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Home My WebLink Aboutcattlemens,~~--~~ BUTTE COUNTY CATTLEMEN`S & CATTLEWQMEN'S ASS4C[ATtONS Chuck Nelson Butte County Planning Commission 7 County Center Drive Oroville, CA 95965 Butte County Planning Commission, ofisU~~~,~c~,~~ ~v-~ ~~~ F~ December 17, 201 D The Butte County Cattlemen's Association appreciates the concern baazd members and county staff have expressed relative to suggested improvements to the Butte County zoning ordinance. As a general policy, we request that all routine livestock operations he stated in the zoning ordinance as permitted and allowed use in all AG zoned lands. The intent of the attached comments are intended to help clarify and strengthen a document that is designed to protect agriculture, which is vital to Butte County's financial stability, while recognizing the need for planned and cazeful development. BCCA recommendations are in italics. Thank you for your commitment to protect, maintain, promote and enhance agriculture. We believe the following comments will help to maintain that intent within the proposed zoning ordinance. ------ -------------- ---Duke-Sherwood~-President--- --- ----- ---- ----- ------------------- ----..._..._...._..--...- --------- ----- ------ --. ----------------------------------------------- - ------ Butte County Cattlemen's Association Dave Daley, Immediate Past President Butte County Cattlemen's Association Cc: Bute County Board of Supervisors ~m Spellings Peter Callarco Richard Price ` G-'. A 'cultural Zones. 2~-13 Land Use Regulations for Agriculture Zones Page 1 S. Animal Processing, Custom -Minor Use permit required Definition from page 294 Animal Processing, Custom The slaughtering and processing of animals for non- commercial purposes. Meat products produced by an Animal Processing, Custom operation can be consumed only by the animal owner's household, non-paying guests, or non-paying employees. Products cannot be sold to the public. Included in this definition are mobile or itinerant slaughtering operations that provide on farm slaughter service for persons who raise animals. Delete the requirement of a minor use permit for animal processing. Rationale No permit should be required for this limited use practice that is standard operating practice for ranch operation. Page 18. Intensive Animal Operations- Conditional Use permit required. Definition from page 303 Intensive Animal Operations. The raising or fattening of animals in a manner that produces potentially adverse environmental impacts or adverse impacts to neighboring properties. Examples of Intensive Animal Operation uses include dairies, hog farms, feedlots, aquaculture, confined animal feeding operations {CAFOs}, large-scale bee keeping, and other similar operations. Animal Processing; Animal Processing, Custom; and Azurnal Grazing are excluded from this definition. Delete the requirement of a use permit for Intensive Animal Operations. Rationale Intensive Animal Operations are already regulated by federal and state agencies which the County cannot exceed. Page i 9. Agricultural Product Sales, On-Site- Minor Use permit required Def nition from page 303 Agricultural Product Sales, On-Site. The sale of agricultural products grown on-site. Delete the requirement of a use permit for Agricultural Product Sales. Rationale It is assumed that sale refers to sales to the general public. If so, insert general public or consumer direct sales. We request that it exempt agriculture transactions that are not public direct sales. We see no reason for the County to reguire a minor use for general agriculture onsite sales. For example, if a rancher sells excess hay production once per year to a neighbor, a minor use permit would simply add a level of regulatory complexity and unneeded bureaucracy that would further impact the sustainability of agriculture. Butte County Cattlemen's Zoning Ordinance Comments Page 20 Hunting and Fishing Club -Conditional Use permit required Definition from page 303 Hunting and Fishing Club. Any establishment that provides hunting and fishing activities or services outside of a building for a fee or admission charge. Duck clubs are included in the definition of a Hunting and Fishing Club. delete the requirement of a conditional use permit for Hunting and Fishing Club in the Ag zone. Rationale There is no reason for the County to regulate hunting on private lands. That is a matter that is regulated by the California Department of Fish and Game. This conditional permit is inconsistent with the General Plan policy ofpreserving agriculture by adding an additional layer of regulation. This is inconsistent, as it is an allowed and permitted use in TPZ with no permit required. Article 1 b Riparian Areas 24-71. page 103 A. Permitted Activities We request that livestock grazing be added as a permitted and allowed use in riparian areas. Page 95. Article 13- Walls and Fencing We request that Ag zoned lands be exempt from any of the County fence requirements. Livestock fences are directed by the California Food and Ag Code section 17121. Article 19. Parking and Loading. Page 119 delete the requirement of parking and loading space for normal ranch. operations. Rationale A statement should be made that all Ag zoned land use that do not include consumer direct sales open to the general public are exempt. Just having day use hunting or an occasional animal custom processed should not trigger parking requirements. 24-152 Animal Keeping. Page 181 The standards in this section apply only to the Foothill Residential (FR}, Rural Residential (RR), and Very Low Density Residential (VLDR) zones. These standazds do not apply to the keeping of animals in the Agriculture (AG) zones or other non-residential zones within the county. Butte County Cattlemen's Zoning Ordinance Comments 2 Minimum Area Requirements. 1) For year-round grazing, a minimum of l6 acres shall be provided per animal unit without additional feed to complement existing forage. 2) For seasonal grazing (October through May), a minimum of 1 Q acres shall be provided per animal unit without additional feed to complement existing forage. Minimum area requirements set forth in Subsection b above do not apply to intensively grazed parcels provided that all animals are maintained in a manner that does not violate any section of the State of California 1?enal Code ar Chapter 4 of the Butte County Code. Delete these animal keeping standards. Rationale There will he cattdemen..with animals grazing on lands zoned as FR or RR lands before _ _ _ _ _ they are developed. This policy is simplistic, unworkable, and would not withstand a legal challenge. The present standard of Farm and Ranch Family Housing limited to one per parcel needs to be changed. Rationale If the County wants to sustain agriculture, then it should allow clustering of homes around the headquarters. Most Butte County ranches are family operations. The requirement of only one residence per parcel in an Ag zone is not consistent with maintaining family ranching operations. It requires family members to locate another house on another parcel. This creates additional utilities, further impacts wildlife corridors and a lack of central operations. Family members should be allowed to cluster homes for more efficient land use. We understand that this may only apply to larger operations, but discouraging this practice is counter to protecting open space and ranching, along with all of the attributes that aggregate to the public from that practice. In addition, it discourages multi-generational operations which have historically been the model in beef cattle operations. Conservation Easements that eliminate agricultural uses on Ag Zoned land need to be rezoned to Natural Resources. Any conservation easements to be placed on lands zoned AG that eliminate agricultural use as part of the conservation easement ar mitigation bank restrictions, should require the project applicant/property owner be required to rezone to Natural Resources prior to the recording of the easement. Recognize Livestock Management land use practices in the Ag zone. We request that all routine livestock operations be permitted and allowed use in the AG zone. Butte County Cattlemen's Zoning Ordinance Comments Allow existing agricultural operations to continue their agricultural land use practices regardless of any newly adopted zoning designation. Rationale Any change in the land use designations should not adversely impact any current operation or historically permitted land use. This could impact livestock and other agricultural production which now exists and is currently permitted under the existing AR designation. Not allowing far this flexibility will speed the pace in which these lands will leave agricultural use. Butte Caunty Cattlemen's Zoning Ordinance Comments 4