The proposed Williamson Act Guidelines establish administrative guidelines and substantive land use requirements above those of the Zoning Code for land enrolled in the State Williamson Act program in Yolo County. The Williamson Act statutes require that “the board or council, by resolution, shall adopt rules governing the administration of agricultural preserves . . . .” (Government Code Section 51231). These rules must include “procedures for initiating, filing, and processing requests to establish agricultural preserves” and may enumerate compatible uses on contracted lands.
Like many other counties, Yolo County previously complied with this requirement by embedding Williamson Act regulations in the Agricultural Preserve (A-P) zone district. However, these A-P regulations were repealed and superseded in July 2014 when the new Zoning Ordinance Code was adopted, which nonetheless retained many of the pertinent provisions applicable to Williamson Act lands. The County thus proceeded to develop separate Williamson Act Guidelines to more clearly spell out procedural requirements and consider additional possible land use restrictions on Williamson Act contracted land.
BACKGROUND
The proposed Williamson Act Guidelines retain some of the most important standards for contracts previously included in the A-P zoning, such as the minimum parcel sizes to enter into contracts. There are also several notable changes to the previous Williamson Act regulations that are proposed in the Williamson Act Guidelines, including:
- definitions of terms used in the program;
- a discussion of the Board of Supervisor's action to rescind the moratorium adopted in 2009 to prohibit enrolling new lands under contract;
- a discussion of the recently enacted changes to the State law regarding the length of Williamson Acts contracts (reducing to nine years in certain circumstances);
- a reduction in the minimum parcel size requirement for existing legally conveyed or sold parcels under Williamson Act contracts from 40 or 80 acres (as previously required) to the State requirement (10 acres for prime farmland or 40 acres for non-prime farmland);
- the elimination of Successor Agreements; and
- a list of land uses and activities that are deemed compatible with the Williamson Act.
Parcel Size for Sold or Conveyed Parcels
Regarding the third bullet item above, staff recommends that the current minimum parcel size for sold or conveyed parcels under contract be reduced to be consistent with State law minimum parcel sizes for new contracts (10 acres for prime soils and 40 acres for non-prime land). Conveyance of legal parcels under contract that do not meet the minimum acreage requirements set forth in State law is allowed provided that a notice of non-renewal is submitted and accepted by the County prior to the recordation of the sale or conveyance. The previous A-P zoning required that individual parcels that were included under an existing contract could not be conveyed or sold legally unless the parcel met the same minimum parcel size for land going into a new contract (40, 80, or 160 acres, as noted above, depending on cultivation and irrigation status).
Successor Agreements
A significant change from the previous A-P zoning and existing practice is repeal of the requirement of new Successor Agreements (prepared when contracted parcels were sold or conveyed). A requirement for Successor Agreements issued through the Planning Division appears unique to Yolo County; most other agricultural counties regulate or track such ownership transfers through the Assessor's Office and/or Recorders Office only. There is little, if any, benefit to such duplication of efforts, given that contracts run with the land and are binding on successors, even without a new agreement. Given the burdens of administering Successor Agreements, these proposed Guidelines delete the Successor Agreement application process.
Compatible Uses
The Williamson Act statutes indicate that the administration rules or guidelines adopted by local agencies "may enumerate compatible uses on contracted lands." Restrictions on compatible uses are above and beyond the use restrictions enumerated in the Zoning Code. However, given that the Agricultural Zone is largely enrolled in the Williamson Act, zoning regulations have been structured to be compatible with the Williamson Act's purposes. Staff therefore do not propose many significant additional restrictions in the Williamson Act Guidelines, since the Zoning Code largely ensures that approved uses are compatible with agriculture. Accordingly, the proposed Guidelines address compatible uses in Section 106, which states:
The Yolo County Board of Supervisors has determined that the uses for agricultural and open space zones reflected in Table 1 that are permitted by right or allowed by non-discretionary review by the Zoning Code in that zone are compatible with agriculture for lands under Land Use Agreements and FSZ Contracts.
Any use requiring a Use Permit or other discretionary approval which is located on lands under a Williamson Act contract or in an agricultural preserve must be found to comply with the Williamson Act statutes, including the principles of compatibility found in Government Code Section 51238.1.
A list of the specific uses that are allowed by right or through issuance of a non-discretionary Site Plan Review in the agricultural zones is attached to the Williamson Act Guidelines. These non-discretionary activities are in contrast to those activities that require the issuance of a discretionary Use Permit, which involves a greater level of review and public hearings prior to approval.
Uses that are allowed by right (no zoning permits are required but building permits may be required) include a wide range of agricultural production, processing, and accessory uses, as well as some animal facilities uses (small dairies and hog farms, etc.), a few rural commercial uses (produce stands, farm stays, limited special event facilities on large parcels), small solar systems, and rural residential uses (primary and ancillary dwellings, small group homes, etc.), and limited public events on larger parcels.
The agricultural production and processing uses represent the primary use of the land. The other types of uses allowed by right are typically small in scale and are incidental to the primary agricultural operations. The one use allowed by right that has garnered the most discussion is the limited special event center that is allowed on parcels of 40 acres or more. However, the zoning regulations for the use clearly restrict the activity to larger parcels, with no more than one event per month and 8 events per year, with less than 150 attendees and less than 100 vehicle trips per event. The County's experience with such limited number of small events on large parcels shows that they do not have a significant impact on agricultural operations, whether on the land hosting the events or nearby parcels.
In order to adopt the Guidelines, the Board must find that the allowed uses, such as produce stands, farm stays and limited special events, small solar systems, and rural residential uses, do not have the potential to significantly compromise the long-term productive agricultural capability of contracted lands in the agricultural preserves of the county, will not significantly displace or impair current or reasonably foreseeable agricultural operations, and will not result in the significant removal of any contracted land in the unincorporated area from agricultural or open-space use. Our experience has shown that uses allowed by right are compatible with the Williamson Act and the appropriate findings can be made under Section 65128.1(a) of the statutes.
A second range of activities are permitted in the agricultural zones through the issuance of a Site Plan Review, which is a non-discretionary level of approval authorized in the zoning code. This level of review involves staff review and the application of standard development standards that are set forth in the Zoning Code and other County Codes. A Site Plan Review does not require a public hearing or a separate environmental analysis under the California Environmental Quality Act.
The types of uses that are permitted with the approval of a Site Plan Review include large-scale agricultural processing, animal farms, permanent roadside produce stands, corn mazes/pumpkin patches, Yolo Stores, wineries, small bed & breakfasts, stables, small agricultural support services, oil and gas drilling, small wind energy and medium-sized solar systems, and larger group home and child care facilities.
As with the agricultural uses allowed by right, the activities permitted through the Site Plan Review permit process are either primary agricultural operations or are limited in such a way that they would not significantly affect the primary agricultural operations. One use allowed by Site Plan Review that has been discussed is small bed and breakfasts allowed through a site plan review. However, small bed and breakfasts must conform to a lengthy list of development standards that is set forth in the zoning regulations. The zoning sets standards limiting the maximum number of rooms, as well as prohibit construction of substantial new buildings, and require adequate parking, access, fire and police protection. The regulations also clarify that if a B&B of any size holds special events, then the use shall comply with all requirements for a special event facility, which requires discretionary Use Permit review.
With the development standards and other safeguards written into the zoning regulations that apply to the uses allowed with a Site Plan Review, and based on years of experiences with such uses in the ag zones, the County can find that the uses will not have the potential to significantly compromise the long-term productive agricultural capability of contracted lands, will not significantly displace or impair current or reasonably foreseeable agricultural operations, and will not result in the significant removal of any contracted land. Thus, the uses allowed by Site Plan Review are compatible with the Williamson Act.
Several other uses that may be proposed in the agricultural areas require the issuance of a Minor or Major Use Permit. These include habitat projects, stockyards; large dairies, poultry ranches and hog farms; animal hospitals; large wineries, special event facilities, and B&Bs; health resorts and rural recreation; many industrial uses (fertilizer, seed, canneries, slaughterhouses); surface mining; large wind and solar systems; and more than two dwellings.
Activities that require a Use Permit are reviewed at a public hearing and require environmental analysis under the California Environmental Quality Act. Part of that analysis includes making the consistency or compatibility findings with the Williamson Act that is required by Section 51238.1, noted above. As already noted above, the revised zoning regulations preclude uses such as small and large event centers, and large B&Bs, if they cannot be found to be compatible with the Williamson Act.
Farm Bureau Comments
At the Planning Commission hearings on July 12 and June 8, 2017, the Commission heard testimony from several individuals, including the president of the Farm Bureau, Nancy Lea. The Farm Bureau has submitted two separate letters dated June 6 and July 13, 2017 (Attachment E). The June 6 letter followed up on a meeting that occurred between staff and the Yolo County Farm Bureau on June 1, 2017. Staff also held in-person meetings with Farm Bureau representatives.
Several of the specific points made in both of the Farm Bureau letters have been addressed by the Commission in the related amendments of the agricultural commercial zoning regulations (see separate staff report). For example, the June 6 Farm Bureau letter states: "On contracted lands, approved uses must be compatible with agriculture on both the contracted parcel and adjacent contracted lands within the relevant agricultural preserve. We believe that such uses should be incidental to agricultural uses as the first measure of compatibility, and should not impair the surrounding fabric of agriculture within the area."
The most recent version of the agricultural commercial Zoning Code Amendments includes a specific provision in Sec 8-2.306(k)(11) that requires "a large special event facility located on lands under a Williamson Act contract or in a Williamson Act Agricultural Preserve must be incidental to an agricultural operation and found to comply with the Williamson Act statutes, including Government Code Section 51238.1. If a finding of consistency or compatibility with the Williamson Act cannot be made, the land must have exited the Williamson Act program prior to permit approval." This is consistent with the Farm Bureau request for large facilities.
The June 6 letter goes on to state: "With respect to event centers in particular, it is a difficult call to make. We think the County's Williamson Act Guidelines should certainly provide for a compatibility determination for a certain number "of right" events on a parcel, which are infrequent, small in number, and therefore unlikely to present chronic conflict with surrounding agriculture. We also think it is obvious that large event centers cross a line towards a land use that is nearly commercial in nature, and should require a use permit and a process of public review. With respect to an intermediate size of event center - when the number and size of events being held are no longer occasional and tend towards large crowds - review for Williamson Act compatibility should be informed by event frequency, guest counts, parcel size, and project location. With respect to that intermediate size, the compatibility determination should be a matter of individualized analysis."
The requirements of the proposed zoning regulations that small and large event centers be subject to a Minor or Major Use Permit (Site Plan Review and Minor Use Permit in Clarksburg), respectively, and that defined event facilities be allowed "by right," are consistent with the Farm Bureau request.
Regarding the small event centers, during the discussion of the Zoning Code Amendments at their July 13 meeting, the Planning Commission deliberated on the issue of whether "small" special event facilities (called "intermediate size" in the Farm Bureau letter) should remain subject to a ministerial Site Plan Review, or elevated to a discretionary Use Permit. In a straw vote on the issue, the Commission voted 4-2 to require a Minor Use Permit for small facilities. Accordingly, small event centers are not found to be a compatible use as a general matter -- they can only be approved with individualized findings supporting compatibility.
As to the uses allowed through a site plan review, development standards and other safeguards written into the zoning regulations that apply to the uses allowed with a Site Plan Review, and based on years of experiences with such uses in the ag zones, the County can find that the uses will not have the potential to significantly compromise the long-term productive agricultural capability of contracted lands, will not significantly displace or impair current or reasonably foreseeable agricultural operations, and will not result in the significant removal of any contracted land. Thus, staff conclude that the incidental uses allowed by Site Plan Review are compatible with the Williamson Act. |