BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Yolo County has been committed to preserving agricultural land since the inception of the original Yolo County General Plan of 1958, and has continually reaffirmed through updates to the general plan and the 2016-2019 Strategic Plan which includes agricultural land preservation as a priority focus area within the Flourishing Agriculture goal . Multiple strategies, policies, and programs have been implemented over time in alignment with this goal. This presentation will provide an evaluation of Yolo County’s agricultural land preservation efforts as compared to other agricultural counties in California. This presentation will allow the Board to review existing strategies and identify opportunities to further strengthen the County's commitment to this goal.
AGRICULTURAL LAND PRESERVATION
Yolo County utilizes the following policies in order to maintain agricultural lands:
- Williamson Act contracts:
- These contracts allow landowners to voluntarily restrict usage of their land for agricultural purposes for 10 years, in return receiving lower property tax rates.
- There was previously a moratorium on signing new contracts in Yolo County between 2009 and 2017 due to the state halting subvention payments to counties to recoup property tax losses.
- Currently 52% of total land in Yolo County is under a Williamson Act contract.
- Land Easements:
- These contracts are voluntary agreements in which the landowner restricts the use of their land permanently for agricultural or open space purposes.
- The contracts are facilitated by private, non-profit land trusts.
- Five major land trusts manage 29,860 acres of land in Yolo County. They are:
- Yolo Land Trust – 11,000 acres;
- California Rangeland Trust – 10,300 acres;
- Wildlife Heritage Foundation – 6700 acres;
- Sacramento Valley Conservancy – 1680 acres;
- Center for Natural Lands Management – 180 acres.
- Agricultural Land Mitigation Program:
- This program requires landowners who convert agricultural lands to other purposes to establish conservation easements on adjacent lands at a base ratio of 3:1.
- Small development projects of under 20 acres can pay a fee of $10,100 per acre instead of creating an easement.
- Agricultural Economic Development Fund:
- This fund was created in June of 2014 in order to assist farmers in making agriculture more economically viable.
- A comprehensive analysis was completed in October of 2014, and outlined 97 potential projects that would fit the purpose of the fund, of which 32 have been initiated or completed.
- The fund currently has $22,181, and does not have any dedicated revenue stream for future projects.
- Agricultural zoning rules:
- Zoning rules are present in the General Plan and outline the uses and restrictions associated with different types of agricultural lands in Yolo County.
- Large agricultural buffer zones:
- These buffer zones are restricted lands between urban centers, designed at preventing urban sprawl between the incorporated cities, such as the buffer between Woodland and Davis.
- Right-To-Farm ordinance:
- This ordinance recognizes the significance of agriculture to Yolo County, and provides special protections for farmers, such as certain nuisance complaints.
- Agricultural districts:
- The agricultural district of Clarksburg authorizes staff to collect data and provide special agriculture-related services within the boundaries of the district.
- Urban growth limit initiatives:
- Initiatives taken on by the incorporated cities of Yolo County in order to preserve agricultural and open space lands, and reduce urban sprawl, such as the urban limit line in Woodland.
- Tax-sharing agreements with urban centers:
- Yolo County and city governments currently work in tandem with regards to sales tax revenues, so as to reduce the incentive for development outside of urban centers.
- Agricultural spray buffer:
- There is a buffer of 500 feet that is required between agricultural land and land used for other purposes.
Comparative Analysis of Other Counties
In the comparative analysis five other counties were studied regarding their agricultural land preservation policies: San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Sonoma, Stanislaus, and San Joaquin. These counties were chosen due to recommendations by various sources during early stages of research, as these counties were known to be largely agricultural and have a stated commitment to preserving agricultural land.
The agricultural land preservation policies, programs, and strategies were researched for each of the selected counties, and then compared to Yolo County. As detailed in Attachment A, it was found that of the selected counties, only Sonoma had a more robust policy toolkit to preserve agricultural lands, as Sonoma County has a designated revenue stream for their County Agriculture and Open Space District. This dedicated revenue stream allows the district to pursue projects designed to preserve open space and agricultural lands, create management plans, create innovative projects on preserved land, and create connections between various stakeholders and community members towards further open space and agricultural development.
Conclusion
Yolo and Sonoma Counties are at the forefront of agricultural land preservation in California. Both have adopted a wide variety of regulatory tools, low-cost programs, and coordination strategies, which have been very cost-effective in preserving agricultural land.
Despite efforts thus far, there is still risk of agricultural land being converted to non-farming uses due to inherent market pressure to turn agricultural land into commercial or residential use given Yolo County’s location between the Bay Area and Sacramento. A potential means of mitigating this risk and further strengthening our agricultural economy and landscape is to pursue a designated source of revenue for the Agricultural Economic Development Fund. The fund is already been established and has a list of projects to pursue, but lacks the funding to do so. Should the Agricultural Economic Development fund have a permanent funding source the County could pursue the designated projects as well as other agricultural projects/programs that further the relevant strategic plan goals: 1) Agricultural land preservation; 2) Facilitate connections between growers and buyers; 3) Develop strategies to nurture new agriculture and agriculture-related technology businesses. |