch, but will only pay $41.6 million as part of a concession to restrict the land for public use, public facilities and open space in perpetuity.

Industry’s expansion into solar energy would fall under public facilities, according to city officials.

“The majority of the board voted and believed having open space has some value and goes above and beyond the financial aspects,” said Santos Kreimann, chairman of the oversight board and chief deputy assessor for Los Angeles County.

Kreimann and two others cast the dissenting votes after attempting to force Industry to provide plans to neighboring cities and partner with county agencies to ensure parks get built.

Officials from Diamond Bar and Chino Hills called on the board to reject Industry’s offer because they said the city failed to follow environmental and zoning laws for the property, which spans the two bedroom communities on the edges of Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties.

Chino Hills City Attorney Mark Hensley said Industry spent more than $9 million working on its solar proposal, but parks and trails are not mentioned anywhere in thousands of documents obtained through a public records request.

“Nowhere in the plans we received is there discussion of open space. There is only discussion about a solar farm,” Hensley said. “I suspect this could be a bait and switch.”

For months, Industry refused to disclose its designs for Tres Hermanos until a Southern California News Group investigation uncovered a year’s worth of work quietly performed by a limited liability corporation with ties to a La Jolla-based real estate developer.

Board members on Thursday chastised Industry for keeping them in the dark about the city’s plans to build a 444-megawatt solar farm. Some said they only learned of the project for the first time from media coverage.

Industry City Manager Paul Philips offered to place a deed restriction on the land but only if the sale price were severely reduced.

Kreimann had balked at the idea, suggesting more restrictions and the full price were necessary to ensure the communities and school districts surrounding Tres Hermanos would receive the best outcome from the sale.

Instead, Philips pushed the board for a decision on the $41.6 million price and was able to win majority support thanks to yes votes from two appointees representing Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, including Cindy Chen, her chief of staff.

Chen declined to comment on her decision to support the sale.

Yolanda Duarte, appointed by former Supervisor Gloria Molina but kept on by Solis, cast the deciding vote, saying she felt the deed restriction was a victory that would keep the land from falling into the hands of housing developers.

“The covenant was greatest influence to me by protecting the residents and this beautiful land,” she said.

Both previously voted against Industry’s earlier offer of $41.6 million. Duarte at the time said she wanted a fair market appraisal of the land, which came back at $100 million in January.

Conservationists and community members showed up to support Industry’s purchase of the land because they believe it would preserve open space and stop a competing proposal from an Orange County company seeking to build 1,881 homes.

Estimates suggest the solar project would take up at least 1,000 acres of the ranch land, but officials in Industry said the exact size of the development has not been decided.

Philips said the city is dedicated to ensuring part of the land becomes accessible to the public for the first time in decades.

“With the board’s approval today, the city is looking forward to exploring options for the land dedicated to open space, recreational space such as hiking trails and exploring alternative energy projects that will help our region meet its sustainability goals,” Philips said in a statement.

Industry City Attorney Jamie Casso said the city will present plans for the property to Diamond Bar and Chino Hills leaders once the project is further along. Industry officials fully intend to complete necessary environmental studies, he said.