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Home My WebLink About16-084 410101120,,p, „trofp.4;r0 Men#00,,,30,4. „. *OrOggwAtigglAgMfigviUk, ,i60010,6440404$Aaavt'AONS41 14,0414#0*0 tltIPMMA,Vf4,,ACA'ogilgCg. ':'fg:.!,,!,!:otdigkgRr,N4W8'Aty,,,;,!:lo,a,00v,Sgp.5*gVt,Dhzogi 10010Sti Vi'.40107tUti"OrtMlefiNe,WONAtiggitiVAMIMMINgen21$15040 004,04111/LA tiftaettMqigti4O,Paiiiiyfe)OWIpoupdieltovrlly5VPt,Agigs VACAVA*04. lANOOMPS4',#49 i0A,OPg*18000;n0gtfteAg*NPWOVAVOTtgOegtaftMg#0,0WW1gAUW14WOOrgtOVAWIAM ri0010,4)' Resolution No, 16-084 A RESOLUTION OF THE zUTTE COU TY zOARD OF SUPERVISORS SU'PORTING AN APPLICATION FOR GRANT FUNDS FROM THE CALIFORNIA !I HEr.ARTI ENT OF CONSERVATION'S SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL LAN IS CONSERVATION PROGRAL1 (SALCP) FO "r 1E GARNER RANCH AGH1'7.1C 'ILTURAL CONSERVATION EASEMENT WHEREAS, the Legislature has established the SALCP within the Department of Conservation and through a grant program is providing assistance to conserve important agricultural land resources that are subject to conversion pressures; and WHEREAS, The .utte County General Plan Agricultural Element includes numerous goals and policies in support of Agriculture in Butte County including Goal AG-1 to "Protect, maintain, promote and enhance Butte County's Agriculture uses and resources, a major source of food, employment and income in Butte County, " Goal AG-2 to "Protect Butte County's Agricultural lands from conversion to non-agricultural uses," and Policy AG-P2.2 which states, "The County supports private conservation organizations that utilize voluntary agricultural easements as a tool for agricultural conservation, continued agricultural use, agricultural supportive uses, tax breaks, and similar goals"; and WHEREAS, lands in the vicinity of the Garner Easement, north of the City of Chico, in unincorporated utte County have experienced and will continue to experience non-agricultural development pressures; and WHEREAS, the Northern California Regional Land Trust (NCRLT) intends to acquire an agricultural easement on approximately 2,480 acres of agricultural lands located approximately 2.1 miles north of the City of Chico's northern sphere of influence boundary for the purpose of conserving priority agricultural land resources; and WHEREAS, the agricultural easement would enable the property to remain in grazing use while preventing non-agricultural uses that could harm site resources. NOW, THEREFORE, E IT RESOLVED that the Board of Supervisors makes the following fin& gs relative to the subject property, supports the filing of an application for funding from the SALCP and certifies that the easement meets the eligibility criteria set forth in Public Resources Code Section 10251: 1. The parcel proposed for conservation is expected to continue to be used for, and is large enough to sustain, commercial grazing. The land is also in an area that possesses the necessary market, infrastructure, and agricultural support services, and the surrounding parcel sizes and land uses support long-term commercial grazing. The subject property is located outside of the City of Chico's Sphere of Influence, within an unincorporated portion of northern Butte County characterized by grazing land. The property has been a working ranch for well over 80 years; cattle have been grazed onsite for the majority of this time. The landowners desire to maintain the property as a working ranch. The 2,480-acre property is enrolled in the Williamson Act program and is large enough to support continued commercial grazing. Water supply at the ranch is comprised of riparian water rights, springs (improved & unimproved), agricultural wells with associated distribution lines, and stock ponds. The subject property and properties to the east and west are designated Agriculture and zoned AG-160 (Agriculture 160-acre minimum parcel size) for agricultural use. Land to the south, south of Cohasset Road, is designated Foothill Residential and zoned FR-40 (Foothill Residential, 40-acre minimum). Land to the north is within Tehama County; it is designated Upland Agriculture by the Tehama General Plan and zoned A-1 (160-acre minimum). Therefore, surrounding parcel sizes and uses are consistent with commercial agriculture. 2. Butte County has adopted a General Plan that demonstrates a long-term commitment to agricultural land conservation. This commitment is reflected in the goals, objectives, policies, and implementation measures of the plan, as they relate to northern Butte County in general and the project area in particular. The Butte County General Plan 2030 Agricultural Element includes numerous goals and policies in support of agriculture in Butte County, including Goal AG-1 to "Protect, maintain, promote and enhance Butte County's agriculture uses and resources, a major source of food, employment and income in Butte County," Goal AG-2 to "Protect Butte County's agricultural lands from conversion to non-agricultural uses," and Policy AG-P2.2 which states, "The County supports private conservation organizations that utilize voluntary agricultural easements as a tool for agricultural conservation, continued agricultural use, agricultural supportive uses, tax breaks, and similar goals." The property is designated as Agriculture by the County's General Plan Land Use Map and the property is zoned AG-160 by the County's official zoning map, adopted November 6, 2012. The previous General Plan and zoning designations for this property also reflected agricultural land uses. 3. Without conservation, the land proposed for protection is likely to be converted to non-agricultural uses: If the project were removed from the California Land Conservation Act (CLCA, or"Williamson Act"), the subject property could be divided and developed at a density of two dwelling units per legal parcel (a total of 18 dwelling units plus accessory structures), or more intensive agriculture involving deep ripping of vernal wetlands. The parcels current enrollment in the Williamson Act is voluntary. Land owners under Williamson Act contract can choose to non-renew their parcels, in which case the land will no longer be covered by the provisions of the Williamson Act in nine (9) years. Alternatively, a land owner can choose to withdraw from the Williamson Act, in which case tax-related penalties typically apply and land is released from the Williamson Act contract in the short-term. Residential uses and relatively small agriculturally-zoned parcels are located in proximity to the subject site. Rural residential homes, on parcels approximately 1+ acre in size, are located along Cohasset and Sycamore Valley Roads, near the southern boundary of the subject property. Foothill residential homes, on parcels approximately twenty-acre parcels in size are located approximately 1.5 miles to the east of the subject parcel. These small parcels in the immediate vicinity of the subject parcel, both rural and foothill residential homes, have resulted in loss of grazing land and increased development pressure on lands in the vicinity to be re-designated and subdivided in the future. The existing General Plan designation of Agriculture and AG-160 zoning encourages continued agricultural operations, the adjacency of this land to the existing rural and foothill residential development is acknowledged. The agricultural easement supports economic viability of agricultural operations on the property by conserving agricultural land at an economically viable scale. An agricultural easement on the subject parcel could substantially influence whether the subject property converts to rural or foothill residential uses, like the land use pattern to the south and east, or whether it remains in commercial agriculture, like parcels to the north and west. The proposed agricultural easement would preserve historic grazing uses on the subject parcel and preclude development outside of two home site areas, two-acres each. Consistent with vernal resources on site, deep ripping of soils is also precluded by the agricultural easement. PASSED AN ADOPTED by the Butte County Board of Supervisors on this 14th day of June, 2016, by the following vote: AYES: Supervisor Wahl, Kirk, Lambert, Teeter and Chair Connelly NOES: None ABSENT: None NOT VOTING: None ( LQ BILL Co"NELLY, Chat Butte County Board of Supervisors ATTEST: MAUL HAHN, Chief Administrative Officer And Clerk otthe e-r-d By: Deputy )