Appearing before a crowd of community leaders Thursday in the clubhouse of his seaside luxury golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes, real estate mogul Donald Trump had news to share about a recently closed deal.

Instead of building 16 homes planned for the golf course’s 11.5-acre driving range overlooking the coastline and Catalina Island, the club has granted a land easement to the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy, protecting the site from development.

“It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a year, maybe a little longer than a year, and I decided to pull the trigger and do it,” Trump said, adding that giving up entitlements to develop the land “was not an easy thing to do” because it is valued at “much more than $25 million.”

“It is my great honor, and enjoy it for infinity, I guess,” he told officials from the land conservancy, a nonprofit dedicated to the preservation of 1,600 acres of open space on the Peninsula.

The easement “protects the land and prohibits harmful uses on the property such as dumping (and) landfill and also has restrictions on waste and impermeable surfacing among many other items,” according to a press release.

“The lovely open space and scenic values that are provided to our community by the dedication of this easement are fantastic and ones that we can all enjoy for many generations,” said Andrea Vona, executive director of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy.

In addition to giving up the rights to develop the homes, Trump will be making annual contributions to the conservancy to monitor the site, according to land conservancy President Bill Swank.

Rancho Palos Verdes Councilman Jerry Duhovic described the acreage, which will remain a driving range, as “one of the last, largest, most visible and valuable pieces of land on the Rancho Palos Verdes coastline.”

Luxury homes exist on the other side of the 261-acre property, which Trump purchased for $27 million in 2002 after a landslide sent the golf course’s 18th hole into the ocean.

Mayor Pro Tem Susan Brooks said while previous developers of the golf course spoke of being dedicated to open space, “only you, Mr. Trump, put your money where your mouth is.”

The praise between Trump and council members signaled that things have come a long way from years’ past. Trump referenced his at times contentious history with city leaders with a dig, saying “they had people on the council that had no idea what they were doing, frankly.”

In 2008, he filed a $100 million lawsuit against Rancho Palos Verdes that was settled four years later, claiming the city purposefully hindered his efforts to build more homes on the golf course property.

Just last year, the council made a Local Coastal Plan amendment to resolve an almost decade-long debate over a 70-foot-tall flagpole erected on the golf course without permitting in 2006.

In addition to announcing the easement, Trump hinted that a “really big” tournament coming to the golf course will be announced in coming weeks.

“Ultimately, it’s possible that we could get one of the majors because people love this course,” he said. “We’d have to work very closely with the council and with everybody, and if something like that were to happen, it would bring tens of millions to the area.”