Land in the Sun Mountain foothills will be largely protected from development and trails to the summit will stay open to the public under a deal coming together on Santa Fe's east side.

The Trust for Public Land signed contracts late Wednesday and paid a nonrefundable deposit to buy about 23 acres that had been proposed for the Mirasol subdivision. The same night, the City Council accepted nearly half the land as publicly owned open space.

"We're in," trust director Jenny Parks said Thursday morning, showing off a two-inch stack of real-estate paperwork. "We are guaranteeing public access to the top of Sun Mountain, which has never been there before."

The property known as the Watson Estate, where the late John T. and Jane Watson raised their family, has long been a popular hiking spot with that family's blessing. Although access to the trails has not been broken to date, development could have changed that, Parks said.

The trust worked to broker the deal this summer after being approached by an ad hoc group of area residents who conducted a fundraising drive. Next month, the trust expects to completely close on the deal, she said.

Remaining steps include paying the rest of the $3.2 million purchase price to developer Doug McDowell as well as selling a historic home on the property, creating a new lot for another large tract that will stay in private hands, and formally deeding 11 acres to the city of Santa Fe.

McDowell originally planned to create 13 lots on the property and build homes there, but agreed to sell the land instead.

Funding for the deal was complicated, including $1 million from a donor who wants to remain anonymous and $264,500 from more than 100 other private donors. About $1.4 million came from Los Angeles residents Steven Lipscomb and his wife, Miranda Viscoli, who until Thursday were called "an anonymous conservation buyer."

Lipscomb, founder of the World Poker Tour, already owns several acres and a home on adjacent land and will own 10 acres with a limited development right for two home sites. The couple closed the deal on their house and guest house just weeks before McDowell announced his subdivision plan.

Although the couple is eligible for tax credits because much of their new 10 acres will be in a permanent conservation easement in the care of the Santa Fe Conservation Trust, Parks called the agreement "generous."

The private landowners will allow continued public use of trails that branch off a driveway on the property, and Lipscomb said late Thursday that the couple has no intention of developing the home sites or stopping access any time soon.

"To the credit to those on both sides of the equation, the Save Sun Mountain group and Doug McDowell said 'We'll not make this a fight,' " Lipscomb said. "And I think that's a huge reason of why we are here."

In the meantime, the property that will come into the city's hands already has a trail that leads to the foot of the mountain and up toward its summit before crossing onto other open space.

City Parks Division Director Fabian Chavez said the city will have to undertake its own process to ensure the new public land is available as a safe place for recreation. Trail maintenance, development of a trail head, signage and a parking area could be on the list, as well as evaluation for possible fencing, he told city councilors this week.

Sun Mountain neighbor Deborah Post was one of a more than a dozen people who worked to raise funds.

"We started out pretty innocently to minimize the impact of development on the mountain," she said, which "took a turn and became a much grander objective."

Husband Steve Post also helped rally support. "I think it's an amazing community effort to save an important part of Santa Fe's setting for everyone to enjoy," he said. "We're just elated."

The trust plans to hold a public auction soon for the home already located on the Watson estate. One buyer has already offered $536,000, which will be the opening bid, Parks said.

Closing costs and maintenance money will also be needed, she said, so the fundraising effort continues.

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com or 986-3017.